Mike Shaw
zax2000.bsky.social
Mike Shaw
@zax2000.bsky.social
550 followers 190 following 2.1K posts
A yokel Bostonian bumbling around Seattle. Stints in 北京 and Bali along the way. I used to craft/edit journalists' spam. Geopolitics is my jam. I post, therefore I am.
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Pinned
Yes, YOU.
I'm subtweeting you.
Reposted by Mike Shaw
The most important thing here is that the president is unilaterally raising taxes on you because he got mad at his TV
Totally, 100% spot-on.
The bottom line, and what I'm getting at, is that the price of admission to the Republican Party today is lying in the service of the dictator, like something out of Orwell's 1984; in this case, lying about the past.

Here's the rest of the doc for those who are interested.
Honestly, I don't know why more Democrats, during debates in Congress, don't just recite speeches that some current GOP members have given in the past that argue the exact opposite position that they hold now. They should do it w/o attribution, too. Just seen if anyone notices.
Reposted by Mike Shaw
We’ve already seen quite a few examples of ICE agents trying to kidnap someone and eventually giving up and running away because a crowd had gathered and shouted them down. That’s EFFECTIVE.
A lot of folks may think that just yelling at ICE agents is ineffective, but consider the cumulative psychological toll of being yelled at EVERY DAY when trying to do shit. Even the biggest asshole in the world who doesn't give a shit about other people will feel the pressure.
More from the scene
Reposted by Mike Shaw
You may not have food or healthcare for your children, but did you know that the White House will now have a classy dance floor for nepotistic pedophiles
This is scary.
It's odd for me to realize that my first-year undergraduates are at an age where they don't really remember that there was a form of US politics prior to Donald Trump. For them, Trump is not an aberration from the normal course of political discourse, but just how US politics is done.
Like everyone, I get pissed when I'm walking through my neighborhood or a park & see trash-strewn encampments or people sleeping rough. But I'm not pissed at the folks who are in that situation. I'm pissed that we aren't getting them into housing.

There should be basic shelter for all who need it.
A Washington state program that directed outreach workers to spend weeks building relationships with homeless people living under highways brought about 1,200 people inside. Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson sees it as a model for the city.
In Seattle Mayoral Race, Tensions Between Crackdown and Compassion on Homelessness
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has ramped up sweeps of homeless encampments in his first term. In his reelection bid, he faces a progressive challenger who wants to curb them.
boltsmag.org
Reposted by Mike Shaw
If you are a service member or civil servant ordered to perform an operation in spite of concerns you raised about their legality, you have lawful options to blow the whistle. They do not involve leaking to the press.

Consult with qualified counsel. You can honor your Oath without breaking the law.
Boat strikes put US service members in legal jeopardy:

"Some junior officers have asked military lawyers, known as judge advocates general or JAGs, for written sign-off before taking part in strikes .... It does not appear that such memos were furnished, said one of the people."
Top Democrats demand details of spy agencies’ role in boat strikes
Democrats are demanding that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard share intelligence on lethal operations against alleged narcotics traffickers.
www.washingtonpost.com
Reposted by Mike Shaw
Reagan's approach to the world prominently featured two things:

1) Russian aggression bad, Western democratic alliance good
2) Free trade good, tariffs and other barriers to trade bad

Pretending it's the opposite is the sort of reality inversion only someone who rejects truth itself could buy.
This is fascism.

It is also beautiful resistance.
Border patrol agents deployed tear gas on the 3700 block of North Kildare where residents say a landscape worker, a resident, and a woman on a bike were detained. Video from a resident.
Trump ready to go to war to distract from the Epstein files.
krasnov’s daily epstein distraction, as Venezuela offered oil & minerals(US interventions: Cuba ’52, Guatemala ’54, Haiti ’91/’04, Honduras ’09, Nicaragua/El Salvador ’80s, Panama ’89, Venezuela ’02, Bolivia ’64/’19, Chile ’73, Argentina ’76, Uruguay ’73)🇺🇸
Reposted by Mike Shaw
I’m good with my taxes subsidizing social welfare for people who can’t afford food.

I’m enraged with my taxes subsidizing corporate welfare to businesses that won’t pay a living wage.
Reposted by Mike Shaw
Blue Jays dedicate 11-4 blowout to Donald Trump 🇨🇦
Even if I wasn't a 7th-generation Bostonian & die hard Red Sox fan who was genetically predisposed to hate all teams from LA I'd probably be rooting for the #BlueJays thid a year just on principle.

What a great win.
Reposted by Mike Shaw
A very offline cousin sent this to fam group chat. This story is breaking containment.
Not all heroes win World Series games.
Keep your eyes on this, Seattle. If the Baristas authorize a strike there is no city that can have a bigger impact on their action than we can.

Support your #Starbucks workers. Support @sbworkersunited.org .
The strike authorization vote has begun!

While voting commences, union baristas are holding 70 rallies and pickets through November 1st. It's time to get serious about finalizing fair contracts, Starbucks.
Baristas are rallying at Starbucks stores across the country this weekend. Here's why
As 70 rallies kick off across the country, unionized baristas say they’re fighting for fair pay and hours—just as fall coffee orders surge.
www.fastcompany.com
Waiting for all the "constitutional conservatives" to protest the empowerment of federal agents to break laws and arrest/assault citizens with impunity.

Where are all of the right-wing wackos who occupied a national park ranger station b/c of some silly grazing rights dispute? This is OK to them?
Tbh I am not hip to nazi symbolism. If folks in the know say it is a nazi tattoo, I believe 'em. Shame on him for getting it. And if he knew what it symbolized & didn't get it covered/removed until now that's pretty callous. Also: Want to see any stance/statement of his that is facist b4 piling on.
Reposted by Mike Shaw
I believe this is called juxtaposition
Reposted by Mike Shaw
Here's a photo of my friend and colleague, Jorge Bautista, getting shot in the face with a flashbang grenade. The ICE Agent is so afraid of Jorge (who was posing no threat) that he has wet himself. Please share this photo. Everyone needs to know what cowards ICE agents are.
To clarify: I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm not a Maine voter nor have I made a donation. I'm not even a Democrat. The whole hubub just feels really wierd. I mean, he could be a secret nazi. But if he is it's been a pretty amazingly well-kept one.
I'm finding it endlessly fascinating how obsessed folks are w/the symbolism of a drunk 22-year old soldier's tattoo yet can't point to a single statement, action, or political stance of his across the ensuing 20 years since he got it that can in any way be construed as even faintly facist.
Reposted by Mike Shaw
1. that's not how this works

2. this is, like, six hours of pay

3. this is clearly Trump trying to message to the military that they are his personal army and reliant on his largesse

4. they're probably lying about this donation even existing

5. that's really not how any of this works!
New: The Pentagon confirms to CNN it will funnel $130M from an anonymous Trump “friend” toward military pay.

Asked about the donor’s identity and any foreign or domestic entanglements, the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH
www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...
Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members | CNN Politics
The Trump administration plans to funnel a $130 million donation from an anonymous ally of President Donald Trump toward paying military service members during the government shutdown, the Defense Dep...
www.cnn.com