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kcarruthers

@kcar.me

8.4K followers 5.3K following 7.4K posts

Skeets forever! Sometimes I feel like being a revolutionary cat. PhD candidate at UTS Sydney. Nothing here is the opinion of my employer. I have always hated emdashes. 💛💙🌻♥️💚🍉🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇦🇺 Aussie 🦘 https://katecarruthers.com/

katecarruthers.com

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kcarruthers @kcar.me · May 3

It’s how I deal with my existential dread katecarruthers.com/2025/01/09/2...

2025 BingoCard | Aide Mémoire

In something of a tradition for me, at the start of each new year, I deal with my existential dread by creating a BingoCard. Here is my 2025 BingoCard: Here is a link to the pdf version

katecarruthers.com

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

Key to understanding Vought’s worldview is the idea that the constitutional order - and with it the “natural” order itself - has been destroyed: The revolution has already happened, “the Left” won. Therefore, conservatives categorically err when they try to preserve what is no more.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

Vought is singularly focused on bending the entire government machine to Trump’s will. He believes that any check on the power of Donald Trump, who Vought literally describes as a “gift of God,” is illegitimate. There is no line he doesn’t feel justified to cross.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

Russell Vought embodies the radicalization of the conservative movement; his example captures how far removed from democratic politics the Trumpist Right is. Vought is convinced to be fighting a noble war against a vast leftist conspiracy that has supposedly taken over the country.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

But there is nothing noble or respectable about what Vought is doing, about his vision for the country. He is a fully competent, utterly committed radical ideologue. He lusts for counter-revolution and radical measures. There is no line he doesn’t feel justified to cross.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

It is October 2025, the assault on what is left of American democracy is escalating, and one of the New York Times’ most influential formats insists on presenting one of the Trumpist regime’s leaders as a devout “small government” conservative with a great work ethic.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

Vought is a key figure in the world of Trumpism, with a rare – and dangerous – combination of ideological zeal and operative competence, a fully committed extremist causing massive harm to millions of people.

But if you only listened to The Daily, you wouldn’t get any of that.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

Sunday reading:

I wrote about the aggrieved extremist who is currently firing thousands of federal workers and ravaging state capacity based on conspiratorial nonsense - and about mainstream media’s infuriating tendency to sanitize Russell Vought and the regime he serves.

This week’s piece:

We need to talk about Russell Vought – But Properly

Why certain mainstream outlets insist on sanitizing Vought as a devout “small government” conservative – and what actually animates his war against pluralistic democracy

steady.page

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 10h

What he’s railing against is a profound shift in culture, status… He’s obsessed with the idea that America is controlled by a leftist “ruling elite” - but “elite” isn’t defined socio-economically or by political power, it means something like: Getting to define “real America” and who gets to belong.

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 11h

Arguing that ppl should stay on X to 'be part of the conversation' or whatever is precisely equivalent to all the Very Serious centrist nerds arguing we should lean into right-wing framing for climate advocacy bc the movement is losing momentum.

In both cases: it only helps the shift rightwards

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 11h

this is a great piece and it absolutely sucks that the outlet went for the ambiguous headline rather.

The idea that you can remain on X and "influence opinion" is equally true for creating a new Stormfront account, or a 4Chan account, or a TruthSocial account.

Our job is to kills its influence.

Did the centre-left bit of UK politics Twitter make an error in decamping en masse to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Twitter? The old site, now remade as X, remains significantly larger than the new, and much of the political class have failed to make the jump. Did those of us who went let our desire for a comforting liberal bubble undermine our actual influence?

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

The story of social media in the last few years is not one of a self-righteous liberal flounce, but of fragmentation: network effects are a thing, and if most of the people you like to talk to switch platforms, there feels little point in remaining behind. If we have lost influence, that’s at least partly down to the government’s reluctance to use its convening power to reshape the information environment, and its odd commitment to a site owned by someone who wants Keir Starmer in prison.

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Raimo Kangasniemi @rk70534.bsky.social · 2h

"Prominent journalist from #Gaza, Saleh Al Jafarawi, was killed in a deadly militia attack in #GazaCity, mere days after a fragile ceasefire was declared. The attack also claimed the lives of several security officers and displaced civilians."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkKv...

#GazaNews #Palestine

Prominent Gazan journalist killed in militia attack after ceasefire

YouTube video by Roya News English

www.youtube.com

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Kristen Immoor @kristenimmoor.bsky.social · 3h

Enjoyed the New Yorker interview with Tim Curry, a free-wheeling conversation in which there were several sensitive questions about his paralyzing stroke. But oh my goodness, why was there no follow-up at all to this staggering answer? www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Screenshot of text from the interview:

You’ve always been an incredibly physical performer: your strut during “Sweet Transvestite” in “Rocky Horror,” or the way you run around unfurling the mystery at the end of “Clue.” Do you still feel that in your body? Does that live somewhere in you still?

I think it does, but it’s angry. My mobility is angry to get out. But it’s not happened yet. I do a certain amount of physical therapy. I did a whole bunch of it at Cedars-Sinai, and I got very close, I think, to walking. That was tantalizing. For insurance reasons, I had to withdraw. And I have a visiting physical therapist now, but I can only really do exercises from my bed, which is pretty pathetic. It’s not going to get me walking, I don’t believe.

[I have underlined the sentence "For insurance reasons, I had to withdraw."]

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The Saturday Paper @thesaturdaypaper.com.au · 3h

“This inquiry has… exposed what lies beneath the tip of the governance failure iceberg – overpaid and arrogant management and their largesse, opaque, unaccountable, and top-down decision-making, and governance bodies stacked with corporate appointees.” satpa.pe/XogpEAK

Stacked boards driving ‘rotten’ university sector

satpa.pe

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Амбасадор дідівства @ambassador.name · 13h

Guess where these will go if Ukraine falls. And the more you ignore Ukraine the higher is the chance. Donate to a verified Ukrainian charity, contact your representative and ask for more action to help Ukraine, do something. That is your security too.

#UkrainianView
#UAView

UNITED24 Media @united24media.com · 14h

⚡️Russia unleashed 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and 1,360 guided bombs on Ukraine in just one week, Zelenskyy says.

He warned that Moscow is escalating strikes while the world’s attention is on the Middle East and urged tougher sanctions and tariffs on Russia.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 3h

Look, maybe not *all* ICE and CBP agents are bloodthirsty psychopaths, but there are plenty of stories like this one and the rest of them sure as shit don't seem to mind, so ...

Leia🇨🇴🇺🇸 @theswprincess.bsky.social · 4h

CBP agents knocked on an El Paso home at 7:15 a.m.

The owner asked to secure his Rottweiler, Chop, in the bathroom.

While he got his ID, agents opened the door and shot Chop.

The family tried to save him as he bled out on the kitchen floor.

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Nicholas Slayton @nslayton.bsky.social · 4h

The Texas Military Department confirmed to @taskandpurpose.com it had replaced some of the 200 National Guard troops sent to Chicago for not being "in compliance" with validation standards. This came after photos of heavyset NG members were widely mocked. taskandpurpose.com/news/texas-n...

Some Texas National Guard troops replaced in Illinois after failing to meet standards

An unspecified amount of Texas National Guard troops were replaced in Chicago, shortly after photos of their appearance were mocked.

taskandpurpose.com

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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 4h

In #Odesa, the choir and audience continued the performance in the shelter of the Philharmonic Theater despite a Russian attack.

📹: y.krasinskyi

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Helen, Tina's Boob Punch @tinavstammy.bsky.social · 2h

This is the protest they deserve. We can make it happen!

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 2h

Imagine, if you will, fifty protesters in inflatable animal costumes converging on ICE agents while blowing Aztec Death Whistles

youtu.be/x12hyuonfFI?...

Aztec Death Whistle: The Sound That Terrifies

YouTube video by Aztec Death Whistle

youtu.be

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Jorj, Interim DEITY🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦💪🏽 @just-jorj.bsky.social · 2h

newsbook.com.mt/en/udn-calls...
“Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, which alleges that native European populations are being systematically displaced by non-European migrants.

UDN calls for citizenship only by bloodline, abolishing all naturalisation paths

UDN proposes ‘guest worker’ regime, ending path to citizenship for foreign residents

newsbook.com.mt

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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 2h

Good privacy decisions begin with proper knowledge about your situation—and we’ve got you covered. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Privacy Loves Company

Most of the internet’s blessings—the opportunities for communities to connect despite physical borders and oppressive controls, the avenues to hold the powerful accountable without immediate

www.eff.org

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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 7h

GOOD NEWS! Researchers have developed a cancer vaccine that has shown STUNNING results, PREVENTING up to 88% of MULTIPLE aggressive cancers by harnessing dual-pathway nanoparticles that train the immune system to recognize and destroy tumor cells. In some cases, it COMPLETELY prevented metastasis.

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▼ ALT-31 @alt31.bsky.social · 2h

⭕Des #Palestiniens de #Gaza ont découvert des dispositifs d'espionnage dissimulés dans des blocs de béton conçus pour ressembler à des pierres au milieu des décombres de maisons dans des zones précédemment occupées par les forces #Israéliennes après leur retrait de la zone.

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Resist 🕎🍉 @antizionistjew.bsky.social · 3h

#WATCH | Heartbroken Palestinian father bids farewell to his son Saleh Al-Jaafarawi who was killed today by Israeli-backed gangs in Al-Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City.

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Resist 🕎🍉 @antizionistjew.bsky.social · 3h

#BREAKING | Israel-aligned groups in Gaza killed Journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi

Zionists used to call him "Mr. FAFO", the truth is that Saleh was one of the BRAVEST Journalists in Gaza

Rest in Peace Saleh

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Sam Bright @writesbright.bsky.social · 3h

It’s time that Russia’s malign influence on British politics was properly investigated.

Agree? Add your name 👇🏻

It’s time for a REAL Russia report

Putin’s fingerprints are all over our politics. It’s time to prove it.

writesbright.substack.com

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