Seth D. Michaels
@sethdmichaels.bsky.social
Bert of the Intellect, Ernie of the Will
DC based, comms at @ucs.org (all opinions mine), ambivalently Online, generally polite, still People Magazine's Seth D-est Man Alive. please don't argue in my notifications
DC based, comms at @ucs.org (all opinions mine), ambivalently Online, generally polite, still People Magazine's Seth D-est Man Alive. please don't argue in my notifications
Pinned
It’s bad that Trump thinks he got elected Boss of America and the whole government is just his staff, but it’s much worse that a majority of the Supreme Court and the leaders of both chambers of Congress agree
the same people who support this, of course, are cheering that Renee Good was executed for driving *near* (not at) an ICE officer
multiple states have passed post-BLM laws immunizing drivers from punishment if they drive into protests! www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/u...
G.O.P. Bills Target Protesters (and Absolve Motorists Who Hit Them) (Published 2021)
www.nytimes.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:56 PM
the same people who support this, of course, are cheering that Renee Good was executed for driving *near* (not at) an ICE officer
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
The right's been headed towards this stance for ~20 years
Being disagreed with was unbearable. Being canceled was the greatest calamity that could befall a white man or conservative. Feeling afraid justified lying in wait to murder people. Being rejected by women justified killing them
Being disagreed with was unbearable. Being canceled was the greatest calamity that could befall a white man or conservative. Feeling afraid justified lying in wait to murder people. Being rejected by women justified killing them
They really want people to believe being publicly shamed is justification for state sanctioned murder.
January 29, 2026 at 3:49 PM
The right's been headed towards this stance for ~20 years
Being disagreed with was unbearable. Being canceled was the greatest calamity that could befall a white man or conservative. Feeling afraid justified lying in wait to murder people. Being rejected by women justified killing them
Being disagreed with was unbearable. Being canceled was the greatest calamity that could befall a white man or conservative. Feeling afraid justified lying in wait to murder people. Being rejected by women justified killing them
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
I usually don't release discarded draft versions but this feels like it might be useful today
January 29, 2026 at 2:50 PM
I usually don't release discarded draft versions but this feels like it might be useful today
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
Bezos bought a fancy bakery & is like, why do I need all these pastry chefs when I could just sell packages of Hydrox at a steep markup
New: The Washington Post’s White House team, which is not considered at risk amid upcoming cuts at the paper, sent a letter to owner Jeff Bezos seeking to protect other sections of the paper including Metro, Arts, and Sports (letter was shared in WaPo union slack)
January 29, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Bezos bought a fancy bakery & is like, why do I need all these pastry chefs when I could just sell packages of Hydrox at a steep markup
Marty Supreme, The Mastermind, and Roofman are a sort of "this guy is clever and has a big plan but can't stay out of his own way" trilogy
January 29, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Marty Supreme, The Mastermind, and Roofman are a sort of "this guy is clever and has a big plan but can't stay out of his own way" trilogy
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
It's all so "she made me do it" blaming the victim, and this iteration closely echoes a previous admin. one. Rhetoric justifies bloodshed in this frame, and his rhetoric uses the passive tense/vagueness to avoid saying 'we will shed blood.'
Homan: "I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March -- if the rhetoric doesn't stop, there is gonna be bloodshed. And there has been. I wish I wasn't right. I don't want to see anybody die."
January 29, 2026 at 2:39 PM
It's all so "she made me do it" blaming the victim, and this iteration closely echoes a previous admin. one. Rhetoric justifies bloodshed in this frame, and his rhetoric uses the passive tense/vagueness to avoid saying 'we will shed blood.'
board game hot take: the "depot" mechanic in Ticket to Ride: Europe is a sufficient improvement over classic Ticket to Ride that it's practically a different game
I know I need to be the change and everything but we need more board game discourse on here. It could mostly be the same cast!
January 29, 2026 at 2:37 PM
board game hot take: the "depot" mechanic in Ticket to Ride: Europe is a sufficient improvement over classic Ticket to Ride that it's practically a different game
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
straight up, organizing that does this very thing is something that has been lacking in labor movement spaces for -generations- and we are far weaker and far less capable of mass mobilization because of it.
Something that sticks with me from this training: if you’re forming a group/organization, it’s important to spend time together outside of “the work”. Share meals together, grab coffee, etc.
You’re going to go through some shit together. This work is hard. Strong bonds help you navigate tough times
You’re going to go through some shit together. This work is hard. Strong bonds help you navigate tough times
This ICE Rapid Response seminar has 5000 people in it. People are activated.
January 29, 2026 at 2:26 PM
straight up, organizing that does this very thing is something that has been lacking in labor movement spaces for -generations- and we are far weaker and far less capable of mass mobilization because of it.
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
"in theater" what utter ghouls and war criminals, to turn a city into a war zone where there's a "theater." The Hague is too good for them.
Q: Can you be specific about how many ICE and CBP agents are currently operating in the state?
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
January 29, 2026 at 2:12 PM
"in theater" what utter ghouls and war criminals, to turn a city into a war zone where there's a "theater." The Hague is too good for them.
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
#1 question has to be: Why should the American people trust a person who accepted a $50,000 bribe about ANYTHING????
January 29, 2026 at 2:17 PM
#1 question has to be: Why should the American people trust a person who accepted a $50,000 bribe about ANYTHING????
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
This is sort of a throughline in cases of excessive force used by law enforcement. The civilian is supposed to perfectly adhere to some unwritten code of conduct; the armed professional supposedly trained for such situations is only human & must be given lattitude if they succumb to fear and rage.
The administration is insisting that its masked goons are so emotionally stunted that words can launch them into a murderous rage.
"Our professionals are just ordinary people so ordinary people better act professionally around them, or else."
"Our professionals are just ordinary people so ordinary people better act professionally around them, or else."
January 29, 2026 at 2:18 PM
This is sort of a throughline in cases of excessive force used by law enforcement. The civilian is supposed to perfectly adhere to some unwritten code of conduct; the armed professional supposedly trained for such situations is only human & must be given lattitude if they succumb to fear and rage.
gives the same feeling as it would to bite in to a burger and realize the patty is made of shredded newspaper
Amen. If I see one of those obvious AI illustrations on a piece I now reflexively recoil and often decide not to read it. Can't wholly explain my own reaction, but it's genuine.
I kind of miss the generic stock photos that people were using before everybody switched to diffusion model pap.
January 29, 2026 at 2:19 PM
gives the same feeling as it would to bite in to a burger and realize the patty is made of shredded newspaper
"NIH funding contributed to every one of the 210 new drugs approved by the FDA in 2010-2016...more than 90% of the $100 billion in relevant NIH funding was basic research related to the biological targets for drug actions."
The Trump administration seems to think all innovation should happen in the private sector and political appointees should decide what good science looks like. My latest for @ucs.org uses examples from drug development to show why those assumptions are so dangerous.
blog.ucs.org/liz-borkowsk...
blog.ucs.org/liz-borkowsk...
Science, Innovation, and the National Institutes of Health
Failing to support independent agency science imperils the uptake of innovative drugs.
blog.ucs.org
January 29, 2026 at 2:17 PM
"NIH funding contributed to every one of the 210 new drugs approved by the FDA in 2010-2016...more than 90% of the $100 billion in relevant NIH funding was basic research related to the biological targets for drug actions."
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
Note the passive voice here. They kept saying their agents would be endangered. But no protestor has taken a shot at an agent. They also told those agents that they would be supported no matter what they did, had absolute immunity. The Trump admin is responsible for the bloodshed that followed.
Homan: "I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March -- if the rhetoric doesn't stop, there is gonna be bloodshed. And there has been. I wish I wasn't right. I don't want to see anybody die."
January 29, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Note the passive voice here. They kept saying their agents would be endangered. But no protestor has taken a shot at an agent. They also told those agents that they would be supported no matter what they did, had absolute immunity. The Trump admin is responsible for the bloodshed that followed.
"utilities cut deals for data centers which increase everyone else’s bills...In addition to this are environmental costs of data centers and the huge health impact costs that come as a result of gas plant pollution." blog.ucs.org/maria-chavez...
January 29, 2026 at 2:09 PM
"utilities cut deals for data centers which increase everyone else’s bills...In addition to this are environmental costs of data centers and the huge health impact costs that come as a result of gas plant pollution." blog.ucs.org/maria-chavez...
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
Why is the scaredest and most innocent teen in the entire world flanked by not one but two HSI people too embarrassed to show their faces?
January 29, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Why is the scaredest and most innocent teen in the entire world flanked by not one but two HSI people too embarrassed to show their faces?
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
Administration processes sales and uses the $$$ as it likes without involving Congress was basically Iran-Contra, one of the largest presidential scandals of the 20th century.
Marco Rubio: "The oil proceeds are being deposited into an account that ultimately will become a US Treasury blocked account here in the US. We will say 'this is what this money can be spent on.' They will submit to us a budget request -- 'we want to use the money on these things.'"
January 28, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Administration processes sales and uses the $$$ as it likes without involving Congress was basically Iran-Contra, one of the largest presidential scandals of the 20th century.
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
Related, "polarization" as a problem is one of the most destructive ideas US political science has ever helped popularize.
This is why I have real fucking problem with blithe criticisms of "polarization" or "congressional dysfunction." We have a Republican member blaming his colleague for being attacked.
The problem isn't polarization or dysfunction. It's the Republican Party.
The problem isn't polarization or dysfunction. It's the Republican Party.
Rep. Randy Fine on Ilhan Omar getting attacked: "I blame Ilhan Omar for what happened"
January 28, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Related, "polarization" as a problem is one of the most destructive ideas US political science has ever helped popularize.
"There’s no rational way to make sense of violence and havoc the Trump administration is inflicting on the Twin Cities as normal immigration enforcement; it only makes sense as punishment upon the entire population for its political preferences."
ICE is violating the Constitution in Minnesota. I tried to count the many, many ways. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Five constitutional amendments Trump is ignoring in Minnesota
Let us count the ways your rights have been violated.
www.motherjones.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:08 PM
"There’s no rational way to make sense of violence and havoc the Trump administration is inflicting on the Twin Cities as normal immigration enforcement; it only makes sense as punishment upon the entire population for its political preferences."
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
This is just as much a public policy choice as occupying Minnesota is. It's also even less popular. There's a lot out there, but Dems should be making it clear that Trump is doing this.
South Carolina measles outbreak reaches 789 cases, surpassing Texas.
The ongoing outbreak is the largest since measles was eliminated in the country 26 years ago. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
The ongoing outbreak is the largest since measles was eliminated in the country 26 years ago. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
South Carolina measles outbreak reaches 789 cases, surpassing Texas
The ongoing outbreak is the largest since measles was eliminated in the country 26 years ago.
www.nbcnews.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:25 PM
This is just as much a public policy choice as occupying Minnesota is. It's also even less popular. There's a lot out there, but Dems should be making it clear that Trump is doing this.
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
if my name appeared among a list of enemies in a Bruce song, I would simply take a minute to wonder if I, somehow, were the baddies
January 28, 2026 at 5:28 PM
if my name appeared among a list of enemies in a Bruce song, I would simply take a minute to wonder if I, somehow, were the baddies
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
My operating assumption is that he tried to do a hasty coup in 2020 that failed, and so everything he does in his second term should be understood as laying the groundwork for a second coup to succeed.
January 28, 2026 at 4:59 PM
My operating assumption is that he tried to do a hasty coup in 2020 that failed, and so everything he does in his second term should be understood as laying the groundwork for a second coup to succeed.
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
it truly seems a bridge too far for the Both Sides media but I am begging them to report on the actual facts on the ground rather than just taking a congenital liar’s word that things have changed until the next public execution forces their hand again
Very little if anything seems to have changed on the ground. ICE is still out there terrorizing neighborhoods and trying to disappear neighbors. None of us on the ground are buying this bullshit. We will keep organizing and fighting.
The intense fallout from the killing of Alex Pretti has forced President Trump to publicly change course in Minneapolis.
Listen to our White House reporters discuss the changes on today's episode of "The Daily."
Listen to our White House reporters discuss the changes on today's episode of "The Daily."
January 28, 2026 at 4:33 PM
it truly seems a bridge too far for the Both Sides media but I am begging them to report on the actual facts on the ground rather than just taking a congenital liar’s word that things have changed until the next public execution forces their hand again
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
man imagine what a culture shock it's gonna be when the nostalgia for Obamacore finally kicks in and we realize that the whole aesthetic was just "not treating people like shit"
January 28, 2026 at 4:31 PM
man imagine what a culture shock it's gonna be when the nostalgia for Obamacore finally kicks in and we realize that the whole aesthetic was just "not treating people like shit"
"No policy can be so racist—no facts on the ground can be too damning—that the Court won’t buy a little spin...the justices are explicitly interested in letting far-right strongmen consolidate unchecked power in the executive branch."
Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, Greg Bovino…there are evil men in the story of what’s happening in Minnesota. But there’s also a legal system that’s made this possible. I wrote for @ballsandstrikes.org about how structural change is the only true path forward.
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
“The People of Minnesota Are Stronger Than the Federal Government That Seeks to Break Us”
The legal system empowered Trump’s ICE rampage. It is people who have the power to stop it.
ballsandstrikes.org
January 28, 2026 at 4:31 PM
"No policy can be so racist—no facts on the ground can be too damning—that the Court won’t buy a little spin...the justices are explicitly interested in letting far-right strongmen consolidate unchecked power in the executive branch."