Matt Kavanagh
@mattkavanagh.bsky.social
college professor / contemporary American novel / film noir / financial fiction / writer and reviewer / 🇨🇦 / personal account
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Matt Kavanagh
@mattkavanagh.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Since I’m new here, I thought I’d repost myTwitter thread from 2018 on #HannahArendt and #Trumphasia: a topic that is unfortunately still relevant today. 1/
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
If the BBC were here on bsky, one could share with them the definition of the word “kidnap”.
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/k...
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/k...
Definition of KIDNAP
to seize and detain or carry away by unlawful force or fraud and often with a demand for ransom… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:30 AM
If the BBC were here on bsky, one could share with them the definition of the word “kidnap”.
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/k...
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/k...
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
“We think we understand the rules when we become adults but what we really experience is a narrowing of the imagination.” ~ David Lynch
January 6, 2026 at 7:31 AM
“We think we understand the rules when we become adults but what we really experience is a narrowing of the imagination.” ~ David Lynch
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I’m telling you, everything this administration does is designed to completely destroy the pathways low income people have to reach the middle class
January 6, 2026 at 2:49 AM
I’m telling you, everything this administration does is designed to completely destroy the pathways low income people have to reach the middle class
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
18 months ago I was photographing birds in a US national park when someone jumped out of a car in front of a dozen witnesses, put a Glock to my forehead, and demanded my camera.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
January 6, 2026 at 7:04 AM
18 months ago I was photographing birds in a US national park when someone jumped out of a car in front of a dozen witnesses, put a Glock to my forehead, and demanded my camera.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
First Meduza newsletter of 2026 is out. Last week, Carnegie Center senior fellow Alexander Baunov wrote a gigantic essay about Putin's path dependence, Europe's naïveté on Russian experts, the Kremlin's overturning of Earth's moral universe. It was a lot. Here's my summary. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
This was Russia today Monday, January 5, 2026 — Meduza
meduza.io
January 6, 2026 at 7:13 AM
First Meduza newsletter of 2026 is out. Last week, Carnegie Center senior fellow Alexander Baunov wrote a gigantic essay about Putin's path dependence, Europe's naïveté on Russian experts, the Kremlin's overturning of Earth's moral universe. It was a lot. Here's my summary. meduza.io/en/brief/202...
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
One possible reason they can't tell us what they're doing is that they don't know what they're doing
What ‘Regime Change’ in Venezuela Would Really Mean
It’s not clear the administration has settled on a goal, much less considered the consequences.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:00 AM
One possible reason they can't tell us what they're doing is that they don't know what they're doing
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Tomorrow is January 6th so don’t forget to leave out some ivermectin and a buffalo hat tonight.
January 5, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Tomorrow is January 6th so don’t forget to leave out some ivermectin and a buffalo hat tonight.
Wise words. Check the 🧵
In my view what happened in the last few days is the biggest history-changing event in many years - it is the end of the global post-war order, which was already fractured, and replacement with a new disorder, a "Mafia World."
January 6, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Wise words. Check the 🧵
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
In my view what happened in the last few days is the biggest history-changing event in many years - it is the end of the global post-war order, which was already fractured, and replacement with a new disorder, a "Mafia World."
January 6, 2026 at 7:16 AM
In my view what happened in the last few days is the biggest history-changing event in many years - it is the end of the global post-war order, which was already fractured, and replacement with a new disorder, a "Mafia World."
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I mean somehow they’ve made the Bush-Cheney gang look boldly principled
January 6, 2026 at 7:17 AM
I mean somehow they’ve made the Bush-Cheney gang look boldly principled
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I think this is the product of an underlying recognition by the various viziers, and even Trump himself (at least with regard to the Supreme Court), that the survival of this administration is entirely dependent on America's media and financial elites being able to pretend that everything is normal.
Same with a lot of the executive overreach stuff, where they’ll get all het up over Stephen Miller being like “Oh the DC Circuit is going to stop us?! It and what army??” and then the moment they get scolded by a judge it’s “okay sir yes sir”
January 6, 2026 at 7:11 AM
I think this is the product of an underlying recognition by the various viziers, and even Trump himself (at least with regard to the Supreme Court), that the survival of this administration is entirely dependent on America's media and financial elites being able to pretend that everything is normal.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
No CEO is worth 62.5 times the average worker. Salaries are fairytales told to keep ordinary people from eating the rich.
They are rich because they decided to pay themselves a lot more than what they're paying regular folks!
They are rich because they decided to pay themselves a lot more than what they're paying regular folks!
FTSE 100 CEOs earn more than average worker’s yearly pay by noon on 6 January
High Pay Centre calculates bosses will pass milestone on third working day of 2026 with median pay of £1,353 an hour
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:18 AM
No CEO is worth 62.5 times the average worker. Salaries are fairytales told to keep ordinary people from eating the rich.
They are rich because they decided to pay themselves a lot more than what they're paying regular folks!
They are rich because they decided to pay themselves a lot more than what they're paying regular folks!
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Every January 6th, I ask myself the question I find myself returning to every year.
When Ashli Babbitt was bleeding out on the marble, was the last thought to lurch through her dying mind "wow, I can't believe I'm going to die in the White House"?
When Ashli Babbitt was bleeding out on the marble, was the last thought to lurch through her dying mind "wow, I can't believe I'm going to die in the White House"?
January 6, 2026 at 7:11 AM
Every January 6th, I ask myself the question I find myself returning to every year.
When Ashli Babbitt was bleeding out on the marble, was the last thought to lurch through her dying mind "wow, I can't believe I'm going to die in the White House"?
When Ashli Babbitt was bleeding out on the marble, was the last thought to lurch through her dying mind "wow, I can't believe I'm going to die in the White House"?
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
those at the top have made clear that they don’t care about laws, only power, while those wanting to organize against them remain restricted by the law.
one has realized its ability to do what it wants without anyone to tell it otherwise, while the other only has people/systems restricting it.
one has realized its ability to do what it wants without anyone to tell it otherwise, while the other only has people/systems restricting it.
January 6, 2026 at 6:34 AM
those at the top have made clear that they don’t care about laws, only power, while those wanting to organize against them remain restricted by the law.
one has realized its ability to do what it wants without anyone to tell it otherwise, while the other only has people/systems restricting it.
one has realized its ability to do what it wants without anyone to tell it otherwise, while the other only has people/systems restricting it.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
When Elon Musk was forced to buy Twitter and fired 80% of its staff, everyone thought it would collapse immediately. It didn’t.
It rotted from the inside out, becoming a Nazi-infested crucible for hatespeech and AI-deepfake sexual harassment—unrecognizable as the vital social connector it once was.
It rotted from the inside out, becoming a Nazi-infested crucible for hatespeech and AI-deepfake sexual harassment—unrecognizable as the vital social connector it once was.
January 6, 2026 at 12:48 AM
When Elon Musk was forced to buy Twitter and fired 80% of its staff, everyone thought it would collapse immediately. It didn’t.
It rotted from the inside out, becoming a Nazi-infested crucible for hatespeech and AI-deepfake sexual harassment—unrecognizable as the vital social connector it once was.
It rotted from the inside out, becoming a Nazi-infested crucible for hatespeech and AI-deepfake sexual harassment—unrecognizable as the vital social connector it once was.
The whole thread is worth your time, but this right here cooks.
There are many factors that made this corrupt and foul age possible, but I believe history will agree that Musk+Miller+Project 2025 were the core enablers of every abuse and atrocity we see around us today.
Trump? A convenient figurehead and hypeman for the MAGA base—there not to lead, but to feed.
Trump? A convenient figurehead and hypeman for the MAGA base—there not to lead, but to feed.
January 6, 2026 at 7:00 AM
The whole thread is worth your time, but this right here cooks.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Exactly. What was done to Twitter ended up as a test run for what has been done to America.
This sounds like post Trump america (2025 version). Its been stripped for parts and will keep limping along as a horrifying shell of itself just becoming more and more debased
January 6, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Exactly. What was done to Twitter ended up as a test run for what has been done to America.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
"If you want to know who took all of your money, it's the people with all of the money."
I keep thinking about this post and how it's one of the best, most succinct messages Democrats could use in 2026 campaigns.
I keep thinking about this post and how it's one of the best, most succinct messages Democrats could use in 2026 campaigns.
If you want to know who took all of your money, it's the people with all of the money. Famously, we know that's people working in child care.
January 6, 2026 at 5:53 AM
"If you want to know who took all of your money, it's the people with all of the money."
I keep thinking about this post and how it's one of the best, most succinct messages Democrats could use in 2026 campaigns.
I keep thinking about this post and how it's one of the best, most succinct messages Democrats could use in 2026 campaigns.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Chuck Schumer rejecting out of hand the one point of leverage he has, the one that was actually working really well last year until he caved, is the most Chuck Schumer he can be.
spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/...
spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/...
Schumer rejects idea of another government shutdown
Lawmakers returned to Washington from a holiday break Monday after seeing a record-long 43-day shutdown in the fall.
spectrumlocalnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:34 AM
Chuck Schumer rejecting out of hand the one point of leverage he has, the one that was actually working really well last year until he caved, is the most Chuck Schumer he can be.
spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/...
spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/...
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
January 6, 2026 at 5:45 AM
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Every time you make Bluesky less fun, you help Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
Remember that the next time you think you're on some real righteous crusade!
Remember that the next time you think you're on some real righteous crusade!
January 6, 2026 at 3:48 AM
Every time you make Bluesky less fun, you help Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
Remember that the next time you think you're on some real righteous crusade!
Remember that the next time you think you're on some real righteous crusade!
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Trading the Nobel Peace Prize to the president of the United States so he’ll militarily install you as president of your country seems a bit contrary to its intended purpose
Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
January 6, 2026 at 5:43 AM
Trading the Nobel Peace Prize to the president of the United States so he’ll militarily install you as president of your country seems a bit contrary to its intended purpose
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
subect of conversation at dinner last night in Poland: will Danes shoot Americans? Some thought yes, some thought no
TAPPER: Can you rule out the US is going to take Greenland by force?
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
January 6, 2026 at 5:03 AM
subect of conversation at dinner last night in Poland: will Danes shoot Americans? Some thought yes, some thought no
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
The Republican Party tried and failed more than 60 times to repeal Obamacare when they were out of power.
60 fucking times.
Maybe Democrats should consider trying to impeach Trump more than *twice*?
60 fucking times.
Maybe Democrats should consider trying to impeach Trump more than *twice*?
January 6, 2026 at 2:18 AM
The Republican Party tried and failed more than 60 times to repeal Obamacare when they were out of power.
60 fucking times.
Maybe Democrats should consider trying to impeach Trump more than *twice*?
60 fucking times.
Maybe Democrats should consider trying to impeach Trump more than *twice*?
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I found this discussion really interesting (and validating of some of the thoughts I’ve been having about certain aspects of politics for a while).
ICYMI: I sat down with political scientist @samuel-bagg.bsky.social to discuss the crisis in our information environment and its roots in social identity.
The cure for misinformation is not more information or smarter news consumers
Political scientist Samuel Bagg explains why social identity is at the root of the misinformation crisis -- which calls for something deeper than factchecking.
www.volts.wtf
January 6, 2026 at 3:45 AM
I found this discussion really interesting (and validating of some of the thoughts I’ve been having about certain aspects of politics for a while).