@perplext.bsky.social
Yep, the US is now a surveillance--and official retribution--state: Musk’s Parting Gift: The Construction of a Surveillance State www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/o...
April 30, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Yep, the US is now a surveillance--and official retribution--state: Musk’s Parting Gift: The Construction of a Surveillance State www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/o...
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Call. Your. Congresscritter.
This is big: House Republicans tucked language into the budget res “rule” that bans the House from voting to terminate Trump’s emergency declaration used to impose tariffs. TL;DR lawmakers who vote for this are officially giving up their power to revoke his tariffs until October.
April 9, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Call. Your. Congresscritter.
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The problem is: they've mistaken correlation for causation. They think their parents and grandparents had a good life *because* of manufacturing jobs. When, in reality, their parents and grandparents had a good life *despite* manufacturing jobs, because of unions, high taxes, and social policies.
April 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
The problem is: they've mistaken correlation for causation. They think their parents and grandparents had a good life *because* of manufacturing jobs. When, in reality, their parents and grandparents had a good life *despite* manufacturing jobs, because of unions, high taxes, and social policies.
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Trump's tariffs will translate into a 2.3 percentage point increase to overall inflation this year, according to new estimates from the Yale Budget Lab — or about a $3,800 impact for the average household.
April 3, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Trump's tariffs will translate into a 2.3 percentage point increase to overall inflation this year, according to new estimates from the Yale Budget Lab — or about a $3,800 impact for the average household.
This is well worth reading. Tariffs are a political, not economic, tool--a viscously powerful one.
Senator Chris Murphy posted a clear explanation of what Trump is doing with tariffs. It took him 11 Post on Blue Sky which I consolidated into one document with no changes.
April 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
This is well worth reading. Tariffs are a political, not economic, tool--a viscously powerful one.
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This is what we’ve come to, and so quickly.
March 23, 2025 at 2:30 PM
This is what we’ve come to, and so quickly.
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alright here's a Take: checks and balances (and federalism) were supposed to protect against tyranny. But instead they just prevented a "tyranny of the majority" from doing universal health care and gun control, and it turns out they do basically nothing to stop an autocrat
March 22, 2025 at 9:28 PM
alright here's a Take: checks and balances (and federalism) were supposed to protect against tyranny. But instead they just prevented a "tyranny of the majority" from doing universal health care and gun control, and it turns out they do basically nothing to stop an autocrat
Trump is wiping out our entire military sales industry and creating conditions such that it will never come back. How does the military industrial complex feel about that?
Note that an entire history of the international political economy of military output is embedded in this tweet which only exists at the corner of radical political economy and never gets any honest hearing in most academia, let alone think tanks
I mean... holy shit.
March 23, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Trump is wiping out our entire military sales industry and creating conditions such that it will never come back. How does the military industrial complex feel about that?
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BREAKING: People are being suspended on X in Turkey for posting videos of these protests against Erdoğan’s corrupt and repressive regime.
Keep sharing everywhere.
Keep sharing everywhere.
March 23, 2025 at 12:20 PM
BREAKING: People are being suspended on X in Turkey for posting videos of these protests against Erdoğan’s corrupt and repressive regime.
Keep sharing everywhere.
Keep sharing everywhere.
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I’m told this is the sort of thing that Democrats need to stop doing so they can beg for the support of mostly imaginary people who are turned off by principles and convictions.
Tucson, Arizona today.
Original projected attendance was 3,000 people.
23,000 showed up.
Original projected attendance was 3,000 people.
23,000 showed up.
March 23, 2025 at 12:57 AM
I’m told this is the sort of thing that Democrats need to stop doing so they can beg for the support of mostly imaginary people who are turned off by principles and convictions.
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Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick says if Social Security skipped a check, his mother-in-law wouldn’t complain—and if you would, it indicates you are probably a fraudster. Insane.
March 21, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick says if Social Security skipped a check, his mother-in-law wouldn’t complain—and if you would, it indicates you are probably a fraudster. Insane.
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“…never in the history of the world has a Nation lost its democracy by a successful struggle to defend its democracy. We must not be defeated by the fear of the very danger which we are preparing to resist…The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
-FDR, 1941
-FDR, 1941
March 22, 2025 at 5:50 AM
“…never in the history of the world has a Nation lost its democracy by a successful struggle to defend its democracy. We must not be defeated by the fear of the very danger which we are preparing to resist…The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
-FDR, 1941
-FDR, 1941
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The whole point of deporting someone with a soccer tattoo that's relabeled a "gang" tattoo is for Trump to assert the power to simply say someone is a gang member or terrorist *without* presenting evidence of it.
On the pod, @lizdye.bsky.social is terrific on this:
newrepublic.com/article/1930...
On the pod, @lizdye.bsky.social is terrific on this:
newrepublic.com/article/1930...
“Terrifying”: Trump’s Rage at Judge Unnerves GOPers as Crisis Worsens
As Trump begins defying a judge blocking deportations and Republicans balk at his demands for the judge’s impeachment, a legal expert explains why this is headed for a major crisis.
newrepublic.com
March 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM
The whole point of deporting someone with a soccer tattoo that's relabeled a "gang" tattoo is for Trump to assert the power to simply say someone is a gang member or terrorist *without* presenting evidence of it.
On the pod, @lizdye.bsky.social is terrific on this:
newrepublic.com/article/1930...
On the pod, @lizdye.bsky.social is terrific on this:
newrepublic.com/article/1930...
Dictatorship, c'est ici
Le Monde reporting that a French scientist traveling to Houston to attend a conference was denied entry to US after a search of his phone & computer revealed messages critical of Trump's science cuts, "which [says CPB] conveyed hatred of Trump & could be qualified as terrorism". Computer confiscated
March 19, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Dictatorship, c'est ici
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For more, read the full story:
How DOGE’s Cuts to the IRS Threaten to Cost More Than DOGE Will Ever Save
The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes. “If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would y...
propub.li
March 19, 2025 at 12:00 AM
For more, read the full story:
Fascism is here. We have to support *every* person who says "no" and refuses to cooperate. Let's send love, lawyers and money.
Trump calling for the impeachment of a judge who ruled against him. Calling him “crooked.” If this isn’t fascistic, what is?
(Also, the media will sanewash this but anyone else who talks or writes like this would be sent to one of the mental asylums Trump thinks migrants are coming from!)
(Also, the media will sanewash this but anyone else who talks or writes like this would be sent to one of the mental asylums Trump thinks migrants are coming from!)
March 18, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Fascism is here. We have to support *every* person who says "no" and refuses to cooperate. Let's send love, lawyers and money.
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This is exactly right, this is government by organized crime.
This is the "doge" plan, though
Break it
Blame it
Privatize it
Loot it
Break it
Blame it
Privatize it
Loot it
March 7, 2025 at 3:45 AM
This is exactly right, this is government by organized crime.
This explains why what we're seeing from Trump isn't insanity, it's just normal gangsterism. It quickly transforms a state machine that can be strong and efficient into a weak system of personal fealties. Once that's done, it's hard to fix.
Gift link - www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
March 17, 2025 at 8:30 PM
This explains why what we're seeing from Trump isn't insanity, it's just normal gangsterism. It quickly transforms a state machine that can be strong and efficient into a weak system of personal fealties. Once that's done, it's hard to fix.
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A Fulbright scholar flees the county after ICE came looking for her - per NYT her social media activity was liking pro-Palestine posts.
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
March 16, 2025 at 1:44 AM
A Fulbright scholar flees the county after ICE came looking for her - per NYT her social media activity was liking pro-Palestine posts.
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
We are in deep, folks.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...
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Scientists have just cured pancreatic cancer in some patients with personalized mRNA vaccines. Pancreatic cancer. And this Trump administration wants to throw it all away.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
Exclusive: NIH officials have advised scientists to remove reference to mRNA vaccines from their grant applications, in expectation the Trump administration intends to abandon most research in the field.
By @arthurallen202.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
By @arthurallen202.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them To Scrub mRNA References on Grants - KFF Health News
Two senior scientists say National Institutes of Health officials advised them to remove references to mRNA vaccines in grant applications, and they fear the Trump administration will abandon a promis...
kffhealthnews.org
March 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Scientists have just cured pancreatic cancer in some patients with personalized mRNA vaccines. Pancreatic cancer. And this Trump administration wants to throw it all away.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
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A timeline of how the Trump administration raced to use the Alien Enemies Act yesterday, delivering 250 Venezuelan people to El Salvador's brutal prison system without any chance to defend themselves, just before a judge could stop the planes.
March 16, 2025 at 2:03 PM
A timeline of how the Trump administration raced to use the Alien Enemies Act yesterday, delivering 250 Venezuelan people to El Salvador's brutal prison system without any chance to defend themselves, just before a judge could stop the planes.
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This should terrify every person in this country. The use of machine learning systems to approximate an individuals views on war and then, if they are here lawfully on a visa, tag them for deportation is about as sci-fi dystopian as it gets.
www.axios.com/2025/03/06/s...
www.axios.com/2025/03/06/s...
Scoop: State Dept. to use AI to revoke visas of foreign students who appear "pro-Hamas"
The effort includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts and marks a dramatic escalation in the U.S. government's policing of foreign nationals' cond...
www.axios.com
March 13, 2025 at 12:09 PM
This should terrify every person in this country. The use of machine learning systems to approximate an individuals views on war and then, if they are here lawfully on a visa, tag them for deportation is about as sci-fi dystopian as it gets.
www.axios.com/2025/03/06/s...
www.axios.com/2025/03/06/s...
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From interview of Lee Bollinger, 1st Amendment scholar who served as dean of @UMichLaw, president of @UMich, and president of Columbia University.
www.chronicle.com/article/were...
www.chronicle.com/article/were...
March 15, 2025 at 7:17 PM
From interview of Lee Bollinger, 1st Amendment scholar who served as dean of @UMichLaw, president of @UMich, and president of Columbia University.
www.chronicle.com/article/were...
www.chronicle.com/article/were...