RBmpls
@rbmpls.bsky.social
News consumer. Try to get a variety of inputs and avoid echo chamber.
Reposted by RBmpls
Wrote down some thoughts I had while staring at a Dodge Durango full of Border Patrol dudes. www.minnpost.com/cityscape/20...
Rules of the road are at the center of ICE occupation, resistance
Whenever the ICE occupation finally ends — and it’s no longer necessary to track agents with cars — laws must be enforced.
www.minnpost.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Wrote down some thoughts I had while staring at a Dodge Durango full of Border Patrol dudes. www.minnpost.com/cityscape/20...
Reposted by RBmpls
Ff you want to do something to help occupied Minnesota, no matter where you live, here's a good place to start: www.standwithminnesota.com
Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory
Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.
www.standwithminnesota.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Ff you want to do something to help occupied Minnesota, no matter where you live, here's a good place to start: www.standwithminnesota.com
"Trump’s manner [at Davos] suggested to the rest of the world...that they should be grateful he’s decided not to start a war of aggression against a harmless island, or to blow apart a 76-year-old NATO alliance, or to destabilize the international order." -Matt Labash
January 22, 2026 at 6:44 PM
"Trump’s manner [at Davos] suggested to the rest of the world...that they should be grateful he’s decided not to start a war of aggression against a harmless island, or to blow apart a 76-year-old NATO alliance, or to destabilize the international order." -Matt Labash
”For a decade, Americans have looked at the fantastic prosperity they enjoy and assumed that it was their natural right...That they could elect an aspiring authoritarian,…endorse the embrace of America’s enemies and betrayal of its allies—and there would be no consequences. -JV Last, The Bulwark
January 22, 2026 at 5:57 PM
”For a decade, Americans have looked at the fantastic prosperity they enjoy and assumed that it was their natural right...That they could elect an aspiring authoritarian,…endorse the embrace of America’s enemies and betrayal of its allies—and there would be no consequences. -JV Last, The Bulwark
Reposted by RBmpls
MLK was only 39 when he was killed. Growing up, I thought that was old. But I’m 43 now and I’m stunned by the burden he shouldered at such a young age. I’m also a lot more aware of how hard it is, at any age, to carry the hopes and dreams of an oppressed people on your shoulders, as so many do.
January 19, 2026 at 2:55 PM
MLK was only 39 when he was killed. Growing up, I thought that was old. But I’m 43 now and I’m stunned by the burden he shouldered at such a young age. I’m also a lot more aware of how hard it is, at any age, to carry the hopes and dreams of an oppressed people on your shoulders, as so many do.
A user asked [economist Peter] Schiff, "Can you predict what worse economic policies the Trump administration might roll out next?,"…[he] answered, "Hard to say which one will come next, but it's pretty clear from his track record that any future economic policy he rolls out will be bad." -RawStory
January 19, 2026 at 6:22 PM
A user asked [economist Peter] Schiff, "Can you predict what worse economic policies the Trump administration might roll out next?,"…[he] answered, "Hard to say which one will come next, but it's pretty clear from his track record that any future economic policy he rolls out will be bad." -RawStory
In The Chicago Tribune, Steve Chapman contemplated Trump’s disdain for — and flouting of — the law: “Numerous federal judges have ruled against Trump, but they are in the position of trying to put out a house fire with bottles of San Pellegrino.” -cited by a reader of Frank Bruni's newsletter
January 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM
In The Chicago Tribune, Steve Chapman contemplated Trump’s disdain for — and flouting of — the law: “Numerous federal judges have ruled against Trump, but they are in the position of trying to put out a house fire with bottles of San Pellegrino.” -cited by a reader of Frank Bruni's newsletter
“Because there’s always such a strong whiff of cynical calculation and inauthenticity about Vance, he has to say more and go further than many natural MAGA personalities do. He has to pay moral cash where others might be trusted on moral credit.” -David Frum
January 19, 2026 at 4:00 PM
“Because there’s always such a strong whiff of cynical calculation and inauthenticity about Vance, he has to say more and go further than many natural MAGA personalities do. He has to pay moral cash where others might be trusted on moral credit.” -David Frum
In The Nation, David Faris marveled at the meekness of congressional Republicans: “This is Trump’s ship, and they have retired to their quarters hoping that their morally depraved captain has some kind of plan for the ankle-deep water sloshing around their feet other than letting them drown.”
January 19, 2026 at 3:59 PM
In The Nation, David Faris marveled at the meekness of congressional Republicans: “This is Trump’s ship, and they have retired to their quarters hoping that their morally depraved captain has some kind of plan for the ankle-deep water sloshing around their feet other than letting them drown.”
"[T]he malevolent charlatans who now dominate our national stage will sooner or later—and I trust sooner—be left behind, unlamented discards on the ash heap of history. Whereas the memory of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will live on." -William Kristol in The Bulwark
January 19, 2026 at 3:52 PM
"[T]he malevolent charlatans who now dominate our national stage will sooner or later—and I trust sooner—be left behind, unlamented discards on the ash heap of history. Whereas the memory of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will live on." -William Kristol in The Bulwark
"Figures...this month show that the labor share of the nation’s GDP hit the lowest point...since the BLS began measuring such things in 1947. In that year, the labor share...stood at 70 percent of the nation’s income...In the third quarter of 2025, the labor share stood at 53.8 percent." -H.Meyerson
January 19, 2026 at 11:49 AM
"Figures...this month show that the labor share of the nation’s GDP hit the lowest point...since the BLS began measuring such things in 1947. In that year, the labor share...stood at 70 percent of the nation’s income...In the third quarter of 2025, the labor share stood at 53.8 percent." -H.Meyerson
Yhoughts for MLK day: open.substack.com/pub/matthewy...
January 19, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Yhoughts for MLK day: open.substack.com/pub/matthewy...
Reposted by RBmpls
2026 is seeing that the U.S. Army is mobilizing a unit specialized for winter conditions, but not knowing if the intended mission is violent repression of an American city or stealing territory from a U.S. treaty ally.
January 18, 2026 at 3:29 PM
2026 is seeing that the U.S. Army is mobilizing a unit specialized for winter conditions, but not knowing if the intended mission is violent repression of an American city or stealing territory from a U.S. treaty ally.
[Trump opposes] “the country’s foundational idea of a civic nation…whose people are bound by a shared commitment to principles rather than ancestry...[instead] policing…the boundaries of who gets to call themselves American based in large part on where they come from.” -Charles Homans, NY Times
January 18, 2026 at 2:09 PM
[Trump opposes] “the country’s foundational idea of a civic nation…whose people are bound by a shared commitment to principles rather than ancestry...[instead] policing…the boundaries of who gets to call themselves American based in large part on where they come from.” -Charles Homans, NY Times
“Anyone who sounds and acts the way Trump does now would already have been removed from controls of an airplane, an emergency room, a combat unit, a newspaper editorial team, a bus. Yet his party grants him control of America’s dealings internally and externally…” -James Fallows
January 17, 2026 at 1:57 AM
“Anyone who sounds and acts the way Trump does now would already have been removed from controls of an airplane, an emergency room, a combat unit, a newspaper editorial team, a bus. Yet his party grants him control of America’s dealings internally and externally…” -James Fallows
“So if ICE needs to stop what it is doing, it’s Democrats in Congress who need to try to do their best to stop it. Which does not mean offering a couple of pro forma amendments that will lose….it does not mean going on to approve government funding as usual.” -William Kristol in The Bulwark
January 16, 2026 at 2:28 PM
“So if ICE needs to stop what it is doing, it’s Democrats in Congress who need to try to do their best to stop it. Which does not mean offering a couple of pro forma amendments that will lose….it does not mean going on to approve government funding as usual.” -William Kristol in The Bulwark
Reposted by RBmpls
This could be the unified Dem position. It is wildly popular. Puts the regime on defense on two fronts at the same time. Good policy, good politics.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of nearly 100 House Democrats, will announce later today that it's formally endorsing legislation to strip $175 billion from ICE and put it toward affordable housing. www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-fe...
Progressive Caucus Backs Bill To Redirect ICE Money To Affordable Housing
www.huffpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:29 AM
This could be the unified Dem position. It is wildly popular. Puts the regime on defense on two fronts at the same time. Good policy, good politics.
Reposted by RBmpls
Please read and share with anyone who might be planning on counterprotesting in Cedar-Riverside this weekend
January 15, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Please read and share with anyone who might be planning on counterprotesting in Cedar-Riverside this weekend
“We have a remarkable capacity for moral clarity when things [like violence against civilians] are happening elsewhere [e.g. Iran], but fall all over ourselves to make excuses when they happen domestically.” -Jonathan V. Last
January 14, 2026 at 5:58 PM
“We have a remarkable capacity for moral clarity when things [like violence against civilians] are happening elsewhere [e.g. Iran], but fall all over ourselves to make excuses when they happen domestically.” -Jonathan V. Last
"Whereas traditional special counsels are...to insulate investigations from political considerations, this [Trump/Vance] structure is designed to be responsive to them. It will conduct the investigations Trump and Vance want conducted...[and] ignore the crimes they want buried from public view." 1/2
January 13, 2026 at 5:45 PM
"Whereas traditional special counsels are...to insulate investigations from political considerations, this [Trump/Vance] structure is designed to be responsive to them. It will conduct the investigations Trump and Vance want conducted...[and] ignore the crimes they want buried from public view." 1/2
James Fallows on Trump's Greenland obsession: *No sane American leader would ever think: Let’s offend or attack an ally, to get something we already have, and take on extra burdens we don’t want. But that is what our Mad King and his toadies are proposing."
January 12, 2026 at 11:34 AM
James Fallows on Trump's Greenland obsession: *No sane American leader would ever think: Let’s offend or attack an ally, to get something we already have, and take on extra burdens we don’t want. But that is what our Mad King and his toadies are proposing."
"There is no future for a country that declares a third of its people to be illegitimate, and which deploys authoritarian force to intimidate and expel as many of them as possible." -Noah Smith
January 11, 2026 at 4:39 AM
"There is no future for a country that declares a third of its people to be illegitimate, and which deploys authoritarian force to intimidate and expel as many of them as possible." -Noah Smith
“In Trump’s interpretation of the imperial presidency, …foreign endeavors can be transformed into a domestic affair. And all domestic activities can somehow be linked to foreign-menaced national security. It is one small trick to destroy constitutional and democratic rule.” -Lydia Polgreen, NY Times
January 10, 2026 at 2:24 AM
“In Trump’s interpretation of the imperial presidency, …foreign endeavors can be transformed into a domestic affair. And all domestic activities can somehow be linked to foreign-menaced national security. It is one small trick to destroy constitutional and democratic rule.” -Lydia Polgreen, NY Times
“[The US] treated [electric tech] as a climate issue instead of an issue of raw national power and industrial might, and we allowed it to become a political football...Our entire existence as a leading nation is under threat from this remarkable failure of vision and leadership.” -Noah Smith
January 9, 2026 at 8:41 PM
“[The US] treated [electric tech] as a climate issue instead of an issue of raw national power and industrial might, and we allowed it to become a political football...Our entire existence as a leading nation is under threat from this remarkable failure of vision and leadership.” -Noah Smith
“Our rare earths deficit developed…gradually, then suddenly. Our failure is bipartisan… Rare earths aren’t rare. Long-term, strategic investment is. And the scarcest resource in America today is leaders who will invest in a future we don’t immediately profit from.” -Scott Galloway
January 9, 2026 at 5:56 PM
“Our rare earths deficit developed…gradually, then suddenly. Our failure is bipartisan… Rare earths aren’t rare. Long-term, strategic investment is. And the scarcest resource in America today is leaders who will invest in a future we don’t immediately profit from.” -Scott Galloway