Travicissitudes
@leitko.bsky.social
Paralyzed by the enormity of it all, but I like you. Keep it up.
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kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
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Everything in the economy at the policy level is an abstraction, meaning it’s on some level fake. The difference is that some abstractions are fake in the way that the tooth fairy is, and some are fake in the way speed limits are fake.
January 6, 2026 at 5:59 AM
Everything in the economy at the policy level is an abstraction, meaning it’s on some level fake. The difference is that some abstractions are fake in the way that the tooth fairy is, and some are fake in the way speed limits are fake.
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Amazing to live in a country where every day you can watch Republicans gin up issue salience out of nothing but attitude and 4chan posts and a sizeable chunk of people think Democrats' only power is to vote yes or no on bills placed in front of them
January 6, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Amazing to live in a country where every day you can watch Republicans gin up issue salience out of nothing but attitude and 4chan posts and a sizeable chunk of people think Democrats' only power is to vote yes or no on bills placed in front of them
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one takeaway from the grok noncon porn thing is that much of the media just isn't interested in an issue they can't pretend has two sides or that doesn't give them an opportunity to shit on the left. Also it would be uncomfortable to justify remaining on twitter after acknowledging it
January 6, 2026 at 9:06 PM
one takeaway from the grok noncon porn thing is that much of the media just isn't interested in an issue they can't pretend has two sides or that doesn't give them an opportunity to shit on the left. Also it would be uncomfortable to justify remaining on twitter after acknowledging it
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can I just point out again that refusing an illegal order is what you're supposed to do? that's why the military defines some orders as illegal
NEW: Pentagon initiates proceedings to demote U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, a retired captain, over video telling soldiers to refuse illegal orders
January 5, 2026 at 3:29 PM
can I just point out again that refusing an illegal order is what you're supposed to do? that's why the military defines some orders as illegal
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It's been a rough week for people who believe that historical events have explicable causes.
January 5, 2026 at 2:06 PM
It's been a rough week for people who believe that historical events have explicable causes.
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The Trump administration has said it was improving the SSA. A year in, it looks like the mess that everyone else predicted. Not enough staff, manipulation of numbers and declining performance.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
January 5, 2026 at 3:25 PM
The Trump administration has said it was improving the SSA. A year in, it looks like the mess that everyone else predicted. Not enough staff, manipulation of numbers and declining performance.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
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liberals logging on to say "well you know *I* don't like him, but you gotta hand it to Trump here, her sure got that Bad Guy didn't he!" and people still wonder how we ended up in this mess
January 5, 2026 at 3:38 PM
liberals logging on to say "well you know *I* don't like him, but you gotta hand it to Trump here, her sure got that Bad Guy didn't he!" and people still wonder how we ended up in this mess
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So this is going to end up with Trump spending billions in U.S. government funds on Venezuela to support a corrupt regime, same as he spent billions in Argentina to keep Milei in power and billions in El Salvador for Bukele's prisons, isn't it? That's the "Donroe" Doctrine.
Trump’s Venezuela Oil Revival Plan Is a $100 Billion Gamble
Realizing President Donald Trump’s plan for a US-led revival of Venezuela’s beleaguered oil industry could be a years-long and challenging process costing upwards of $100 billion.
www.bloomberg.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:42 PM
So this is going to end up with Trump spending billions in U.S. government funds on Venezuela to support a corrupt regime, same as he spent billions in Argentina to keep Milei in power and billions in El Salvador for Bukele's prisons, isn't it? That's the "Donroe" Doctrine.
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I further put forward that we be allowed to be a little bit rude about it. look what the obsession with civility has gotten us. if a person is being hateful or saying something untrue, you should be allowed to get a little bitchy if you need to!
my plan to get this country back on track consists of one bullet point: i propose we stop pretending stupid people arent stupid just because theyre loud and theres a lot of them
January 4, 2026 at 8:00 PM
I further put forward that we be allowed to be a little bit rude about it. look what the obsession with civility has gotten us. if a person is being hateful or saying something untrue, you should be allowed to get a little bitchy if you need to!
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Calling public benefits “entitlements” is just the most contemptible right-wing trash.
No. No. No.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
January 5, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Calling public benefits “entitlements” is just the most contemptible right-wing trash.
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For gazillionth time, the standard you walk past is the standard you accept
“Well… we can’t just keep filing impeachment articles all the time.”
Yes you can! If the man is committing impeachable offenses on the regular, you’re acquiescing to a standard that raises the bar for impeachable offense to absurd levels.
Yes you can! If the man is committing impeachable offenses on the regular, you’re acquiescing to a standard that raises the bar for impeachable offense to absurd levels.
How are voters meant to understand how serious things are if in lieu of shouting fire AND going into building with hoses, you're simply posting fire safety suggestions on social media?
Not introducing articles of impeachment is a message that Trump hasn't committed impeachable offenses.
Not introducing articles of impeachment is a message that Trump hasn't committed impeachable offenses.
January 4, 2026 at 6:25 AM
For gazillionth time, the standard you walk past is the standard you accept
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Incidentally, look how close we have come in one year to Sonia Sotomayor’s hypotheticals in the Trump Immunity dissent all happening
Not quite exactly, but not too far off, and she nailed the bribes prediction
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
Not quite exactly, but not too far off, and she nailed the bribes prediction
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
January 4, 2026 at 12:34 AM
Incidentally, look how close we have come in one year to Sonia Sotomayor’s hypotheticals in the Trump Immunity dissent all happening
Not quite exactly, but not too far off, and she nailed the bribes prediction
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
Not quite exactly, but not too far off, and she nailed the bribes prediction
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
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So it's appropriate to arrest a world leader if you consider them criminal? You can just go get them? Just asking questions here.
January 3, 2026 at 5:18 PM
So it's appropriate to arrest a world leader if you consider them criminal? You can just go get them? Just asking questions here.
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Just woke up even angrier. Impeach, convict, remove. Draft articles now. Either we have a representative government or we don’t. Do not shut up about this until there’s a vote.
January 3, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Just woke up even angrier. Impeach, convict, remove. Draft articles now. Either we have a representative government or we don’t. Do not shut up about this until there’s a vote.
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this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
January 3, 2026 at 10:57 PM
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
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Discworld QOTD, from Snuff
"But what should we do when the highborn and wealthy take to crime? Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger, how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man who breaks the law out of greed?"
"But what should we do when the highborn and wealthy take to crime? Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger, how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man who breaks the law out of greed?"
Discworld QOTD, from Wyrd Sisters
January 3, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Discworld QOTD, from Snuff
"But what should we do when the highborn and wealthy take to crime? Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger, how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man who breaks the law out of greed?"
"But what should we do when the highborn and wealthy take to crime? Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger, how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man who breaks the law out of greed?"
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People are going to try and lure you into debates about whether Maduro was a good guy or not and the thing is, it doesn’t matter for the purposes of discussing whether violent kidnappings and extrajudicial murders by the US government are ok. No, they aren’t! End of convo.
January 3, 2026 at 2:01 PM
People are going to try and lure you into debates about whether Maduro was a good guy or not and the thing is, it doesn’t matter for the purposes of discussing whether violent kidnappings and extrajudicial murders by the US government are ok. No, they aren’t! End of convo.
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What Weiss and Adam O'Neal at the Post are really signaling is that nothing like the 1619 Project will be produced under their leadership. 1619 was not unpatriotic, but called for America to live up to its ideals, not its history and practices.
I also love America and believe in its stated values.
And I understand that this pronouncement lands very differently when it comes from an organization that has intentionally been overhauled in order to curry favor with a jingoistic proto-fascist who says his opponents hate the country.
And I understand that this pronouncement lands very differently when it comes from an organization that has intentionally been overhauled in order to curry favor with a jingoistic proto-fascist who says his opponents hate the country.
Incredible. CBS Evening News announces five new “simple values” — instead of their “38-page handbook” — as they roll out Tony Dokoupil is lead anchor.
One of those values is simply: “We love America and make no apologies for saying so.”
One of those values is simply: “We love America and make no apologies for saying so.”
January 2, 2026 at 9:42 PM
What Weiss and Adam O'Neal at the Post are really signaling is that nothing like the 1619 Project will be produced under their leadership. 1619 was not unpatriotic, but called for America to live up to its ideals, not its history and practices.
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And I want you to walk into the ocean but we can't always get what we want
as if the onus for improving quality and usefulness is somehow on the critics or the consumer
Microsoft's Satya Nadella wants you to stop saying AI "slop" in 2026
In closing comments of 2025, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared an update on the company's mindset for 2026 — shocker, it's all about AI.
www.windowscentral.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:31 PM
And I want you to walk into the ocean but we can't always get what we want
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this post is even funnier with the fancy uk schools labeler on
January 2, 2026 at 1:28 PM
this post is even funnier with the fancy uk schools labeler on
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I'm entirely serious about this: until you internalize the view that urban America is Real America, you won't see the urgency of structural reform of an American government whose fundamental structures so disadvantage its population centers—the great engines of its prosperity, progress, & culture.
Another good practice for the New Year would be for all the non-fascists in America who want to opine about politics to really begin believing that urban America is Real America & that its denizens are The Authentic People. Get some self-respect & drop the volkish nationalist view that they're not
And I think liberals should stop taking the bait and ceding ground on immigration.
Immigration is good. Multiculturalism is good. Free trade is good. Stop being embarrassed to say so.
Immigration is good. Multiculturalism is good. Free trade is good. Stop being embarrassed to say so.
January 1, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I'm entirely serious about this: until you internalize the view that urban America is Real America, you won't see the urgency of structural reform of an American government whose fundamental structures so disadvantage its population centers—the great engines of its prosperity, progress, & culture.