John Ma 🇺🇦
@nakhthor.bsky.social
3.2K followers 1.4K following 2K posts
Chinese-American anc historian, Columbia. Antiochos III & the Cities of W Asia Minor (1999), Statues & Cities (2013), Aršāma and his World (2020, co-ed), Polis: A New History (2024). Guggenheim Fellow.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
nakhthor.bsky.social
Might as well post this here— I *think* it's still vald
Discount code for J. Ma, POLIS, at press.princeton.edu
30% with code P325
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
rlspang.bsky.social
The title verse of “We Shall Overcome” and most of the others are in the future tense. One verse is in the present: “We are not afraid TODAY.”

That is the most important message for our current moment. If you can “afford” to be fearless, do it.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
armyinfsgtvet.bsky.social
I'm still hearing Dems making excuses for the millions of non-voters. Palestine is not a reason to hand over a country to a stated revenge president. You crushed our country by not voting. And don't give credit to Trump for a peace deal, you non-voters. You messed up big, mad men and women rule us.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
purplechrain.bsky.social
Trump doesn’t get to justify federalizing the National Guard and deploying them to Portland based on hypothetical evidence that isn’t public and was never presented to the court. Judges don’t get to say “it’s ok because the president might have extra secret evidence he didn’t show us.”
gabrielmalor.bsky.social
Judge Nelson says the determination is "not all driven by what we see on the streets," suggests that there is behind-the-scenes information that we don't have.

Chaffin: on this record, there was not evidence that sporadic violence was a rebellion to justify federalizing the NG.
nakhthor.bsky.social
I wonder if there has been a Wannsee style conference among the Trump Admin yet. Prob not bc it would have been on Signal and shared with some journo. But the antifa roundtable was like a clownshow foretaste
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
melissagiragrant.com
Incredibly alarming—after the whole ridiculous antifa roundtable at the White House, as Mark was moving with his family to Europe after threats…
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
melissagiragrant.com
"Jack Posobiec, a far-right influencer and conspiracy theorist... called Bray a 'domestic terrorist professor.' 'The day after the Posobiec tweet, I received a very direct death threat saying that someone was going to kill me in front of my students,' says Bray." Jack was at the White House on Wed.
He Wrote a Book About Antifa. Death Threats Are Driving Him Out of the US
Rutgers historian Mark Bray is trying to flee to Spain after after an online campaign from far-right influencers was followed by death threats. He was turned back at the airport on his first attempt.
www.wired.com
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
senategabe.bsky.social
What even is Michael Wolff?

He claims he was shown child pornography by a child rapist and he told the child rapist to do what exactly? Show more people? For the good of the country?
nakhthor.bsky.social
This
wildplumbay.bsky.social
We can support @marcelias.bsky.social @democracydocket.com He and his team seem to be fighting the hardest to save democracy. They need more funding for more lawyers.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
wildplumbay.bsky.social
We can support @marcelias.bsky.social @democracydocket.com He and his team seem to be fighting the hardest to save democracy. They need more funding for more lawyers.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
Third: civil society. People are really showing up, especially in L.A., Chicago, Portland. All those people standing up to ICE and standing up for the vulnerable and the rule of law.... (Super-sad that the Washington Post seems to be going to hell now, though.) #nokings
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
davidho.bsky.social
It seems there are two main reasons things haven’t gone completely to shit in the US: 1. Lawyers and the courts; 2. Journalists and the media. Most of us can’t do anything about the first, but we can support journalism. Stop complaining about paywalls and subscribe to news & donate to public media.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
gregdoucette.bsky.social
To give you an idea of how the monetary impact works out, a good rule of thumb is that $25 can fill a backpack with everything a student needs for the school year

So for every donation you make, the matchers are adding another backpack's worth on top
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Pro-Tip:

If you are emailing a prospective grad school adviser and have actually read their work, sure, feel free to mention that. But if you haven't, please don't try to fake it.

I know what my departmental page says about my books because I wrote the page. You shouldn't quote it back to me.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
gregsargent.bsky.social
Trump's nonstop threats to arrest Dems are also about sleepwalking us into forgetting that free societies don't allow for arbitrary arrests of political opponents.

As @kristyparker.bsky.social says, we need to keep reminding ourselves that this isn't how it works:

newrepublic.com/article/2015...
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
maxkennerly.bsky.social
Weird and amusing that the same people touting unwatchable Bari Weiss as the Authentic Voice Of The People are also claiming that Bad Bunny, the famous musician / actor / WWE wrestler, at the Super Bowl is imposing an unpopular ideology on the majority.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
espiers.bsky.social
I really don't think this is going to play out the way Republicans want it to. Most people on the right didn't know who Charlie Kirk was until he got shot. They don't care enough about him for the martyrdom act to go very far, even if their politicians push it: thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/08/k...
Charlie Kirk Championed Free Speech. The Texas GOP Is Using His Murder to Crush It.
Hours after announcing ‘undercover operations’ into leftist groups, Ken Paxton compared Charlie Kirk to Jesus at a Turning Point USA event.
thebarbedwire.com
nakhthor.bsky.social
Cf Night Owl (II) in Watchmen
nakhthor.bsky.social
“The girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa”
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Did DOGE save us $2 trillion?

“Not even close. .. Total spending excluding interest rose $220 billion, or 4%, for the entire fiscal year.” 🤡

@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/economy/tari...
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
volts.wtf
It really can't be said enough: the goal of the "anti-woke" movement was always to destroy social norms against bigotry. And it worked. And there's a whole lot of purportedly "left" thinkers & commentators who helped it -- indeed, it couldn't have been done without them.

They should feel bad.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
muzach.bsky.social
“the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa”
Sophie Scholl (1921-1943), member of the White Rose resistance movement.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
tiletony.bsky.social
They did an "Antifa Roundtable" today, and brought in the looniest of the MAGA influencers. Damn right there is gonna be a beer!😂