Rik Scarce
@rikscarce.bsky.social
I'm a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park and retired sociology professor who's eager to build a better world. ("Scarce" like money: does not rhyme with "farce," although sometimes....) This is my personal account.
It is sickening how long we've fought the ignorance that is at the heart of anti-immigrant racism. The 1850s Know-Nothings at least had the decency to admit it (the name actually comes from their shame at being racists--they claimed not to know about what they secretly embraced). Elon? "I love it!"
I'll take Frederick Douglass over Elon Musk
From Frederick Douglass's 1867 "Composite Nation" speech, a defense of Chinese migration to the United States at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment was intensifying.
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
February 16, 2026 at 3:28 AM
It is sickening how long we've fought the ignorance that is at the heart of anti-immigrant racism. The 1850s Know-Nothings at least had the decency to admit it (the name actually comes from their shame at being racists--they claimed not to know about what they secretly embraced). Elon? "I love it!"
So true: the ideals in the Declaration of Independence, in particular, have made hearts soar and have helped millions find courage to fight for what's right: Lincoln's "new birth of freedom," self-emancipated people, the Suffragists, the Civil Rights movement, gay and trans people, immigrants....
Reading American history will break your heart a thousand times but it will also fill you with such admiration and awe for all the people who were excluded from the protection of America’s founding principles and fought to promote, protect and expand them anyways
February 16, 2026 at 3:17 AM
So true: the ideals in the Declaration of Independence, in particular, have made hearts soar and have helped millions find courage to fight for what's right: Lincoln's "new birth of freedom," self-emancipated people, the Suffragists, the Civil Rights movement, gay and trans people, immigrants....
Reposted by Rik Scarce
Congratulations, Elon Musk! The #1 cause of US job loss in 2025!
#bankrupttesla #teslatakedown #cancelstarlink #boycottspacex #ElonMusk #doge #swastikars #USpol
#bankrupttesla #teslatakedown #cancelstarlink #boycottspacex #ElonMusk #doge #swastikars #USpol
February 15, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Congratulations, Elon Musk! The #1 cause of US job loss in 2025!
#bankrupttesla #teslatakedown #cancelstarlink #boycottspacex #ElonMusk #doge #swastikars #USpol
#bankrupttesla #teslatakedown #cancelstarlink #boycottspacex #ElonMusk #doge #swastikars #USpol
We've treated our "food system" (hate the phrase, but anyway...) like an afterthought for how long? "Family farms" hardly exist any more. Most actual family farmers earn most of their income at some other job. We gripe about high food prices while little goes to those folks and most to corporations.
fwiw this is the consequence of Big Ag facing zero consequences or trustbusting after decades of complete market control + the unquestioned ability to undercut small farms through exploitative arrangements
"Those left are aging; there are more farmers 75 and older than under the age of 35, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They are facing tough choices and tougher prospects." www.wsj.com/business/fam...
February 16, 2026 at 2:58 AM
We've treated our "food system" (hate the phrase, but anyway...) like an afterthought for how long? "Family farms" hardly exist any more. Most actual family farmers earn most of their income at some other job. We gripe about high food prices while little goes to those folks and most to corporations.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
As federal immigration agents surge into communities and detain people, the number of habeas petitions — claims challenging those detentions — has increased.
We are tracking the historic rise in these cases, which are overwhelming the court system ⤵️
We are tracking the historic rise in these cases, which are overwhelming the court system ⤵️
Tracking the Historic Rise of Habeas Cases Filed by Detained Immigrants
ProPublica is tracking the historic rise in challenges filed by immigrants claiming their detention is illegal.
projects.propublica.org
February 16, 2026 at 12:00 AM
As federal immigration agents surge into communities and detain people, the number of habeas petitions — claims challenging those detentions — has increased.
We are tracking the historic rise in these cases, which are overwhelming the court system ⤵️
We are tracking the historic rise in these cases, which are overwhelming the court system ⤵️
Reposted by Rik Scarce
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 5:30 PM
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.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
North Carolina lawmakers have voted to remove all college campus voting sites. Specifically at the largest HBCU in the US NC A&T. They now have to walk 30 minutes to their nearest polling place. Students are protesting this - pls share and support.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
Even without an on-campus voting site, NCAT students still marched to the polls. 💙💛 Students at North Carolina A&T showed that barriers won’t stop their voices. When access isn’t easy, they organize. ...
TikTok video by HBCU Student Action Alliance
www.tiktok.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:55 PM
North Carolina lawmakers have voted to remove all college campus voting sites. Specifically at the largest HBCU in the US NC A&T. They now have to walk 30 minutes to their nearest polling place. Students are protesting this - pls share and support.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZThx29BJ9/
When a government ignores court orders, the rule of law no longer exists. No rule of law, no democracy. t––'s illegal, racist immigration policies are attacks not only on freedom but on democracy itself. A fair, sane Congress would have impeached him long, long ago. Instead, the crimes multiply.
“In a secret deportation arrangement, the Trump administration flew nine people, nearly all of whom had been granted U.S. court protections from being sent back to their home countries, to the African nation of Cameroon in January…
The United States has not made any public deal with Cameroon.”
The United States has not made any public deal with Cameroon.”
U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 2:07 PM
When a government ignores court orders, the rule of law no longer exists. No rule of law, no democracy. t––'s illegal, racist immigration policies are attacks not only on freedom but on democracy itself. A fair, sane Congress would have impeached him long, long ago. Instead, the crimes multiply.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
Sort of gives away the lie that they're arresting hardened criminals who are drags on society when they're setting up traps to lure in Good Samaritans
CCTV footage appears to show DHS agents posing as people having car trouble in order to lure a target out of his house before arresting them. The target comes out and starts helping them before 3 vehicles surround the scene. The car "experiencing" trouble then drives off with them.
February 15, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Sort of gives away the lie that they're arresting hardened criminals who are drags on society when they're setting up traps to lure in Good Samaritans
Reposted by Rik Scarce
The underlying principle of the Trump presidency is that rules are merely instruments of power with no inherent legitimacy. If Clinton or Obama had done this the GOP would have howled for impeachment, and they'd have been right.
February 14, 2026 at 7:42 PM
The underlying principle of the Trump presidency is that rules are merely instruments of power with no inherent legitimacy. If Clinton or Obama had done this the GOP would have howled for impeachment, and they'd have been right.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
And Liberal Arts majors are actually very hirable and do great in the labor market.
Why? Because we teach students how to think, not to just do tasks.
Why? Because we teach students how to think, not to just do tasks.
Again, most people do not work in the fields they studied between 18 and 22.
This is a *good* thing.
This is a *good* thing.
Isn't it just a matter of practicality? There aren't that many jobs/careers in liberals arts, not to mention well-paying jobs, famously.
February 13, 2026 at 8:47 PM
And Liberal Arts majors are actually very hirable and do great in the labor market.
Why? Because we teach students how to think, not to just do tasks.
Why? Because we teach students how to think, not to just do tasks.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
NEW: Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
February 14, 2026 at 12:14 PM
NEW: Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Reposted by Rik Scarce
The $38.3 billion they are going to spend for interment camps could fund the annual budget of NASA, the EPA, and all clean energy R&D at the Department of Energy—combined.
Breaking news: ICE expects to spend $38.3 billion on its plan to acquire warehouses across the U.S. and retrofit them into immigrant detention centers that can hold tens of thousands of people, according to agency documents.
ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion turning warehouses into detention centers
ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion converting warehouses into detention centers, according to planning documents, more than the annual budgets of 22 states.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:14 AM
The $38.3 billion they are going to spend for interment camps could fund the annual budget of NASA, the EPA, and all clean energy R&D at the Department of Energy—combined.
Every one of these subpoenas is un-Constitutional and has a chilling effect on free speech.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:58 AM
Every one of these subpoenas is un-Constitutional and has a chilling effect on free speech.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Reposted by Rik Scarce
It’s wrong at any cost, but for comparison they are spending as much on this as the government spends on the entire Federal Energy Management Program, which helps the govt save energy and money in buildings & fleets. We could’ve doubled that program but instead we’re paying for intimidation flights.
The Trump administration spent more than $40 million last year to send hundreds of migrants to at least two-dozen countries they weren’t from, a tactic Senate Democrats described as a costly strategy aimed at sowing fear and intimidation. https://wapo.st/4rhbvDJ
February 14, 2026 at 1:10 AM
It’s wrong at any cost, but for comparison they are spending as much on this as the government spends on the entire Federal Energy Management Program, which helps the govt save energy and money in buildings & fleets. We could’ve doubled that program but instead we’re paying for intimidation flights.
t–– has lost 89 percent of the time on ICE detention cases. The courts are a bulwark against his Naziism.
NEW: We’re publishing a full list of the 373 federal judges who have ruled against ICE’s mass detention policy and the 28 who have endorsed it — as well as links to key rulings by each.
Trump appointees have split 44 against/ 20 for the policy.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Trump appointees have split 44 against/ 20 for the policy.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 14, 2026 at 2:33 AM
t–– has lost 89 percent of the time on ICE detention cases. The courts are a bulwark against his Naziism.
How dare the free world, and especially the U.S.A., not do all it can to save a nation made of people such as this man! Give them what they need to end this war and defeat Putin's hegemonic autocracy.
💬 Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych on the disqualification over the memorial helmet: "I have no regrets... There are things more important than medals."
February 14, 2026 at 2:30 AM
How dare the free world, and especially the U.S.A., not do all it can to save a nation made of people such as this man! Give them what they need to end this war and defeat Putin's hegemonic autocracy.
For those of us who keep wondering what the next step will be in t––'s murderous authoritarianism, here we are:
INBOX: Rep. Thomas Massie, who has enraged Trump for his insistence on blocking tariffs and releasing the Epstein files according to the law, just issued what is widely known among Chinese dissidents as "a declaration of no suicidal intent" (不自殺聲明), a sign of extreme distress.
February 14, 2026 at 2:25 AM
For those of us who keep wondering what the next step will be in t––'s murderous authoritarianism, here we are:
First time for everything: I just "liked" something Manchester United fans did. Humanity over football! Thank you for standing up for the oppressed.
The other day Manchester United’s co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said the UK had been "colonised by immigrants"….today there’s this billboard outside of Old Trafford 🔥….way to go Manchester 💪!
February 13, 2026 at 11:02 PM
First time for everything: I just "liked" something Manchester United fans did. Humanity over football! Thank you for standing up for the oppressed.
No news here except that the t–– administration is now going to do some lying-squirming on its central economic platform. And then the Supreme Court will give it an out when it finally rules and the devastation will continue. Which is awful for consumers and good for Democrats in November.
"A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York confirms what economists have long warned about: The burden of tariffs is borne almost entirely by the people living in the country that imposes them," writes Allison Morrow. | Analysis
A year in, it’s official: Americans, not foreigners, are paying for Trump’s tariffs | CNN Business
A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York confirms what economists have long warned about: The burden of tariffs is borne almost entirely by the people living in the country that imposes ...
www.cnn.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:49 PM
No news here except that the t–– administration is now going to do some lying-squirming on its central economic platform. And then the Supreme Court will give it an out when it finally rules and the devastation will continue. Which is awful for consumers and good for Democrats in November.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
30 countries use mail voting
February 12, 2026 at 9:21 PM
30 countries use mail voting
And now for something completely different:
The drama surrounding the Olympic medalist who cheated on his girlfriend is exactly why we need to keep men out of men's sports
February 13, 2026 at 3:48 AM
And now for something completely different:
t–– embraces racism. Nominees like this hateful individual can't fathom that their race purity never existed. Germans, Italians? They weren't "anglo." They were despised by the Know Nothings. "White food?" White me was raised on black-eyed peas, collards, & cornbread. There MUST be an other to hate.
Trump nominated a legit white nationalist to a top post at the State Department. I asked him some basic questions about his belief in the “erasure of white culture”. Watch this embarrassing, fumbling answer. Like he has never before been asked to explain his views.
February 13, 2026 at 3:39 AM
t–– embraces racism. Nominees like this hateful individual can't fathom that their race purity never existed. Germans, Italians? They weren't "anglo." They were despised by the Know Nothings. "White food?" White me was raised on black-eyed peas, collards, & cornbread. There MUST be an other to hate.
Ring wasted millions of dollars and untold credibility on Super Bowl Sunday, thanks to the backlash led by regular folks. We don't want our law-abiding neighbors rounded up like dogs, thank you.
Well holy fucking shit. Ring cancelled their partnership with Flock. Keep pressure on them to stop volunteering their feeds to state, local, and federal agencies, though, because that part's still going.
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
February 13, 2026 at 3:15 AM
Ring wasted millions of dollars and untold credibility on Super Bowl Sunday, thanks to the backlash led by regular folks. We don't want our law-abiding neighbors rounded up like dogs, thank you.