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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber
@patrickiber.bsky.social
7K followers 700 following 2.5K posts
Co-editor, Dissent Magazine. I teach history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Write books about Cold War culture and propaganda. Have written for the set of all publications that are not members of themselves
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 18h
It’s probably random and silly that it’s frogs but I like it because of frogs’ role an as indicator species and because it suggests the boiling frogs metaphor
segfaultvicta.aludel.xyz
J. C. Cantwell 🌻 @segfaultvicta.aludel.xyz · 1d
frog semiotics redemption arc 2025
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 1d
Always some of the most fun of the year: TNR’s Nobel coverage
dceiver.bsky.social
Jason Linkins @dceiver.bsky.social · 1d
LFG!!!!

newrepublic.com/article/2015...
The Nobel Prize in Literature Is Boring Now
László Krasznahorkai, who was awarded the Prize on Thursday, is a brilliant novelist and consummate laureate. But has the Swedish Academy lost its sense of fun?
newrepublic.com
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Reposted by Patrick Iber
hntdove.bsky.social
Harry Turtledove @hntdove.bsky.social · 5d
Hell of a thing to put next to a statue of Joan of Arc. (h/t David Pilling)
Fire extinguisher next to a statue of Joan of Arc
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 5d
When AI-generated fake news popped up I think most of us were worried about its use to fool others, but it turns out we should have been most worried about the right using it to fool itself
josie.zone
🏳️‍⚧️ Josephine Riesman (Horrifying) @josie.zone · 5d
Kind of hilarious how we didn't even need a real Reichstag Fire because the fascists are so cocooned in fake news and A.I.-generated video that they falsely assume there are 800 Reichstag Fires happening at once
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 5d
You could scan it quickly and get the point, I don't think there's much to be gained beyond that
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 5d
1) I think the basic argument is compelling enough; 2) I've used it with undergrads and there's a lot there that they need to struggle with to grasp; 3) more advanced readers will have quibbles, Tim Barker had some fair ones, intemperately presented; 4) for you, "meh" seems about right
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 5d
My review of Osita Nwanevu's The Right of the People is here; 1) we have a short window to improve American democracy; 2) a Second Reconstruction is a good way to imagine it; 3) we need to learn from Chile's (unsuccessful) recent attempt and build wide support newrepublic.com/article/2011...
Can America Become a Democracy?
What it would take for the United States to live up to the promise of its founding
newrepublic.com
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
I started during the pandemic so I always know how long it has been. Doing chess now and really enjoying it, I think it’s actually better than their language instruction
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
Is this good or bad
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
Yes it is!
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
Totally. I ran cross country in high school and was never better than 18 minutes where varsity was 15:30-16. But 30 years later I’m still running and just trying to do my best!
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
My main sport is ultimate so I'm not always training for distance, but I did a charity 5k about a week ago in 22:30 and was well pleased. (I'm 44.) 19 minutes would be really impressive.
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
good job keep at it
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
jack-sneakered thugs
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 7d
As part of our section on Authoritarianism and Resistance in the most recent @dissentmag.bsky.social, Julia Gavarette writes about El Salvador's criminalization of dissent and the people facing a choice of prison or exile--and those with no choice at all www.dissentmagazine.org/article/a-pe...
A Permanent State of Exception in El Salvador - Dissent Magazine
In cooperation with gangs and with massive popular support, Nayib Bukele is cracking down on dissidents and expanding the state’s carceral apparatus.
www.dissentmagazine.org
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
Got real fashy at the end though
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
Dissent hosted a conversation by ex-conservatives who moved to the left in 2020, in case you're curious www.dissentmagazine.org/article/why-...
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
Dissent did a series on this in 2020 FWIW, doesn't mean it's not worth doing again www.dissentmagazine.org/article/why-...
Why We Left the Right - Dissent Magazine
A group of ex-conservatives explores how they were drawn to the left, and where they think we’re headed now.
www.dissentmagazine.org
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
Uruguay's voters decided to it was best to give its military a general amnesty after the return of democracy to keep the military in the barracks; different South American countries have handled these questions differently and no matter what choice you make it's very delicate
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
The institutional memories are different, but I know what you mean
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
Lucky for me they seem to be committed to doing that anyway so I guess I don't have to worry about it too much la la la
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
I hate that reading the news makes me have to think about questions of transitional justice: like, if we commit to persecuting regime officials who commit crimes, are they more likely to hang on to power undemocratically in order to avoid prison
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
The whole federal government is in violation of the Hatch Act right now, but it doesn't matter because no one will enforce it; just another example of why we are no longer under the "rule of law"
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 8d
These are all horrible, but this is just disgusting.
justice.gov Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated. Please refer to the Department of Justice's contingency plan for more information. An official website of the United States government Here's how you know U.S. Department of JUSTICE
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
Yes, I found it quite surprising that that is the way it looked from 1987!
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 8d
Oof: "Pinochet does not ask the owners of the newspaper [El Mercurio] what they have done with the hundred million dollars, and El Mercurio does not ask Pinochet what he has done with the people--more than seven hundred of them--who have disappeared in Chile after being arrested by the military."
The regime has perfected the tech- nique of identifying themes likely to capture the popular imagination, and of using messages and images to dis- tract the public. Of course, there is nothing new about Pinochet's al- lowing El Mercurio to run up a debt to the government of roughly a hundred million dollars, and thus being able to count on its unconditional support. Pi- nochet does not ask the owners of the newspaper, the Edwards family, what they have done with the hundred mil- lion dollars, and El Mercurio does not ask Pinochet what he has done with the people more than seven hundred of them--who have disappeared in Chile after being arrested by the mili.
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