Michael Fletcher
@mefletcher54.bsky.social
Retired Intelligence Analyst. Cold War era US Army Vet. Fairly familiar with System Dynamics and History. Personal eccentricities: Scadian KSCA, USCF NM&LM. Details and periodic commentary at http://mefletcher.blogspot.com/
Reposted by Michael Fletcher
When the billionaires have most of the money, they'll face a political challenge from the impoverished masses; hence the giant prisons.
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 6:41 PM
When the billionaires have most of the money, they'll face a political challenge from the impoverished masses; hence the giant prisons.
Reposted by Michael Fletcher
Reminder that Francesca Albanese is not being targeted for a sentence twisted and lifted out of context in a speech.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
It was my great honour to interview the one and only Francesca Albanese yesterday. Watch here, and find out why Trump and Rubio are so determined to stop her vital work:
zeteo.com/p/israels-te...
zeteo.com/p/israels-te...
Israel's Tech Boom & the Economy of Genocide
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur, joins Naomi to discuss calls for her removal and her latest report documenting the 'corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project.’
zeteo.com
February 15, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Reminder that Francesca Albanese is not being targeted for a sentence twisted and lifted out of context in a speech.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
She is being targeted for daring to name the names of giant companies complicit in the crime of genocide.
They would rather destroy international law than be accountable to it.
Acrimony is a common problem when nations or even US states negotiate water use. At least the US states won't start shooting to resolve such disputes.
This problem will grow, and conflict could result as the bite of the Climate Disaster deepens in the coming years.
This problem will grow, and conflict could result as the bite of the Climate Disaster deepens in the coming years.
The leaders of seven states failed to negotiate a deal to share the diminishing waters of the Colorado River by a Trump administration deadline, leaving the Southwest in a quagmire while the river’s depleted reservoirs continue to decline. www.latimes.com/environment/... @latimes.com
As a Colorado River deadline passes, reservoirs keep declining
Seven states have missed a federal deadline to reach a water deal on the Colorado River. They remain divided on how to cut water use.
www.latimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Acrimony is a common problem when nations or even US states negotiate water use. At least the US states won't start shooting to resolve such disputes.
This problem will grow, and conflict could result as the bite of the Climate Disaster deepens in the coming years.
This problem will grow, and conflict could result as the bite of the Climate Disaster deepens in the coming years.
DOJ is now largely dysfunctional as thousand of lawyers have either left in professional disgust or were fired. The MAGA shell remaining is barely stumbling along from blunder to blunder and not really functioning. /1
Pam Bondi is leaving her Democratic successor a mess
www.salon.com
Next Dem attorney general faces a mess
twp.ai
February 15, 2026 at 2:27 PM
DOJ is now largely dysfunctional as thousand of lawyers have either left in professional disgust or were fired. The MAGA shell remaining is barely stumbling along from blunder to blunder and not really functioning. /1
Past behavior indicates the Russians have a predilection for exotic poisons. I guess the Russian Intelligence and Security services now consider the old NKVD bullet to the back of the head crude and passe. Poisons, radioactive and otherwise, and windows in tall buildings seems preferred these days.
Several methods of synthesizing the toxin have been published
February 15, 2026 at 10:35 AM
Past behavior indicates the Russians have a predilection for exotic poisons. I guess the Russian Intelligence and Security services now consider the old NKVD bullet to the back of the head crude and passe. Poisons, radioactive and otherwise, and windows in tall buildings seems preferred these days.
Changing Party affiliation to keep some MAGA wingnut off the GOP ticket appears to be a thing these days.
Or we could call it Democrats and unaffiliated voters being neighborly, and helping Republicans avoid making stupid decisions. 😎 /1
www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/02/14/m...
Or we could call it Democrats and unaffiliated voters being neighborly, and helping Republicans avoid making stupid decisions. 😎 /1
www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/02/14/m...
Motivated primarily by sheriff’s race, some Dare Democrats change registration
By Maggie Miles | Outer Banks Voice Two days before the Feb. 6 registration deadline, Natalie Jewett-Dutt went online and changed her party affiliation from Democrat to unaffiliated.
www.outerbanksvoice.com
February 15, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Changing Party affiliation to keep some MAGA wingnut off the GOP ticket appears to be a thing these days.
Or we could call it Democrats and unaffiliated voters being neighborly, and helping Republicans avoid making stupid decisions. 😎 /1
www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/02/14/m...
Or we could call it Democrats and unaffiliated voters being neighborly, and helping Republicans avoid making stupid decisions. 😎 /1
www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/02/14/m...
Disingenuous feigned ignorance* on the part of Jeffries, or just a lack of basic thinking skills?
You decide.
I wonder as to the political comorbidities the Democratic Party has to have to elect this man as their leader. /1
You decide.
I wonder as to the political comorbidities the Democratic Party has to have to elect this man as their leader. /1
I think @wajali.bsky.social was clear. He acknowledges the current fight, but asks @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social to lead on the long term goal of abolishing ICE. I don’t understand the leader’s reticence on that very simple, and frankly moderate position.
A simple ? from Wajahat Ali pushes Hakeem Jeffries into a crashout:
"Why not lead and abolish ICE? What you're telling us is you want our taxpayer dollars to pay for a lawless masked armed agency to continue terrorizing our cities."
Jeffries: "I don't understand anything you just said to me."
"Why not lead and abolish ICE? What you're telling us is you want our taxpayer dollars to pay for a lawless masked armed agency to continue terrorizing our cities."
Jeffries: "I don't understand anything you just said to me."
February 15, 2026 at 9:05 AM
Disingenuous feigned ignorance* on the part of Jeffries, or just a lack of basic thinking skills?
You decide.
I wonder as to the political comorbidities the Democratic Party has to have to elect this man as their leader. /1
You decide.
I wonder as to the political comorbidities the Democratic Party has to have to elect this man as their leader. /1
I often wonder about all the side effects of people's poor grasp of basic geography.
There is a principle in Critical Thinking that states it requires a command of a certain depth of knowledge. Knowledge is the drive-train that allows the engine of Critical Thinking to move our thinking forward. /1
There is a principle in Critical Thinking that states it requires a command of a certain depth of knowledge. Knowledge is the drive-train that allows the engine of Critical Thinking to move our thinking forward. /1
Apparently, the FBI agents investigating the Epstein case had to look up where Wisconsin is.
February 15, 2026 at 8:46 AM
I often wonder about all the side effects of people's poor grasp of basic geography.
There is a principle in Critical Thinking that states it requires a command of a certain depth of knowledge. Knowledge is the drive-train that allows the engine of Critical Thinking to move our thinking forward. /1
There is a principle in Critical Thinking that states it requires a command of a certain depth of knowledge. Knowledge is the drive-train that allows the engine of Critical Thinking to move our thinking forward. /1
Yet not one Trump official has been held to be in contempt of Court.
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
The decisions amount to a huge legal rebuke, but the administration has continued jailing people indefinitely.
www.reuters.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Yet not one Trump official has been held to be in contempt of Court.
Reposted by Michael Fletcher
Getting this???
Pushing for federal IDs, and then shutting down methods for getting it.
This is about control and about manipulating our elections.
Full Stop.
Resist fascism.
Pushing for federal IDs, and then shutting down methods for getting it.
This is about control and about manipulating our elections.
Full Stop.
Resist fascism.
February 14, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Getting this???
Pushing for federal IDs, and then shutting down methods for getting it.
This is about control and about manipulating our elections.
Full Stop.
Resist fascism.
Pushing for federal IDs, and then shutting down methods for getting it.
This is about control and about manipulating our elections.
Full Stop.
Resist fascism.
Protest songs. The most American an American can be. 😎
Let's all sing along.
Together, now. Turn it up 🎵
February 14, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Protest songs. The most American an American can be. 😎
Americans were so mad when troops occupied their cities and forced their way into their homes that the put the Third Amendment into the Constitution.
In 1854, after watching the federal government deploy 2000 federal troops and spend $40,000 sending Anthony Burns back into slavery, Boston's Amos Adams Lawrence said “we went to bed one night old-fashioned, conservative, Compromise Union Whigs and waked up stark mad Abolitionists.”
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Americans were so mad when troops occupied their cities and forced their way into their homes that the put the Third Amendment into the Constitution.
Reposted by Michael Fletcher
There’s something so powerful about seeing a man moved to tears:
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 3:19 PM
There’s something so powerful about seeing a man moved to tears:
It's not just the NYT that strives to sane-wash Trump.
Rubio speech at MSC—in short: US sees global trade, diplomacy, migration, immigration, global institutions and global affairs in general as a “foolish post-WWII mistake” and invites Europe “so save itself by each protecting sovereignty, closed borders, and Christianity” alike Trump’s America.
February 14, 2026 at 10:12 AM
It's not just the NYT that strives to sane-wash Trump.
Mad King Donald's Royal Decree.
Brief reminder: the Constitution gives the President no authority to control elections. None. Zero. Nada.
Warning: Trump is going to interfere in the midterms bigly because he and the GOP are fearful of Democrats getting control of even one Chamber of Congress./1
Brief reminder: the Constitution gives the President no authority to control elections. None. Zero. Nada.
Warning: Trump is going to interfere in the midterms bigly because he and the GOP are fearful of Democrats getting control of even one Chamber of Congress./1
February 14, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Mad King Donald's Royal Decree.
Brief reminder: the Constitution gives the President no authority to control elections. None. Zero. Nada.
Warning: Trump is going to interfere in the midterms bigly because he and the GOP are fearful of Democrats getting control of even one Chamber of Congress./1
Brief reminder: the Constitution gives the President no authority to control elections. None. Zero. Nada.
Warning: Trump is going to interfere in the midterms bigly because he and the GOP are fearful of Democrats getting control of even one Chamber of Congress./1
Great news. At least one High Court can get it right.
This British law wasn't about stopping terror. It was just a crude attempt to stifle protests against genocide as such could embarrass a government which has done little to challenge the actions of the government perpetrating that genocide.
This British law wasn't about stopping terror. It was just a crude attempt to stifle protests against genocide as such could embarrass a government which has done little to challenge the actions of the government perpetrating that genocide.
Humiliation for UK government as High Court rules Palestine Action terror ban was unlawful
Palestine Action latest: Home Office terror ban was unlawful, High Court rules
Lawyers for Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori have argued the ban is unlawful and should be quashed
www.independent.co.uk
February 13, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Great news. At least one High Court can get it right.
This British law wasn't about stopping terror. It was just a crude attempt to stifle protests against genocide as such could embarrass a government which has done little to challenge the actions of the government perpetrating that genocide.
This British law wasn't about stopping terror. It was just a crude attempt to stifle protests against genocide as such could embarrass a government which has done little to challenge the actions of the government perpetrating that genocide.
Europe needs to become a powerhouse protecting democratic ideals and good governance, because, let's face it, its a dirty job but someone has to do it. They have no choice but to assume the USA is a lost cause. Dreaming of restoring the good old days creates potentially fatal delays.
/1
/1
If Putin, Trump, and Xi all agree that the EU should be destroyed, the answer is obvious.
We need more EU, not less.
Their opposition is the best endorsement we could ask for.
A united Europe is their nightmare and our salvation
We need more EU, not less.
Their opposition is the best endorsement we could ask for.
A united Europe is their nightmare and our salvation
February 13, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Europe needs to become a powerhouse protecting democratic ideals and good governance, because, let's face it, its a dirty job but someone has to do it. They have no choice but to assume the USA is a lost cause. Dreaming of restoring the good old days creates potentially fatal delays.
/1
/1
A while ago, I conjectured that the Trump Regime would ultimately kill and harm more people with their reckless drill-baby-drill environmental policies that ignore climate change than anything his proto-dictatorship has and will otherwise. /1
February 13, 2026 at 8:50 AM
A while ago, I conjectured that the Trump Regime would ultimately kill and harm more people with their reckless drill-baby-drill environmental policies that ignore climate change than anything his proto-dictatorship has and will otherwise. /1
More details on the airspace shutdown. This whole incident reminds me the end of a Frederic Brown short story. It ends with, "Only a madman would give a revolver to an idiot."
That tracks perfectly, given that we have both madmen and idiots in the Trump Regime.
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/e...
That tracks perfectly, given that we have both madmen and idiots in the Trump Regime.
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/e...
Laser weapon that shut down El Paso's skies was LOCUST system
What we know about the bizarre events leading up to the airspace closure.
www.axios.com
February 13, 2026 at 8:18 AM
More details on the airspace shutdown. This whole incident reminds me the end of a Frederic Brown short story. It ends with, "Only a madman would give a revolver to an idiot."
That tracks perfectly, given that we have both madmen and idiots in the Trump Regime.
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/e...
That tracks perfectly, given that we have both madmen and idiots in the Trump Regime.
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/e...
A remote island would be too kind for people who bet on which 5-year-old gets blown to bits next.
I recommend something like the Phantom Zone. I'm sure General Zod would welcome a few more like-minded people while they pass time in the Void.
I recommend something like the Phantom Zone. I'm sure General Zod would welcome a few more like-minded people while they pass time in the Void.
Really wondering when people in general are going to wake up to how thoroughly diseased this entire practice is
Just utterly wretched and corrosive in every possible way, the people behind it are moral voids and should be banished to a remote island
Just utterly wretched and corrosive in every possible way, the people behind it are moral voids and should be banished to a remote island
Polymarket should be burned to the ground for even offering shit like this
February 12, 2026 at 4:57 PM
A remote island would be too kind for people who bet on which 5-year-old gets blown to bits next.
I recommend something like the Phantom Zone. I'm sure General Zod would welcome a few more like-minded people while they pass time in the Void.
I recommend something like the Phantom Zone. I'm sure General Zod would welcome a few more like-minded people while they pass time in the Void.
Reposted by Michael Fletcher
Ellison: "It felt like we were being occupied by the federal govt, & I started returning to reading about the Boston Massacre. How did those Bostonians feel when a far away govt in England had imperial troops marching all over their city, harassing & abusing the citizenry. That's kind of how I felt"
February 12, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Ellison: "It felt like we were being occupied by the federal govt, & I started returning to reading about the Boston Massacre. How did those Bostonians feel when a far away govt in England had imperial troops marching all over their city, harassing & abusing the citizenry. That's kind of how I felt"
It's difficult to say for sure. Things will happen, and things will get worse, most likely far worse.
In preparing ourselves, we must lose any assumption that there is a limit to what the Trump Regime will do.
Don't be shocked. Be prepared. To resist.
In preparing ourselves, we must lose any assumption that there is a limit to what the Trump Regime will do.
Don't be shocked. Be prepared. To resist.
M., I’m reminded of our stunned, motionless silence watching the Jan. 6 rioters.
The way our brains attempt to reason: This isn’t really happening here. This can’t be happening here.
What else will we witness?
The way our brains attempt to reason: This isn’t really happening here. This can’t be happening here.
What else will we witness?
February 12, 2026 at 12:03 PM
It's difficult to say for sure. Things will happen, and things will get worse, most likely far worse.
In preparing ourselves, we must lose any assumption that there is a limit to what the Trump Regime will do.
Don't be shocked. Be prepared. To resist.
In preparing ourselves, we must lose any assumption that there is a limit to what the Trump Regime will do.
Don't be shocked. Be prepared. To resist.
Update on the air closure mystery:
It appears the massive militarization of law enforcement has now extended to giving them anti-aircraft weapons.
My hunch was wrong, but only in part. I feared that the USG was about to do something stupid along the border.
It appears the massive militarization of law enforcement has now extended to giving them anti-aircraft weapons.
My hunch was wrong, but only in part. I feared that the USG was about to do something stupid along the border.
oh so just dumb luck these idiots didn’t shoot down a passenger aircraft
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
February 12, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Update on the air closure mystery:
It appears the massive militarization of law enforcement has now extended to giving them anti-aircraft weapons.
My hunch was wrong, but only in part. I feared that the USG was about to do something stupid along the border.
It appears the massive militarization of law enforcement has now extended to giving them anti-aircraft weapons.
My hunch was wrong, but only in part. I feared that the USG was about to do something stupid along the border.
I've warned about this also. Trump is intent to use the terrorist label as an excuse to jail and even kill opponents.
If you think that last is a stretch, the families of the over 120 victims of extrajudicial killings on the high seas by the Trump Administration would like a word.
If you think that last is a stretch, the families of the over 120 victims of extrajudicial killings on the high seas by the Trump Administration would like a word.
Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
theintercept.com/2026/02/02/t...
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
theintercept.com/2026/02/02/t...
Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
theintercept.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:37 AM
I've warned about this also. Trump is intent to use the terrorist label as an excuse to jail and even kill opponents.
If you think that last is a stretch, the families of the over 120 victims of extrajudicial killings on the high seas by the Trump Administration would like a word.
If you think that last is a stretch, the families of the over 120 victims of extrajudicial killings on the high seas by the Trump Administration would like a word.