Steve Kasner (he/him)
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steve-kasner.bsky.social
Steve Kasner (he/him)
@steve-kasner.bsky.social
Portland, Oregon-based radical activist, writer, and care worker into critical theory & organizing for change — preferably nonviolent change, toward a radically democratic & sustainable future. NVDA/NVCR trainer & educator.
Signal: skasner.01
Correction: Wendy Brown gave two lectures & one on-stage interview in her 2019 Tanner lecture appearances. Those talks were turned into her book. Here are the YouTube links in chronological order:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG52...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXm_...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI-M...
November 30, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Wendy Brown's thinking about nihilism (drawing upon Max Weber) is relevant & helpful. For quick & easy access, see her interview in The Nation. For more, see her book Nihilistic Times or listen to her three 2019 Tanner Lectures on Human Values at Yale (on YouTube).

www.thenation.com/article/cult...
Wendy Brown: A Conversation on Our “Nihilistic” Age
The Nation spoke with the political theorist about the multifront crisis of the post-Trump era and the moral and intellectual commitments of scholars and higher education.
www.thenation.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:15 AM
I live in inner Portland. The ICE protests today bear little resemblance to the explosive protests downtown in 2020.

Trump was misinformed by intentionally-misleading reports on Fox News. (Sadly, even as president, Trump relies on TV news to inform his decisions)

www.propublica.org/article/port...
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence wa...
www.propublica.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:17 AM
It was also reckless to use arms race rhetoric: a race in which the US must maintain a strong lead, says Trump. Plus, he issued a nuclear threat to Putin, referring to a US nuclear-armed sub deployed near Russia. (But the liberal Putin paranoiacs ignorant of the Cold War may be fine w/ all this…🤷)
October 30, 2025 at 12:48 PM
This is one of the most glaring examples of Trump not knowing what he's talking about. In addition to conflating missile launch tests with nuclear tests, he was unaware of recent US missile launch tests. And if he meant to call for bomb testing, then he should have contacted the DOE not the DoD.
October 30, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Guess we'll just have to disagree on that one. Anatol Lieven of the Quincy institute is a worthwhile voice on this subject. He co-authored the piece below, which outlines a possible peace plan. Don't miss the analysis below the plan, especially on Russian incentives:
quincyinst.org/research/a-u...
A U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine
In advancing a peace settlement to resolve the Russia–Ukraine War, Washington must prioritize a concrete and detailed settlement to end this catastrophic conflict along terms that harmonize the vital,...
quincyinst.org
September 25, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Background on these 8 men & how they ended up in Africa at all. (NYT, 22 May 2025)

GIFT:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/26/w...
What to Know About the Deportees the U.S. Is Trying to Send to South Sudan
www.nytimes.com
July 5, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Screenshot above comes from the intro to this open-access article: Capelos, Tereza, and Nicolas Demertzis. 2022. “Sour Grapes: Ressentiment as the Affective Response of Grievance Politics.” Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research 35 (1): 107–29
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com
June 14, 2025 at 8:02 PM