Vera Tobin
@vtobin.bsky.social
Cognition, language, literature, occasional possums, potatoes. Being difficult. Elements of Surprise: Our Mental Limits and the Satisfactions of Plot.
Pinned
Vera Tobin
@vtobin.bsky.social
· Oct 22
the Tobin Unit is the unit of minimal forward progress on a project. if you do a Tobin Unit on your thing, you moved it forward and are good. feeling anxious and avoidant about a project? open that sucker up and do a Tobin Unit. maybe you moved a comma. great! now you are in good standing
Reposted by Vera Tobin
February 1, 2026 at 4:10 AM
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Just gonna sit here with the knowledge that everything we suffer right now is legitimately downstream of a lack of adequate forum moderation
January 31, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Just gonna sit here with the knowledge that everything we suffer right now is legitimately downstream of a lack of adequate forum moderation
Reposted by Vera Tobin
I remember that first course catalog. It was the most exciting thing since I was little, and used to peruse the Sears catalog looking at all the toys. The excitement of being able to study any of hundreds of offerings and for the first time in your life, you get to choose your studies? Heaven.
January 31, 2026 at 1:01 PM
I remember that first course catalog. It was the most exciting thing since I was little, and used to peruse the Sears catalog looking at all the toys. The excitement of being able to study any of hundreds of offerings and for the first time in your life, you get to choose your studies? Heaven.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
It's clear the increased ICE/CBP funding under Trump is being used primarily as a tool of repression, not as a means of law enforcement, and that's all the more reason why Democrats should use this opportunity—while the public hates ICE and the GOP is on the defensive—to eviscerate both agencies.
ICE used facial recognition software on a MN resident who was trailing agents in her car. Three days later she received an email from DHS saying her Global Entry and TSA travel privileges had been revoked. No explanation was provided.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:01 PM
It's clear the increased ICE/CBP funding under Trump is being used primarily as a tool of repression, not as a means of law enforcement, and that's all the more reason why Democrats should use this opportunity—while the public hates ICE and the GOP is on the defensive—to eviscerate both agencies.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
I don't know why they need to make short AI films about the American Revolution when the perfect one was created 18 years ago www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbRo...
George Washington
YouTube video by unvmebad86
www.youtube.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:47 PM
I don't know why they need to make short AI films about the American Revolution when the perfect one was created 18 years ago www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbRo...
Reposted by Vera Tobin
rewards reading, at every level
me, emotionally writing an essay on the use of force by federal agents: ok but what if i packaged this in the most insane way possible www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
Best gas masks
“How did these people go out and get gas masks?” AG Bondi asked.
www.theverge.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:45 PM
rewards reading, at every level
Reposted by Vera Tobin
You ever read a book about watchmaking? It changes you.
January 29, 2026 at 2:05 PM
You ever read a book about watchmaking? It changes you.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
For comparison, this new draft no longer demands that DHS cooperate with state probes, does not order CBP back to the border, and does not bar ICE from churches & schools.
Dems coalescing around 5 restrictions on ICE, I'm told:
DHS required to cooperate with state probes (big)
CBP stays at border
warrants for arrests
IDs, bodycams
ICE out of churches, schools
"That package unites a lot of Dems," Sen Chris Murphy tells me on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
DHS required to cooperate with state probes (big)
CBP stays at border
warrants for arrests
IDs, bodycams
ICE out of churches, schools
"That package unites a lot of Dems," Sen Chris Murphy tells me on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
A Dem Senator’s Harsh Takedown of Trump Hits Home: “Breaking Point”
As Trump scrambles to contain the damage from the latest ICE horrors, Senator Chris Murphy offers a sharp indictment of Trump-ICE lawlessness—and explains how Dems can meet the urgency of the moment.
newrepublic.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:18 PM
For comparison, this new draft no longer demands that DHS cooperate with state probes, does not order CBP back to the border, and does not bar ICE from churches & schools.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
approaching the problem of "roving death squads" from an incrementalist point of view is just a slow form of suicide
SCHUMER says Democrats are “united” behind three DHS reforms
1/ End roving patrols; tighten the rules on warrants and require ICE to coordinate with local authorities.
2/ Enforce accountability; a uniform code of conduct.
3/ Require masks off, body cameras on, agents carry ID.
1/ End roving patrols; tighten the rules on warrants and require ICE to coordinate with local authorities.
2/ Enforce accountability; a uniform code of conduct.
3/ Require masks off, body cameras on, agents carry ID.
January 28, 2026 at 8:27 PM
approaching the problem of "roving death squads" from an incrementalist point of view is just a slow form of suicide
Reposted by Vera Tobin
The cave is on. This is toothless bullshit. @chuckschumer.com wants Trump to promise that he'll pay Tuesday for a hamburger today, and he thinks we're gonna fall for it again.
Chuck Schumer just announced demands on DHS to avoid shutdown:
1. End roving patrols, tighten rules on warrants
2. Enforce accountability & unified code of conduct for agents
3. No more masks & require bodycams
There are *already* standards on much of this.
The issue is DHS isn't following them!
1. End roving patrols, tighten rules on warrants
2. Enforce accountability & unified code of conduct for agents
3. No more masks & require bodycams
There are *already* standards on much of this.
The issue is DHS isn't following them!
January 28, 2026 at 8:19 PM
The cave is on. This is toothless bullshit. @chuckschumer.com wants Trump to promise that he'll pay Tuesday for a hamburger today, and he thinks we're gonna fall for it again.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
“kidnapping people from their homes is fine so long as white people don’t see it” is the centrist position and Tim Walz is weirdly the man who said the quiet part out loud
January 28, 2026 at 1:48 AM
“kidnapping people from their homes is fine so long as white people don’t see it” is the centrist position and Tim Walz is weirdly the man who said the quiet part out loud
Reposted by Vera Tobin
This right here is why we can never let up until detentions and removals are stopped. When someone is got, they are spirited away as quickly as possible with no notice or documentation. We have little to no visibility into what is occurring in the camps. We know we cannot believe DHS.
January 26, 2026 at 9:43 PM
This right here is why we can never let up until detentions and removals are stopped. When someone is got, they are spirited away as quickly as possible with no notice or documentation. We have little to no visibility into what is occurring in the camps. We know we cannot believe DHS.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
In a normal country, immigration enforcement is a job for bureaucrats, not cosplay SWAT teams and armed forces.
French daily Liberation’s homepage tomorrow:
“Minneapolis: ‘They’re killing with impunity’”
“Minneapolis: ‘They’re killing with impunity’”
January 25, 2026 at 11:02 PM
In a normal country, immigration enforcement is a job for bureaucrats, not cosplay SWAT teams and armed forces.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.
January 25, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
And that's exactly why the NBA postponing the game is a big deal. I know it might seem like an empty gesture to some, but it creates an intersect where suddenly other communities are talking about this without it being off topic.
January 24, 2026 at 8:28 PM
And that's exactly why the NBA postponing the game is a big deal. I know it might seem like an empty gesture to some, but it creates an intersect where suddenly other communities are talking about this without it being off topic.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!
January 24, 2026 at 9:29 PM
One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!
Reposted by Vera Tobin
This is about immigration enforcement like Montgomery was about transit policy
Federal agents once again fire flash bangs and tear gas into the crowd of protesters to push them back
January 24, 2026 at 6:29 PM
This is about immigration enforcement like Montgomery was about transit policy
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Hahahaha holy shit
This Sunday, Jan. 25, 60 Minutes presents “A Night at the Movies,” a special edition featuring profiles from our archives on:
• Timothée Chalamet
• Jamie Lee Curtis
• Kate Winslet
• Timothée Chalamet
• Jamie Lee Curtis
• Kate Winslet
January 24, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Hahahaha holy shit
Reposted by Vera Tobin
imo of all the formal political institutions in US life, the judiciary has given the best account of itself by a pretty large margin (with the obvious exception of SCOTUS) and a younger me was way more dismissive of the courts than history would prove deserved
A magistrate judge found no probable cause to support arrest warrants for 5 people involved in the St. Paul church protest.
DOJ appealed to the 8th Cir.
That appeal led to this remarkable letter from the Chief Judge of the Minnesota district court…
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
DOJ appealed to the 8th Cir.
That appeal led to this remarkable letter from the Chief Judge of the Minnesota district court…
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 24, 2026 at 6:43 PM
imo of all the formal political institutions in US life, the judiciary has given the best account of itself by a pretty large margin (with the obvious exception of SCOTUS) and a younger me was way more dismissive of the courts than history would prove deserved
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Do this now.
Settings > Content and Media > Autoplay Video and GIFs
Turn it off, now.
Turn it off, now.
January 24, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Do this now.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Thesis: ICE is un-American and the Minneapolis protestors are real Americans.
Antithesis: Ackshually ICE is operating in a long American tradition of racist terror.
Synthesis: Minneapolis is now the epicenter of a clash between two distinct but historically grounded American political traditions.
Antithesis: Ackshually ICE is operating in a long American tradition of racist terror.
Synthesis: Minneapolis is now the epicenter of a clash between two distinct but historically grounded American political traditions.
January 23, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Thesis: ICE is un-American and the Minneapolis protestors are real Americans.
Antithesis: Ackshually ICE is operating in a long American tradition of racist terror.
Synthesis: Minneapolis is now the epicenter of a clash between two distinct but historically grounded American political traditions.
Antithesis: Ackshually ICE is operating in a long American tradition of racist terror.
Synthesis: Minneapolis is now the epicenter of a clash between two distinct but historically grounded American political traditions.
103 additional golden retrievers on the other side of the tree
January 23, 2026 at 3:17 PM
103 additional golden retrievers on the other side of the tree