Those who own the means of production and therefore the media also will have more control over messaging

ICE spent $800K on vans with stingray tech that collects data from all nearby phones, even yours. These devices mimic cell towers to track locations and intercept communications. Oversight and transparency are needed now.

Sorry I’ve been posting less the last few days. The ICE stuff on Friday was a lot, and then this weekend I’ve been finishing my classes to get my concealed carry license because of the death threats. I’ll be back to shitposting these jerks in full force tomorrow.

This is as much a legacy of the War on Drugs than anything else. He has a controlled substance conviction separate and apart from the exonerated murder conviction.

"In an authoritarian context, all journalism will tend toward propaganda unless it is explicitly formulated as anti-authoritarian. Unless an institution is explicitly designed to counter authoritarianism, it will end up aiding the authoritarians."

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

Thank you, @aselrod.bsky.social. As far as I can tell, zero internal evaluations are going on at the big news orgs on how to deal with this basic problem, yet any discerning reader can see that it's a major impediment to conveying what's really happening in the US to readers and viewers.

Voters flipped multiple school boards in 2023, rejecting extremists who tried to erase inclusion and diversity. Democracy works when we show up. 🗳️

#FightBack #Democracy #VoteBlue

STEPHANOPOULOS: ProPublica reported that several members of the Trump administation have similar questions about their mortgages

VANCE: ProPublica is basically a left-wing blog

S: Do you dispute the facts they reported?

VANCE: I haven't read it. I have no idea. I certainly question the source

One more time: As it’s not “weaponization of justice” for law enforcement to prosecute someone who committed crimes trying to rob a bank, it’s also not weaponization of justice for law enforcement to prosecute someone who committed crimes trying to overthrow an American election.

Jim Jordan after he's played clips from videos of ICE brutalizing people, including American citizens: "I don't know the specifics of those examples you gave. What I do know is these ICE agents are under tremendous pressure ... I think they're doing a good job."

And he speaks Dutch!

I think the main refreshing thing about Mamdani, for me, is that he actually likes New York City and wants to see it thrive for everyone.

Anyone come to mind?

🎁 article from The New York Times. You can read it for free

11/10 2025

This Isn’t Crisis Response, It’s #CrisisConstruction

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/o...

I conclude with some grim thoughts. Still, at least in the US and Israel, things haven't progressed to the point I describe here. They could, because no democracy is safe from collapse, but there's still a ways to go as Hirschman teaches us. And so we think, argue, and do politics. 26/26

🧵 I'm excited to share that my article "Democratic Backsliding and the Limits of Civilian Control of the Military" has been accepted @thejop.bsky.social.

It answers the question "how ought militaries act when civilian leaders turn on democratic institutions?"

1/
#CivMilSky #PolTheory

Things about politics I’ve come to believe strongly:

1. Less bad is better than more bad
2. Nostalgia is generally incorrect. Things weren’t better
3. Still, things can get much worse
4. Democracy is an outlier in human political history
5. Optimism is rooted in agency, not positive predictions

9-yr-old Ukrainian Sasha Paskal has won gold&bronze medals at the All-Ukrainian Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition "Black Sea Cup"

In the summer of 2022she was seriously injured by a Russian strike and underwent a leg amputation

Sasha didn’t give up.She went through rehabilitation
📹bokareva.solovey.m

It’s always projection. Every prosecution is an admission.

Marty’s photo of the day #4862: I almost missed this one. It’s a three-banded courser, photographed in Zimbabwe.

#birds #photography

Protestors believe that action has meaning. Protestors are exercising the rights enshrined in the Constitution. For me, protest is about love of country. I will be there on October 18th, and I hope you will be too.
#NoKings
snyder.substack.com/p/no-kings-f...

Loki, creating his own little tabby Fibonacci spiral for your enjoyment.