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
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."
Donald Trump is absolutely going to send troops to Slovenia over this
Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico, concerned about the U.S. president’s “psychological state.” He used the word “dangerous” to describe how the U.S. president came across during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 17, according to two of the diplomats.
www.politico.eu/article/dona...
www.politico.eu/article/dona...
European leader spoke of shock at Trump’s state of mind after Mar-a-Lago meeting
The Slovak PM, a Trump ally, told leaders at last week’s EU summit he was concerned about the way the U.S. president spoke to him, European diplomats said.
www.politico.eu
January 28, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Donald Trump is absolutely going to send troops to Slovenia over this
the Check Engine Light story here is one that has lived rent-free* in my head for months now, i think about it a lot
(*i am a paying subscriber, so maybe a misleading phrase)
(*i am a paying subscriber, so maybe a misleading phrase)
I got so annoyed by the tweet that sparked this thread that I wrote about it
www.leahreich.com/maybe-stop-b...
www.leahreich.com/maybe-stop-b...
January 28, 2026 at 2:58 PM
the Check Engine Light story here is one that has lived rent-free* in my head for months now, i think about it a lot
(*i am a paying subscriber, so maybe a misleading phrase)
(*i am a paying subscriber, so maybe a misleading phrase)
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
Moral Rot embodied and empowered
"I think our people hate the right people."
- J.D. Vance
Look no further for an explanation of the shootings.
- J.D. Vance
Look no further for an explanation of the shootings.
January 28, 2026 at 1:36 PM
Moral Rot embodied and empowered
alt text isn't just a good thing to do for potential readers; it's also a useful practice for you the writer, helping you think through "why am i using this image, what's in it and what's germane about it" on a regular basis
Using alt text is a way to be kind that you can start doing right now.
It’s right there in your accessibility settings. Turn on require alt text before posting to help yourself remember (worth checking because this app sometimes flips it off for no reason).
It’s right there in your accessibility settings. Turn on require alt text before posting to help yourself remember (worth checking because this app sometimes flips it off for no reason).
January 28, 2026 at 2:41 PM
alt text isn't just a good thing to do for potential readers; it's also a useful practice for you the writer, helping you think through "why am i using this image, what's in it and what's germane about it" on a regular basis
among other things, a useful way to explain why the Trumpists and their allied judges just pretend the 14th and 15th amendments aren't real
Today’s crises come into focus once we understand that we are well into a war of Southern aggression—a neo-Confederate project to remake the entire country in its own image and win the war the South never conceded.
www.weekendreading.net/p/the-war-of...
www.weekendreading.net/p/the-war-of...
The War of Southern Aggression
The MAGA reconstruction of the North is well underway
www.weekendreading.net
January 28, 2026 at 2:28 PM
among other things, a useful way to explain why the Trumpists and their allied judges just pretend the 14th and 15th amendments aren't real
sic fuckin' semper www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/o...
Opinion | Minneapolis May Be Trump’s Gettysburg
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:20 PM
sic fuckin' semper www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/o...
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
The Secretary of Homeland Security is asserting that the Deputy White House Chief of Staff ultimately bears responsibility for the murder of two American citizens, which is something that would normally generate a dozen congressional inquiries.
Kristi Noem: "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen"
January 28, 2026 at 2:11 PM
The Secretary of Homeland Security is asserting that the Deputy White House Chief of Staff ultimately bears responsibility for the murder of two American citizens, which is something that would normally generate a dozen congressional inquiries.
"Without a calculation of the impact on human lives, the Trump administration will design rules for a fictional world where only polluters matter. Those weaker rules put our health and our lives in danger." blog.ucs.org/kellickson/e...
EPA Cuts People Out of the Picture
The Trump administration has made it a mission to eliminate life-saving and health-protecting rules we all rely on, in order to increase profits for a few well-connected corporations. In yet another s...
blog.ucs.org
January 28, 2026 at 2:17 PM
"Without a calculation of the impact on human lives, the Trump administration will design rules for a fictional world where only polluters matter. Those weaker rules put our health and our lives in danger." blog.ucs.org/kellickson/e...
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
Megyn Kelly after hearing Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks” for the one millionth time in 2006
January 27, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Megyn Kelly after hearing Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks” for the one millionth time in 2006
“go outside your bubble,” for Bari types, has always and only met “people I went to college with who think I’m dumb need to go out of their bubble and listen to my friends and donors who think I’m smart”
Odd how when people like Bari Weiss go on about 'merit-based hiring', what they mean is hiring nice-looking white boys from elite schools regardless of their experience.
Here's CBS's new Ukraine correspondent. Graduated college less than a year ago. Yale Rugby. Only job: 7 months freelancing. 1/
Here's CBS's new Ukraine correspondent. Graduated college less than a year ago. Yale Rugby. Only job: 7 months freelancing. 1/
January 27, 2026 at 10:28 PM
“go outside your bubble,” for Bari types, has always and only met “people I went to college with who think I’m dumb need to go out of their bubble and listen to my friends and donors who think I’m smart”
Reposted by Seth D. Michaels
two mutuals are fighting — I think one is clearly right. gonna keep mum though, also known as “the gentleman’s cowardice”.
January 27, 2026 at 10:01 PM
not only do I have these people, I have to assume I am this person to at least somebody
account you think is kind of an idiot but you don’t dunk on because your other mutuals like them
January 27, 2026 at 10:15 PM
not only do I have these people, I have to assume I am this person to at least somebody
no time like the present to make this deeply unpleasant little man own his atrocities in the most public way possible
Genuinely interesting. Kristi Noem is snitching that Stephen Miller is the one who made up the bullshit about Alex Pretti.
It would be genuinely useful if Congress can get her to admit that he has been dictating ALL OF THIS just like he dictated the murderboats.
www.axios.com/2026/01/27/t...
It would be genuinely useful if Congress can get her to admit that he has been dictating ALL OF THIS just like he dictated the murderboats.
www.axios.com/2026/01/27/t...
January 27, 2026 at 10:14 PM
no time like the present to make this deeply unpleasant little man own his atrocities in the most public way possible
Janna Levin's book BLACK HOLE BLUES is a decent read, but a scientist pivoting from climate change occurring now to the five-billion-years-hence death of the sun is one willfully trying to sound smart to avoid talking about anything substantive
January 27, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Janna Levin's book BLACK HOLE BLUES is a decent read, but a scientist pivoting from climate change occurring now to the five-billion-years-hence death of the sun is one willfully trying to sound smart to avoid talking about anything substantive
what are we reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaading?
January 27, 2026 at 7:11 PM