Reluctant Rebel
@reluctantrebel.bsky.social
From the Home of the Square Deal. Wide Awake. Impermanent. He/Him.
The sky in the DC area right now is incredible!
January 17, 2026 at 12:19 PM
The sky in the DC area right now is incredible!
My kid has left for a winter overnight in the snowy, cold mountains of WV. We're into the portion of the program when they are taking their first steps of independence. I am simultaneously excited and nervous. I think this is going to be the toughest part of parenthood for me.
January 17, 2026 at 12:11 PM
My kid has left for a winter overnight in the snowy, cold mountains of WV. We're into the portion of the program when they are taking their first steps of independence. I am simultaneously excited and nervous. I think this is going to be the toughest part of parenthood for me.
Mutes "Newsome".
My god, you people just can't help yourselves can you.
My god, you people just can't help yourselves can you.
January 16, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Mutes "Newsome".
My god, you people just can't help yourselves can you.
My god, you people just can't help yourselves can you.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
THREAD 🧵
Seen in MINNEAPOLIS: faces of right-wing media / hostile press / profiteering grifters this week. Do not take the bait, do not engage. #hostilemedia #hostilemediaMNPLS
Link to hostile press lookbook:
bsky.app/profile/cass...
Do not reply to our posts with violence or you will be blocked.
Seen in MINNEAPOLIS: faces of right-wing media / hostile press / profiteering grifters this week. Do not take the bait, do not engage. #hostilemedia #hostilemediaMNPLS
Link to hostile press lookbook:
bsky.app/profile/cass...
Do not reply to our posts with violence or you will be blocked.
January 15, 2026 at 9:16 PM
THREAD 🧵
Seen in MINNEAPOLIS: faces of right-wing media / hostile press / profiteering grifters this week. Do not take the bait, do not engage. #hostilemedia #hostilemediaMNPLS
Link to hostile press lookbook:
bsky.app/profile/cass...
Do not reply to our posts with violence or you will be blocked.
Seen in MINNEAPOLIS: faces of right-wing media / hostile press / profiteering grifters this week. Do not take the bait, do not engage. #hostilemedia #hostilemediaMNPLS
Link to hostile press lookbook:
bsky.app/profile/cass...
Do not reply to our posts with violence or you will be blocked.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
if you try to focus on Trump’s authoritarianism, Schumer will deflect and say people want us to focus on affordability. but when Zohran Mamdani made affordability the heart of his campaign Schumer refused to endorse him because they disagree about Israel. it’s all mealy mouthed bullshit.
January 15, 2026 at 6:50 PM
if you try to focus on Trump’s authoritarianism, Schumer will deflect and say people want us to focus on affordability. but when Zohran Mamdani made affordability the heart of his campaign Schumer refused to endorse him because they disagree about Israel. it’s all mealy mouthed bullshit.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
Which types of welfare fraud are politely litigated between white collar lawyers, and which types of welfare fraud are used to justify an immigration purge and shutting off resources to the poor?
Kaiser Permanente, DOJ reach $556 million Medicare Advantage fraud settlement, the largest of its kind www.statnews.com/2026/01/14/k...
Kaiser Permanente, DOJ reach $556 million Medicare Advantage fraud settlement, the largest of its kind
Kaiser Permanente and the DOJ reached a $556 million Medicare Advantage fraud settlement, the largest of its kind.
www.statnews.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Which types of welfare fraud are politely litigated between white collar lawyers, and which types of welfare fraud are used to justify an immigration purge and shutting off resources to the poor?
The amount of research I did before our recent EV purchase has convinced me that the American auto industry can only survive if it keeps out Chinese models or rapidly evolves, b/c they are absolutely cooking us on design, range, and features.
There are some fantastic EVs out of China right now.
There are some fantastic EVs out of China right now.
great job, American auto industry. Your capacity for long term strategy remains unmatched.
Edward White:
"Forecasts now suggest China's auto exports are set to nearly double from 2024 levels by 2030 while legacy ICE demand will collapse to levels not seen since 2005."
#alwaysbecharging
www.ft.com/content/5b13...
"Forecasts now suggest China's auto exports are set to nearly double from 2024 levels by 2030 while legacy ICE demand will collapse to levels not seen since 2005."
#alwaysbecharging
www.ft.com/content/5b13...
January 15, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The amount of research I did before our recent EV purchase has convinced me that the American auto industry can only survive if it keeps out Chinese models or rapidly evolves, b/c they are absolutely cooking us on design, range, and features.
There are some fantastic EVs out of China right now.
There are some fantastic EVs out of China right now.
Another reminder that Republicans in Congress could end this madness any time they wish. They simply don't want to.
January 14, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Another reminder that Republicans in Congress could end this madness any time they wish. They simply don't want to.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
Trump is selling seized Venezuelan oil and putting the cash in a bank account in Qatar. Nothing to see here. www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
January 14, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Trump is selling seized Venezuelan oil and putting the cash in a bank account in Qatar. Nothing to see here. www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
I sincerely hope that people who were planning on travelling to the US do not and that they tell FIFA and their country's FA exactly why.
It's not safe, this administration is evil, and conditions here will probably worsen into the summer. It's not worth the risk if you don't have to come here.
It's not safe, this administration is evil, and conditions here will probably worsen into the summer. It's not worth the risk if you don't have to come here.
Promising!
Just boycott.
Play in Europe. or JUST canada and Mexico!
you can do whatever you want, you just need, like 12 fields, everyone will figure out the rest.
Just boycott.
Play in Europe. or JUST canada and Mexico!
you can do whatever you want, you just need, like 12 fields, everyone will figure out the rest.
And they wasted all that money on bribing to get to this point.
January 14, 2026 at 9:08 PM
I sincerely hope that people who were planning on travelling to the US do not and that they tell FIFA and their country's FA exactly why.
It's not safe, this administration is evil, and conditions here will probably worsen into the summer. It's not worth the risk if you don't have to come here.
It's not safe, this administration is evil, and conditions here will probably worsen into the summer. It's not worth the risk if you don't have to come here.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
think it’s time to start treating cbs news links the way sensible people treat free press links, by which i mean ignoring them and not spreading them
January 14, 2026 at 6:44 PM
think it’s time to start treating cbs news links the way sensible people treat free press links, by which i mean ignoring them and not spreading them
Apparently ICE goons in multi-car caravans are circling Spanish immersion preschools in the city taunting and photographing the parents and neighbors who are patrolling the school perimeter to keep kids safe.
January 14, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
This. I am done returning to the status quo of what got us here. I want universal healthcare. I want a maximum wage tied to the minimum wage. I want omnipresent, cheap public transit and walkable neighborhoods. I want Supreme Court and police reform, and I want the rich to pay their fair share.
We need to pick up this Overton Window and throw it as far as we can. Stop waiting for shit to “be popular” and start advocating for what is transparently right.
January 14, 2026 at 4:08 PM
This. I am done returning to the status quo of what got us here. I want universal healthcare. I want a maximum wage tied to the minimum wage. I want omnipresent, cheap public transit and walkable neighborhoods. I want Supreme Court and police reform, and I want the rich to pay their fair share.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
Since authorities should exist for the protection of civilians, in an interaction with civilians, it is they who *should* be in more danger than civilians—at least as long as they are armed—because their equipment and their training must prepare them to handle that danger without a tragic outcome.
January 13, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Since authorities should exist for the protection of civilians, in an interaction with civilians, it is they who *should* be in more danger than civilians—at least as long as they are armed—because their equipment and their training must prepare them to handle that danger without a tragic outcome.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
Under this framework, it is civilians who should enjoy greater considerations and protections following (hopefully rare) violent interactions. This might sound extreme or unrealistic to you; I'd invite you to sit with how obvious it is, and how warped social beliefs around policing have become.
January 13, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Under this framework, it is civilians who should enjoy greater considerations and protections following (hopefully rare) violent interactions. This might sound extreme or unrealistic to you; I'd invite you to sit with how obvious it is, and how warped social beliefs around policing have become.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
Let me give you a thought experiment:
Imagine not just a ban on qualified immunity for authority, but a reversal; a new legal framework, under which authority bears greater responsibility than civilians in matters involving force—as it should.
www.the-reframe.com/absolute-imm...
Imagine not just a ban on qualified immunity for authority, but a reversal; a new legal framework, under which authority bears greater responsibility than civilians in matters involving force—as it should.
www.the-reframe.com/absolute-imm...
Absolute Immunity
Alignment with supremacy is a vile choice. Raising the natural costs for those who make that choice by putting first things first.
www.the-reframe.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Let me give you a thought experiment:
Imagine not just a ban on qualified immunity for authority, but a reversal; a new legal framework, under which authority bears greater responsibility than civilians in matters involving force—as it should.
www.the-reframe.com/absolute-imm...
Imagine not just a ban on qualified immunity for authority, but a reversal; a new legal framework, under which authority bears greater responsibility than civilians in matters involving force—as it should.
www.the-reframe.com/absolute-imm...
The Wheel of Time series probably should have been anime. That show just didn't do the books justice at all.
we often talk about “what anime would you adapt into a movie” but here is a reverse: what movies would you adapt into an anime?
January 13, 2026 at 1:57 PM
The Wheel of Time series probably should have been anime. That show just didn't do the books justice at all.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
If you’re telling me right now that you’re going to push for Medicare For All, or that you want to enshrine abortion access, or that you want to codify LGBTQ+ rights, I know that your heart’s in the right place. But if those are your “top priorities,” you’ve got the cart before the horse, I think.
January 12, 2026 at 10:28 PM
If you’re telling me right now that you’re going to push for Medicare For All, or that you want to enshrine abortion access, or that you want to codify LGBTQ+ rights, I know that your heart’s in the right place. But if those are your “top priorities,” you’ve got the cart before the horse, I think.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
New paper w/ Kulesza & @cmwitko.bsky.social
A worry about campaign contribution limits is that they don't stop money, they just shift it to Citizens United/SpeechNow "independent expenditures"
We find that this didn't happen. Keep calm & regulate on
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nk11m...
1/n
A worry about campaign contribution limits is that they don't stop money, they just shift it to Citizens United/SpeechNow "independent expenditures"
We find that this didn't happen. Keep calm & regulate on
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nk11m...
1/n
January 12, 2026 at 10:20 PM
New paper w/ Kulesza & @cmwitko.bsky.social
A worry about campaign contribution limits is that they don't stop money, they just shift it to Citizens United/SpeechNow "independent expenditures"
We find that this didn't happen. Keep calm & regulate on
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nk11m...
1/n
A worry about campaign contribution limits is that they don't stop money, they just shift it to Citizens United/SpeechNow "independent expenditures"
We find that this didn't happen. Keep calm & regulate on
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nk11m...
1/n
You can just block the NY Post on Bluesky. They let you do it.
January 12, 2026 at 4:15 PM
You can just block the NY Post on Bluesky. They let you do it.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
They are also a violation of the MUTCD. Clearly fit the definition of traffic control devices & not authorized.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
January 12, 2026 at 1:56 PM
They are also a violation of the MUTCD. Clearly fit the definition of traffic control devices & not authorized.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
But notice how FHWA & DOTs don't crack down on them the way they crack down on guerilla crosswalks. They're fine with pedestrian-blaming MUTCD violations.
Exactly. Local/state leaders can't pretend their "protecting" their people while allowing this type of clearly illegal shit. It's the easiest way to go after them. Absolute slam dunks every time.
These are the sorts of things local authorities could be enforcing to get ICE out but aren’t, these are unequivocal public safety violations & with the mass of surveillance LP readers we already know where they are!
(Post is from a month ago to illustrate this isn’t even a new thing)
(Post is from a month ago to illustrate this isn’t even a new thing)
January 12, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Exactly. Local/state leaders can't pretend their "protecting" their people while allowing this type of clearly illegal shit. It's the easiest way to go after them. Absolute slam dunks every time.
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
FIFA’s peace prize scam pays off
The Supreme Court sets aside lower court decisions upholding convictions for bribery related to the FIFA scandal because the Trump administration decided to dismiss those criminal cases "in the interests of justice." The FIFA prosecution ends in a whimper. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
January 12, 2026 at 2:44 PM
FIFA’s peace prize scam pays off
Reposted by Reluctant Rebel
At least seven armed and masked ICE/CBP bodyguards because a GS-15 had to take a piss.
do you know how much of your taxpayer $ was just standing there waiting for Bovino to find his dick
do you know how much of your taxpayer $ was just standing there waiting for Bovino to find his dick
ICE at Midway Target and seem to possible be leaving. Lots of community members here
January 11, 2026 at 8:58 PM
At least seven armed and masked ICE/CBP bodyguards because a GS-15 had to take a piss.
do you know how much of your taxpayer $ was just standing there waiting for Bovino to find his dick
do you know how much of your taxpayer $ was just standing there waiting for Bovino to find his dick