@zpleat.bsky.social
Research at Media Matters for America, currently focusing on economic misinformation. All posts are my own views but are backed by the Commissariat. he/him. https://www.mediamatters.org/author/zachary-pleat
Reposted
A post-by-post dissection of the Nazi and neo-Nazi tropes used in U.S. government social media accounts. By @alibreland.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com.
The Trump Administration Is Publishing a Stream of Nazi Propaganda
Government social-media managers have transformed official feeds.
www.theatlantic.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:42 AM
A post-by-post dissection of the Nazi and neo-Nazi tropes used in U.S. government social media accounts. By @alibreland.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com.
Reposted
We can actually predict polar vortex events now by monitoring Ted Cruz flight patterns
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was spotted earlier today, January 20, 2026, on a plane heading to Laguna Beach as the state of Texas braces for a rare ice threat and arctic cold front.
January 23, 2026 at 12:38 AM
We can actually predict polar vortex events now by monitoring Ted Cruz flight patterns
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In 2018, the tipping point on Trump’s child separation was the recording of that little girl trying to get back to her family as other kids sobbed around her. This should be a similar one. Kidnapping a 5-year-old to use as bait to catch his family is truly sick, neo-Nazi stuff.
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
January 22, 2026 at 2:43 AM
In 2018, the tipping point on Trump’s child separation was the recording of that little girl trying to get back to her family as other kids sobbed around her. This should be a similar one. Kidnapping a 5-year-old to use as bait to catch his family is truly sick, neo-Nazi stuff.
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I’m tired of being talked down to by people like this. They are doing the Elon Musk Mars In 2 Years bit but have tied the entire U.S. economy to a bespoke compliment generator. It’s time to start talking about these AI mutants like delusional babies.
“There will be more than enough jobs for the citizens of your nation, esp. those with vocational training,” said Karp. “I do think these trends really do make it hard to imagine why we should have large-scale immigration unless you have a very specialized skill.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Palantir CEO Says AI to Make Large-Scale Immigration Obsolete
Artificial intelligence will displace so many jobs that it will eliminate the need for mass immigration, according to Palantir Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Alex Karp.
www.bloomberg.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:08 PM
I’m tired of being talked down to by people like this. They are doing the Elon Musk Mars In 2 Years bit but have tied the entire U.S. economy to a bespoke compliment generator. It’s time to start talking about these AI mutants like delusional babies.
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Jesus Christ www.statnews.com/2026/01/20/c...
Senior CDC official: Loss of measles elimination status in U.S. would be ‘cost of doing business’
The principal deputy director of the CDC said he would not view the loss of the United States' measles elimination status as a significant event.
www.statnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Jesus Christ www.statnews.com/2026/01/20/c...
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From expanded work requirements to an unprecedented state cost-share policy, many of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)’s cuts to SNAP are set to take effect in 2026. @laurenhlb.bsky.social and Diane Schanzenbach explain how these changes will impair SNAP’s ability to respond to recessions:
SNAP cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will significantly impair recession response - The Hamilton Project
Lauren Bauer and Diane Schanzenbach analyze how SNAP cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will affect the program’s response to recessions.
www.hamiltonproject.org
January 21, 2026 at 3:15 PM
From expanded work requirements to an unprecedented state cost-share policy, many of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)’s cuts to SNAP are set to take effect in 2026. @laurenhlb.bsky.social and Diane Schanzenbach explain how these changes will impair SNAP’s ability to respond to recessions:
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Oops, opposite is true, factory construction exploded under Biden and is now falling.
*TRUMP: FACTORY CONSTRUCTION UP BY 41%
fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TLMFG...
*TRUMP: FACTORY CONSTRUCTION UP BY 41%
fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TLMFG...
Total Construction Spending: Manufacturing in the United States
Total Construction Spending: Manufacturing in the United States
fred.stlouisfed.org
January 21, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Oops, opposite is true, factory construction exploded under Biden and is now falling.
*TRUMP: FACTORY CONSTRUCTION UP BY 41%
fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TLMFG...
*TRUMP: FACTORY CONSTRUCTION UP BY 41%
fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TLMFG...
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I will never get over the fact that the Republican Party chose as its standard-bearer, and this country elected as its President, quite possibly the worst human being on the planet.
Trump: "ICE is gonna be too rough with somebody. They're gonna make a mistake sometimes. I felt horribly when I was told the young woman had the tragedy. But when I learned her father is - I hope he still is, but I don't know - was a tremendous Trump fan. It's terrible. It's so sad. It just happens"
January 20, 2026 at 7:52 PM
I will never get over the fact that the Republican Party chose as its standard-bearer, and this country elected as its President, quite possibly the worst human being on the planet.
Reposted
Once again, it was supposed to end immediately in 2017, when he started monetizing the presidency at his hotel around the corner from the White House. Long before Jan 6 or anything else, people who swore oaths had jobs to do, & they failed. The constitutional order is completely inert at this point.
The Founders (rightly) thought financial corruption was so concerning they banned it in the Constitution three separate times: the two emoluments clauses, and the only named impeachable offense besides treason.
Starting in 2017, America decided it just kinda didn't matter anymore, whatcha gonna do.
Starting in 2017, America decided it just kinda didn't matter anymore, whatcha gonna do.
UNREAL: Per NY Times amazing reporting today they found "Trump has used the office of the presidency to make at least $1.4 billion. We know this number to be an underestimate because some of his profits remain hidden from public view." We live in a 3rd world sh*thole! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
January 20, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Once again, it was supposed to end immediately in 2017, when he started monetizing the presidency at his hotel around the corner from the White House. Long before Jan 6 or anything else, people who swore oaths had jobs to do, & they failed. The constitutional order is completely inert at this point.
Reposted
This is very good. And if the presidency doesn't exist, to go along with a Congress that doesn't really exist, & a Supreme Court that no longer exists (in the sense that it no longer follows the law or the Constitution), then we find ourselves with a constitutional order that has totally collapsed.
Wrote a thing about whether the American presidency even exists anymore. No reason. open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Does the American presidency exist anymore?
Last week Donald Trump flipped off a worker at a Ford plant for yelling “pedophile protector” at him.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 5:59 PM
This is very good. And if the presidency doesn't exist, to go along with a Congress that doesn't really exist, & a Supreme Court that no longer exists (in the sense that it no longer follows the law or the Constitution), then we find ourselves with a constitutional order that has totally collapsed.
Reposted
A special MLK day share of my piece about how MAGA was born from racial resentment. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
Opinion | Trump took the tea party’s racial resentment and made it MAGA
Philip Bump: President Trump said the civil rights movement led to white people being “very badly treated.” It is impossible to overstate how important this idea is to his politics.
www.ms.now
January 19, 2026 at 5:41 PM
A special MLK day share of my piece about how MAGA was born from racial resentment. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
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every crisis happening right now is because theres dumb fuck sociopaths in charge and they did something stupid, it’s maddening
January 19, 2026 at 5:50 PM
every crisis happening right now is because theres dumb fuck sociopaths in charge and they did something stupid, it’s maddening
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ICE are bog standard child kidnappers.
Thanks. We have folks in our community giving vulnerable students rides to school, and a teacher shared that they were putting small stuffed animals on their dashboards to help kids identify safe cars. ICE picked up on it and started doing the same. Horrifying.
January 18, 2026 at 7:42 PM
ICE are bog standard child kidnappers.
Reposted
For some reason, very few people these days will stand up and say it, but: the US federal bureaucracy is one of the great wonders of the world, staffed with incredibly diligent people who do their jobs well and care deeply.
Trump's destruction of the federal apparaus was a historic crime.
Trump's destruction of the federal apparaus was a historic crime.
The Purged
Donald Trump’s destruction of the civil service is a tragedy not just for the roughly 300,000 workers who have been discarded, but for an entire nation.
www.theatlantic.com
January 18, 2026 at 7:17 PM
For some reason, very few people these days will stand up and say it, but: the US federal bureaucracy is one of the great wonders of the world, staffed with incredibly diligent people who do their jobs well and care deeply.
Trump's destruction of the federal apparaus was a historic crime.
Trump's destruction of the federal apparaus was a historic crime.
This already happened. I was watching Terminator: Dark Fate in a theater in 2019, and the audience was cheering when that terminator was slicing his way through CBP officers.
If you work for ice please understand that your kids will laugh at a character based on you dying in an action movie before the end of the decade. They’ll be in movies for really little kids. Like Phineas and Ferb shit. There will be an action figure of you with a detachable head
January 17, 2026 at 9:49 PM
This already happened. I was watching Terminator: Dark Fate in a theater in 2019, and the audience was cheering when that terminator was slicing his way through CBP officers.
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"This Week in Democracy – Week 52: A Year of Abuses, Violence, Corruption, and Outright Fascism"
Capping off a year of Zeteo's project to document the ongoing growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
(No other media organization did this, by the way!)
Capping off a year of Zeteo's project to document the ongoing growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
(No other media organization did this, by the way!)
This Week in Democracy – Week 52: A Year of Abuses, Violence, Corruption, and Outright Fascism
Capping off a year of Zeteo's project to document the ongoing growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
zeteo.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:52 PM
"This Week in Democracy – Week 52: A Year of Abuses, Violence, Corruption, and Outright Fascism"
Capping off a year of Zeteo's project to document the ongoing growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
(No other media organization did this, by the way!)
Capping off a year of Zeteo's project to document the ongoing growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
(No other media organization did this, by the way!)
Reposted
The double pardon really gives away the game. Adriana Camberos started her second round of fraud just weeks after her first pardon. She was charged, convicted, imprisoned…and pardoned again. Trump supporters are permitted unlimited crimes, while the rest of us can get beaten by the secret police.
President Trump quietly issued clemency grants this week, including to a California woman he had pardoned once before and a man whose daughter had donated millions to a Trump super PAC.
Trump Sets Fraudster Free From Prison for a Second Time
The president issued a raft of clemency grants this week, including pardoning a woman he had given relief to once before and a man whose daughter had donated millions to a Trump super PAC.
nyti.ms
January 16, 2026 at 7:42 PM
The double pardon really gives away the game. Adriana Camberos started her second round of fraud just weeks after her first pardon. She was charged, convicted, imprisoned…and pardoned again. Trump supporters are permitted unlimited crimes, while the rest of us can get beaten by the secret police.
Reposted
“Civil war,” “insurgents,” “a guerilla tactical playbook” — these are just some of the ways MAGA pundits are describing civil resistance to Trump’s ICE rampages www.mediamatters.org/immigration/...
Right-wing media are describing pro-immigrant Minnesota activists using the language of war
Right-wing media figures and outlets are using the language of war to characterize protests against the presence of violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota.The fatal shooting o...
www.mediamatters.org
January 16, 2026 at 10:12 PM
“Civil war,” “insurgents,” “a guerilla tactical playbook” — these are just some of the ways MAGA pundits are describing civil resistance to Trump’s ICE rampages www.mediamatters.org/immigration/...
Reposted
America has a housing shortage. Every single housing proposal you see that is not "build more housing" will have the primary effect of pushing up the prices of existing housing, and is therefore, in reality, a plan to enrich current homeowners. In conclusion, build more housing.
President Trump will issue a plan next week for letting Americans tap their 401(k)s for a down payment on a home, a senior White House official said Friday.
Trump Plan Would Let Americans Use 401(k)s for Down Payments on Homes, Official Says
President Trump will issue a plan next week for letting Americans tap their 401(k)s for a down payment on a home, a senior White House official said Friday.
on.wsj.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:11 PM
America has a housing shortage. Every single housing proposal you see that is not "build more housing" will have the primary effect of pushing up the prices of existing housing, and is therefore, in reality, a plan to enrich current homeowners. In conclusion, build more housing.
Reposted
Reporters doggedly criticized Kamala Harris in 2024 for a) not having any policies, and b) having too many details in her policies.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's signature policy proposals have always been vaporware and it's just been "Donald Being Donald."
www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump...
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's signature policy proposals have always been vaporware and it's just been "Donald Being Donald."
www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump...
January 16, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Reporters doggedly criticized Kamala Harris in 2024 for a) not having any policies, and b) having too many details in her policies.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's signature policy proposals have always been vaporware and it's just been "Donald Being Donald."
www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump...
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's signature policy proposals have always been vaporware and it's just been "Donald Being Donald."
www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump...
Reposted
A perfect (and terrible) example of how "state capture" does not always mean *using* state power for private ends -- as it's usually understood -- but can instead mean *destroying* the state's capacity to pursue broadly public ends.
New, from me: A year in, did DOGE deliver on its promises?
Not the promises it made to us (cut spending, modernize government, improve services). It worsened state capacity.
But it was part of a successful broligarchy exercise in state capture. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/a-year-on-...
Not the promises it made to us (cut spending, modernize government, improve services). It worsened state capacity.
But it was part of a successful broligarchy exercise in state capture. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/a-year-on-...
A Year On: The DOGE Disaster
A Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly of your government
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:55 PM
A perfect (and terrible) example of how "state capture" does not always mean *using* state power for private ends -- as it's usually understood -- but can instead mean *destroying* the state's capacity to pursue broadly public ends.
Reposted
*They* are the broken ones, not us.
A favorite part of the discussion with @gregsargent.bsky.social was when it became clear that in many ways it’s MAGA who are unassimilated with the basic norms of our society, whereas kids who are immigrants or the children of them are at school with all the other kids & it’s completely normal
Half the Answer #59: Understanding Stephen Miller
Trent and Caitlin catch up with Greg Sargent from The New Republic about his recent piece exploring the family history and ideology of Stephen Miller. How did the product of Russian Jewish refugees co...
www.liberalcurrents.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:25 PM
*They* are the broken ones, not us.
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This is an Underground Railroad style operation. This is what I mean that we should study UR history, tactics, and strategy.
They have quite an operation going.
www.mprnews.org/episode/2026...
www.mprnews.org/episode/2026...
Minneapolis church has delivered more than 12,000 boxes of groceries to families in hiding
DHH church has hundreds of volunteers packing and delivering groceries to families who have been too scared to leave their homes during the immigration operation.
www.mprnews.org
January 16, 2026 at 2:02 PM
This is an Underground Railroad style operation. This is what I mean that we should study UR history, tactics, and strategy.
Reposted
Trump — who wants the GOP to campaign on health care — rolled out his “Great Healthcare Plan” to shrugs and jeers yesterday.
He’ll try again today by focusing on the administration’s $50 billion rural health fund, which has more substance and support.
He’ll try again today by focusing on the administration’s $50 billion rural health fund, which has more substance and support.
Trump bets on rural health as a winning midterm message
The president is promoting a $50 billion fund, designed to help communities where hospitals are struggling, amid criticism of his deep Medicaid cuts.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Trump — who wants the GOP to campaign on health care — rolled out his “Great Healthcare Plan” to shrugs and jeers yesterday.
He’ll try again today by focusing on the administration’s $50 billion rural health fund, which has more substance and support.
He’ll try again today by focusing on the administration’s $50 billion rural health fund, which has more substance and support.
Reposted
This is important and, also, not not new. There were reports of this in LA, Portland, and Chicago, at least, as well.
Just so people outside of MN know - a lot of the US citizens getting “arrested” by ICE never get processed at Whipple. They are roughed up during the arrest and then often dropped off miles from where they were picked up. It means we don’t know the true scale of what ICE is doing based on ICE stats
January 15, 2026 at 7:04 PM
This is important and, also, not not new. There were reports of this in LA, Portland, and Chicago, at least, as well.