Michael Pollak
@mdpollak.bsky.social
I love big books and I cannot lie
Reposted by Michael Pollak
"Peace is not what you ask for when the boot is already on someone else's neck. Peace is what the powerful ask for when they don't want to be interrupted." Also relevant re: Palestine.
January 26, 2026 at 8:51 AM
"Peace is not what you ask for when the boot is already on someone else's neck. Peace is what the powerful ask for when they don't want to be interrupted." Also relevant re: Palestine.
Brilliant video on Ruth Azawa's life and work. You have 12 days left to catch her retrospective at MOMA before it ends. She's a genius and her work is a revelation and a pleasure.
youtu.be/kOZC9X97-fQ
youtu.be/kOZC9X97-fQ
Ruth Asawa: documentary on an artist who worked every minute | HOW TO SEE
YouTube video by The Museum of Modern Art
youtu.be
January 26, 2026 at 3:24 AM
Brilliant video on Ruth Azawa's life and work. You have 12 days left to catch her retrospective at MOMA before it ends. She's a genius and her work is a revelation and a pleasure.
youtu.be/kOZC9X97-fQ
youtu.be/kOZC9X97-fQ
Reposted by Michael Pollak
As tomorrow's Minnesota-wide shutdown gathers momentum, here are some of the less visible ways workers and unions are helping each other survive to fight another day, by delivering food to workers hiding in their homes with the lights off. My report from Minneapolis.
How One Minnesota Union Is Helping Members Survive the Federal Siege
Local 17 is one of many unions, community organizations and faith groups calling for a work stoppage tomorrow, showing a key way Minnesotans are organizing against ICE.
inthesetimes.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:16 PM
As tomorrow's Minnesota-wide shutdown gathers momentum, here are some of the less visible ways workers and unions are helping each other survive to fight another day, by delivering food to workers hiding in their homes with the lights off. My report from Minneapolis.
Organic organization crystallizing like ICE-9
Breathless reports on Twitter from Project Veritas & fellow creeps of infiltrating ICE watch signals. I thought, Oh, no, they found a couple of jackasses & are going to blow them up. But no, the "conspiracy" is that many people volunteer, take turns on shifts, and train at nonviolence.
January 25, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Organic organization crystallizing like ICE-9
Reposted by Michael Pollak
This is “Operation PARRIS,” a top reason that DHS is in Minneapolis.
The goal is to arrest 5,600 lawfully present refugees and take them to detention centers in Texas to be interrogated about their status. There is NO investigation first. They are arresting everyone; grab first, question later.
The goal is to arrest 5,600 lawfully present refugees and take them to detention centers in Texas to be interrogated about their status. There is NO investigation first. They are arresting everyone; grab first, question later.
Here's another ruling in Minnesota, also yesterday, releasing a man who was forcefully detained by ICE despite having *active* refugee status. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 25, 2026 at 3:17 AM
This is “Operation PARRIS,” a top reason that DHS is in Minneapolis.
The goal is to arrest 5,600 lawfully present refugees and take them to detention centers in Texas to be interrogated about their status. There is NO investigation first. They are arresting everyone; grab first, question later.
The goal is to arrest 5,600 lawfully present refugees and take them to detention centers in Texas to be interrogated about their status. There is NO investigation first. They are arresting everyone; grab first, question later.
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Things are so bad that the Minnesota prison system has had to launch a website specifically to combat DHS lies. The first major release from DOC officials suggests Gregory Bovino outright lied about the target of the Border Patrol operation during which agents shot and killed Alex Pretti.
January 25, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Things are so bad that the Minnesota prison system has had to launch a website specifically to combat DHS lies. The first major release from DOC officials suggests Gregory Bovino outright lied about the target of the Border Patrol operation during which agents shot and killed Alex Pretti.
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Absolutely reprehensible that AG Bondi is offering ICE stand down in exchange for access to voting rolls. Outrageous and disgusting. It shows ICE is in Minneapolis is not for law enforcement purposes. Instead it’s a way to stir up shit in blue states and extort them.
In the wake of another fatal shooting in Minneapolis.
AG Pam Bondi sends Gov. Walz a letter today making several asks including:
"Allow DOJ Civil Rights division access to state voter rolls"
AG Pam Bondi sends Gov. Walz a letter today making several asks including:
"Allow DOJ Civil Rights division access to state voter rolls"
January 25, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Absolutely reprehensible that AG Bondi is offering ICE stand down in exchange for access to voting rolls. Outrageous and disgusting. It shows ICE is in Minneapolis is not for law enforcement purposes. Instead it’s a way to stir up shit in blue states and extort them.
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Excellent work by Derek Guy
There’s More to Greg Bovino’s Coat Than You Think
The head of Border Patrol isn’t referencing the Nazis — but he is sending a message.
www.politico.com
January 25, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Excellent work by Derek Guy
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Democrats Condemn ICE For Murdering Without Proper Warrants
Democrats Condemn ICE For Murdering Without Proper Warrants
WASHINGTON—In a statement calling for more guardrails around ongoing immigration operations, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives publicly condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement Thurs...
theonion.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Democrats Condemn ICE For Murdering Without Proper Warrants
Reposted by Michael Pollak
"I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting," writes a woman now in hiding from the federal government for witnessing a state-sanctioned street execution
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
January 25, 2026 at 2:03 AM
"I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting," writes a woman now in hiding from the federal government for witnessing a state-sanctioned street execution
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Republicans like to talk about "masculinity crisis," but if you think that "masculinity" is better captured by a masked man shooting a woman in the face rather than a dad doing ICE watch outside of a preschool, the crisis is you.
January 24, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Republicans like to talk about "masculinity crisis," but if you think that "masculinity" is better captured by a masked man shooting a woman in the face rather than a dad doing ICE watch outside of a preschool, the crisis is you.
Reposted by Michael Pollak
NEW: Zohran Mamdani backed Claire Valdez. Nydia Velázquez endorsed Antonio Reynoso.
The left is divided:
Socialists vs. Progressives
Townies vs. Transplants
Velázquez is a 30+ year incumbent.
But Mamdani won 75%+ of the vote.
Welcome to NY-7:
www.michaellange.nyc/p/a-civil-wa...
The left is divided:
Socialists vs. Progressives
Townies vs. Transplants
Velázquez is a 30+ year incumbent.
But Mamdani won 75%+ of the vote.
Welcome to NY-7:
www.michaellange.nyc/p/a-civil-wa...
A Civil War in The Commie Corridor?
Townies, Transplants, and Tension
www.michaellange.nyc
January 22, 2026 at 9:05 PM
NEW: Zohran Mamdani backed Claire Valdez. Nydia Velázquez endorsed Antonio Reynoso.
The left is divided:
Socialists vs. Progressives
Townies vs. Transplants
Velázquez is a 30+ year incumbent.
But Mamdani won 75%+ of the vote.
Welcome to NY-7:
www.michaellange.nyc/p/a-civil-wa...
The left is divided:
Socialists vs. Progressives
Townies vs. Transplants
Velázquez is a 30+ year incumbent.
But Mamdani won 75%+ of the vote.
Welcome to NY-7:
www.michaellange.nyc/p/a-civil-wa...
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Microtargeting exactly what customers are willing to pay and extracting the maximum possible sounds superficially like good business strategy. But the result is a bunch of customers who are always at the very edge of satisfaction/dissatisfaction.
www.vox.com/culture/4760...
www.vox.com/culture/4760...
Why expensive airline “premiums” don’t feel special at all
From getting to pick your seat to boarding in a better zone, airlines have turned “premium” add-ons into big profits.
www.vox.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Microtargeting exactly what customers are willing to pay and extracting the maximum possible sounds superficially like good business strategy. But the result is a bunch of customers who are always at the very edge of satisfaction/dissatisfaction.
www.vox.com/culture/4760...
www.vox.com/culture/4760...
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
January 22, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
Reposted by Michael Pollak
A lot of people think about foreign exchange markets with an intuition that when a currency weakens, assets in that currency become more attractive. But I just don't think that's true.
Given the nature of actual cross border positions (especially the ones shifting at the margins), it is not at all obvious that a weaker dollar makes dollar assets more attractive. The yield on a dollar bond relative to a euro bond is exactly the same if $1 = €2 or $1 = €0.5.
January 21, 2026 at 3:26 AM
A lot of people think about foreign exchange markets with an intuition that when a currency weakens, assets in that currency become more attractive. But I just don't think that's true.
Reposted by Michael Pollak
Must read @nytimes.com oped by @levmenand.bsky.social about the stakes of the Cook case tomorrow. Reminds us that this is not just about central bank independence or the reach of the removal power. At stake is the fundamental principle that the president does not have the power of the purse.
Opinion | There’s Much More at Stake in the Fed Case Than Interest Rates
www.nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Must read @nytimes.com oped by @levmenand.bsky.social about the stakes of the Cook case tomorrow. Reminds us that this is not just about central bank independence or the reach of the removal power. At stake is the fundamental principle that the president does not have the power of the purse.
Reposted by Michael Pollak
I wrote a sonnet about your Country refusing me the Nobel Peace Prize.
January 19, 2026 at 1:20 PM
I wrote a sonnet about your Country refusing me the Nobel Peace Prize.
I could swear that when I heard the story as a NJ child, the ending was just everyone laughing at Chicken Little. It's hard to believe this ending would even be allowed in the US-diluted Grimm that Bettleheim analyzed. Not just cruel but on the nose.
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/08/the-...
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/08/the-...
January 19, 2026 at 1:50 AM
I could swear that when I heard the story as a NJ child, the ending was just everyone laughing at Chicken Little. It's hard to believe this ending would even be allowed in the US-diluted Grimm that Bettleheim analyzed. Not just cruel but on the nose.
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/08/the-...
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/08/the-...
Reposted by Michael Pollak
The Trump admin is moving to quickly deport two men who witnessed, they say, ICE guards choke a fellow detainee to death.
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
DHS seeking to deport two men who said fellow ICE detainee was killed
The two men’s eyewitness accounts of the Jan. 3 death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at a Texas detention camp differ from the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the incident.
wapo.st
January 18, 2026 at 12:10 AM
The Trump admin is moving to quickly deport two men who witnessed, they say, ICE guards choke a fellow detainee to death.
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
The last 4 paragraphs of this capture perfectly the difference between Abolish the Police in 2020 and Abolish Ice in 2026.
www.ettingermentum.news/p/this-isnt-...
www.ettingermentum.news/p/this-isnt-...
This Isn't 2020
On new political realities and changed movements.
www.ettingermentum.news
January 18, 2026 at 4:46 AM
The last 4 paragraphs of this capture perfectly the difference between Abolish the Police in 2020 and Abolish Ice in 2026.
www.ettingermentum.news/p/this-isnt-...
www.ettingermentum.news/p/this-isnt-...
Reposted by Michael Pollak
NEW: This is the most painful article I’ve ever written. I reveal for the first time how my daughter died, how the city of Washington, DC, and the US government failed her, and how and why I was arrested last June for an incident related to her death. timshorrock.substack.com/p/my-daughte...
January 15, 2026 at 5:46 PM
NEW: This is the most painful article I’ve ever written. I reveal for the first time how my daughter died, how the city of Washington, DC, and the US government failed her, and how and why I was arrested last June for an incident related to her death. timshorrock.substack.com/p/my-daughte...
January 16, 2026 at 3:44 AM