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sascha benjamin cohen

@saschaben.bsky.social

630 followers 930 following 5.4K posts

"'In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me." - Elwood P. Dowd Baker of Bread. Brewer of Beer. Altogether awkward but not entirely unpleasant person.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · Oct 21

Poetry, you say? Odd short fiction, you say? Snarky humor, you say? Serious work on religious and biblical narrative, you say?

Why yes, I've written some stuff like that...

www.amazon.com/stores/Sasch...

Sascha Benjamin Cohen: books, biography, latest update

Follow Sascha Benjamin Cohen and explore their bibliography from Amazon.com's Sascha Benjamin Cohen Author Page.

www.amazon.com

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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 2h

Outrageous -- and apparently in blatant violation of yesterday's ruling protecting protesters and journalists from this kind of shit. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/10/w...

WGN-TV producer detained during ICE enforcement action in Lincoln Square

A WGN-TV video editor and producer was roughly detained by two Border Patrol agents on Friday morning during a highly visible rush hour enforcement action in Lincoln Square.

www.chicagotribune.com

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 3h

Perhaps he meant "recession package"

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h

Q: Rescission are something Dems have said is a reason for a lack of trust. What rescissions are you discussing?

JOHNSON: We have more than $37t in debt. We're doing everything we can to get us back to sound fiscal responsibility. What does that include? A rescission package is part of our process

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 3h

For a number of years, I had the pleasure of my commute being by ferry (SF - Alameda) and I remain fully convinced that this is The Best Way To Commute.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 4h

All jokes aside, I think we can draw a straight line between the battles against fascism in the 20th century and the massive rise of chaotic absurdist comedy - Marx Brothers, Looney Tunes, The Goon Show, TWTYTW, Monty Python - and accept that the opposition to evil is founded on humor.

Elle @elleisanisland.bsky.social · 19h

Founder of Antifa

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Dr. William Horne @wihorne.bsky.social · 5h

I’m teaching abt Red Summer today, when white vigilantes & National Guardsmen across the country harassed, detained, assaulted, & murdered Black Americans as part of a backlash against Black military service in WWI.

Red Summer of 1919

eji.org

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 5h

Wait til you learn about the Saudi farms across Arizona and environs that squander the available water in the West:

In drought-stricken Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi Arabia-owned farm's water use

In Arizona, worsening drought has brought renewed attention to a farm owned by a Saudi Arabian company and whether the state should be doing more to protect its groundwater resources.

www.pbs.org

Reposted by sascha benjamin cohen

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 5h

Breaking: MIT rejected President Trump’s "compact," which offers colleges funding advantages in exchange for far-reaching reforms. It is the first school to do so.

MIT Rejects Trump’s Sweeping ‘Compact’ Offering Colleges Funding Advantages

The school became the first university to reject the terms, saying they would undermine independence.

on.wsj.com

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 20h

30 years ago I was researching the semiotics of fire and of light in Islamic and early Christian religious narratives, but got distracted by life and a new century and all that.

Wondering if I want to return to it.

Reposted by sascha benjamin cohen

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 21h

antifa in portland just announced they will be hosting a counter halftime show to counter turning point's counter halftime show

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 21h

In all honesty, this headline for this article on this topic is pure, unadulterated gold.

You won’t believe what degrading practice the pope just condemned

Communication must be freed from clickbait and misguided thinking, head of Catholic church tells journalists

www.theguardian.com

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 21h

more details, none reassuring tbh

US to send troops to Israel to support and help monitor ceasefire deal, officials say

Officials say US to establish center in Israel to help flow of humanitarian aid and logistical and security aid

www.theguardian.com

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 21h

Hmm. While not entirely shocking, this is a new development to me, and frankly one with very poor historical parallels and reverberations.

"The United States is sending 200 troops to Israel to monitor the implementation of the cease-fire deal in Gaza, U.S. officials said Thursday."

Update from Tyler Pager

www.nytimes.com

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 1d

Could the Supreme Court still apply different rules to a Democratic president? Of course. You don't need to remind me of that. But a lightning-fast blitz that repurposes Trump's new powers for good stands the best chance of standing up in court. Democrats need to start thinking about this right now.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23h

God grant me the blessing of never being successful enough to become the enemy or target of a douchebag with power...

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23h

I would very much like to be able to counter this reasoning and show that people don't actually suck ass so badly, but sadly after a microsecond of introspection and consideration of current human behavior, I cannot.

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23h

This thread has now made me thirsty, jealous, and very much missing London. I don't know whether to thank you or curse.

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23h

I posited the same to my gf last night. It would be epic, if absurd

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 1d

I think we need to kickstart a field of study to meet the current moment of limited/franctured attention spans, post-literacy, and the death of nuance. Maybe 'ephemeral semioticism'?

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 1d

This is very, very good.
This is also very. very distressing.

William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 1d

Oops, here’s the link: open.substack.com/pub/musgrave...

A Post-Literate Society is a Too-Literal Society

Directness is a virtue and subtlety is lost

open.substack.com

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 1d

Kid in a placenta
I know, I know
it's serious

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 1d

aw shit did we go to camp together?

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, if everyone must defer to the president's lies, that is an unrestricted dictatorship.

If "that's just not true" has zero sway, then non-emergencies permit emergency powers, nonviolent actions permit war powers, and any behavior the president doesn't like is an act of war, permitting anything.

Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 1d

So the Administration is arguing there’s no actual threshold for dictatorial power besides the willingness to lie. You don’t have to demonstrate literally anything, just be willing to say it.

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 1d

You must defer to the president’s determination that there is an armed rebellion in Chicago, argues the govt’s lawyer.

That’s the Trump admin’s stance on everything. When the law doesn’t allow it, lie about the facts until it’s something that would be legal, then insist others live inside the lie.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 1d

I believe that the term of art for "doing the studies to make the proof" is "Cooking the Books"

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

Exclusive - California’s outgoing cybersecurity commander tells us the state is mismanaging its limited cybersecurity resources by letting unqualified officials set priorities. https://cal.news/4q1i1hH

📝 @khari.bsky.social

After getting fired, California's top cybersecurity official calls for change

The governor fired the top California cybersecurity official. He says the people who oversaw him were unqualified.

cal.news

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 1d

today's mood

Jonathan Slater @jonathanslater.bsky.social · 1d

Necessary viewing