MeMartin
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markskyde.bsky.social
MeMartin
@markskyde.bsky.social
Since 2003 in middle Europe in Germany. English faculty of an international German university.
Hobbies: making & listening to music, cooking, biking, running, travel, reading
"Alles ereignet sich zweimal - einmal als Tragödie und einmal als Farce." Karl Marx
(Everything happens twice - once as tragedy and once as farce.)
(Befinden wir uns jetzt in der Tragödie oder in der Farce?)
(Are we now in the tragedy or farce?)
January 11, 2026 at 9:05 AM
Macht beginnt immer dort, wo die Öffentlichkeit aufhört. (Power always begins where the public sphere ends.)
Hannah Arendt: Totale Herrschaft.
January 10, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
November 8, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
Negotiations have stalled. Trump keeps changing his policies. Ukrainians, backed by Europeans, are taking matters into their own hands, by targeting the Russian oil industry:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Ukraine’s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine
Negotiations have stalled. Trump keeps changing his policies. Ukrainians, backed by Europeans, are taking matters into their own hands. ​​​​​
www.theatlantic.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
Das ständige Gleichsetzen von echten, teilweise gewaltvollen Angriffen auf Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit mit unbequemer Kritik oder Widerspruch ist nicht nur falsch – es ist brandgefährlich.
September 24, 2025 at 1:05 PM
"Freiheit ist das Fehlen nötigender Willkür"

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), Königsberg, Ostpreußen

(Freedom is the absence of coercive arbitrariness)
September 22, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
What's happening with Jimmy Kimmel is about politics and power.
September 19, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by MeMartin
Where the separate divisions of ANTIFA landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944:
September 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
A 2024 report from a research arm of the Department of Justice itself noted that “[s]ince 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists.”
From: H C Richardson, "Letters from an American" September 16, 2025
September 17, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Gisèle Pelicot made her legal case public. Why? "Shame has to change sides." "Die Banalität des Bösen": one person's or group's power over others to act as the persons please, devoid of consequences. Shame changed sides after WWII; it will now when shame becomes and remains public in any venue.
September 8, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
Republicans know they will lose control of Congress if they don't rig the maps and make it harder for people to vote. Donald Trump fears a Democratic Congress and will do anything he can to prevent it. That is why those of us in the pro-democracy movement need to be ready to stand up and fight back.
September 5, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Reposted by MeMartin
It’s Putinism — no one anywhere can be free because my people might get ideas
trump very clearly sees any attempt to hold a criminal head of state accountable as a threat to his own standing
This sounds like a defense of fellow wannabe dictator Yoon Suk Yeol
August 26, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
I celebrate every victory for voting rights, but this one is particularly special. No issue has been more hotly contested or more important to PA voters than this one. The DSCC and DCCC fought hard and it is great to see them prevail. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
In Big Win for Voters, Pennsylvania Must Count Undated Mail-In Ballots, Court Rules
In Big Win for Voters, Pennsylvania Must Count Undated Mail-In Ballots, Court Rules
www.democracydocket.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
I promised Texas would be sued.

And I don't bluff.
www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Advocates File Immediate Legal Challenge to Texas Gerrymander
Advocates File Immediate Legal Challenge to Texas Gerrymander
www.democracydocket.com
August 23, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by MeMartin
Reminder that Putin has never said he wants a trilateral meeting, had never said he would respect Ukrainian sovereignty, and has never said he wants to end the war. Not to be a downer, but the discussion of security guarantees is premature.
August 19, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Excellent summary of the Anchorage event:

KGB meets KFC to create Baked Alaska.
August 16, 2025 at 2:33 PM
"Saying you would deal with Vladimir Putin by getting along well with him only means that Vladimir Putin has already dealt with you."

— Garry Kasparov, Russian dissident and world chess champion
August 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv... "...reports that contain harsh and surprising assessments of democratic U.S. allies, including the U.K., Romania, Germany, and Brazil, and softer depictions of some dictatorships and other countries favored by Trump or his entourage."
Trump Has a New Definition of Human Rights
State Department reports portray Germany as more oppressive than El Salvador.
www.theatlantic.com
August 14, 2025 at 7:15 AM
The White House has been - publicly, at least - ignoring the horror, not even speaking the words "Epstein survivors"... a normalization and decriminalization of sexual harm; if Maxwell is pardoned, "there will be an insurrection" according to Gretchen Carlson here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Hw...
Fmr Fox News host: ‘There will be an insurrection’ from MAGA base if Maxwell is pardoned
YouTube video by MSNBC
www.youtube.com
August 11, 2025 at 4:09 PM
www.motherjones.com/politics/202... I spent 2 yrs of grad school at a private "christian" university. There I saw future ministers in well known clubs whose established secret initiations involved astoundingly sordid traditions. Some of these guys are now known politicians. Follow the smoking gun.
Why evangelicals couldn't care less about Trump's Epstein scandal
They have a long history of falling for narcissists posing as Saviors.
www.motherjones.com
August 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTus... A free press in a democracy is its medicine, which sometimes hurts and makes recipients feel bad. Capehart has left a placebo to devote more time to a free press.
'The First Amendment demands it': Capehart reflects on his decision to leave The Washington Post
YouTube video by MSNBC
www.youtube.com
August 1, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by MeMartin
I just held a rally in Plano, TX — a red part of the state — and 1,000 people showed up.

Many said it was their first political rally ever.

There’s something happening in Texas…
July 23, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Reposted by MeMartin
Has Trump truly reversed his policy in Ukraine? Lyndsey Hilsum and I think not. Also with Matt Frei @channel4news.bsky.social
youtu.be/rXONbhgrIo8?...
Ukraine war: will Trump’s threats really scare Putin? | Anne Applebaum
YouTube video by Channel 4 News
youtu.be
July 16, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Reposted by MeMartin
Talarico will be in Houston on Wednesday night for a rally with “Blue Texas” (Texas Majority PAC). The PAC has held several events with Allred, but Talarico, Castro, and Virts all have upcoming events with the PAC as well.
Join James in Houston
secure.ngpvan.com
July 14, 2025 at 10:50 PM