The Last Bastion...
@twainspatriot.bsky.social
Father, partner, geophysicist, orogen/volcanophile with occasional irrational urge to tip the scales toward egalitarianism & social justice.
Kinda happy-go-Loki.
Firm proponent of human engagement with objective reality.
No DMs pls.
Kinda happy-go-Loki.
Firm proponent of human engagement with objective reality.
No DMs pls.
ICE brought a knife to a Zamboni fight…
Minnesota N’ice
Minnesota N’ice
January 17, 2026 at 10:47 PM
ICE brought a knife to a Zamboni fight…
Minnesota N’ice
Minnesota N’ice
“The Left” in the Trump era appears to mean everyone who is not either MAGA or MAGA-credulous (think, captured media organizations that pretend MAGA is not what it is: A far-fringe, domestic-terror-adjacent, White Supremacist movement on a par with 20th century Nazism.
While I'm at it, is only the left supposed to care and be chastised for care that is not large enough, or is anyone else supervised by the Bureau of Caring Enough? Also, as ever, what exactly does "the left" mean, because usually it's a grab-bag term for radically different positions and people.
January 17, 2026 at 6:07 PM
“The Left” in the Trump era appears to mean everyone who is not either MAGA or MAGA-credulous (think, captured media organizations that pretend MAGA is not what it is: A far-fringe, domestic-terror-adjacent, White Supremacist movement on a par with 20th century Nazism.
America is the fire-forged amalgam of the past bloody struggles to include more of her citizens in her bounty, and an aspirational future of Justice for All.
Focus too much on the future, we will never reach it. Focus too much on the past, we will never leave it.
Focus too much on the future, we will never reach it. Focus too much on the past, we will never leave it.
January 14, 2026 at 3:13 PM
America is the fire-forged amalgam of the past bloody struggles to include more of her citizens in her bounty, and an aspirational future of Justice for All.
Focus too much on the future, we will never reach it. Focus too much on the past, we will never leave it.
Focus too much on the future, we will never reach it. Focus too much on the past, we will never leave it.
The beatings will continue until...
State and local governments step up to protect their Citizens.
State and local governments step up to protect their Citizens.
This is completely fucking unacceptable. Shut this terrorist government down until it stops brutalizing its own citizens.
Today at 34 & Park in Minneapolis, a woman tried to drive down the street where a protest had broken out in front of a home ICE was raiding, saying she had a doctor apt to get to. ICE agents busted out her windows, cut off her seatbelt, and pulled her out before arresting her.
January 13, 2026 at 7:14 PM
The beatings will continue until...
State and local governments step up to protect their Citizens.
State and local governments step up to protect their Citizens.
Apparently the Authoritarian overthrow of everything America stands for isn't proceeding with sufficient urgency to satisfy the Posobiec brothers.
Kevin Posobiec—brother of Jack Posobiec of “Rape Melania” sign infamy—is one of the MAGA influencers on the scene in Minneapolis, while Jack urges Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act.
@governorwalz.mn.gov
@amyklobuchar.com @mayorjacobfrey.bsky.social 1/
@governorwalz.mn.gov
@amyklobuchar.com @mayorjacobfrey.bsky.social 1/
January 13, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Apparently the Authoritarian overthrow of everything America stands for isn't proceeding with sufficient urgency to satisfy the Posobiec brothers.
Fair to say that once The Republican Party (& propaganda arms like Fox) accepted Trump as their standard-bearer, adoption of his overtly racist and covertly sexist vision of reinforcing traditional hierarchical pecking orders was inevitable.
January 11, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Fair to say that once The Republican Party (& propaganda arms like Fox) accepted Trump as their standard-bearer, adoption of his overtly racist and covertly sexist vision of reinforcing traditional hierarchical pecking orders was inevitable.
These thugs believe that the rest of us have the same understanding of the social pecking order that they do. The same willingness to submit to violence and intimidation. The same cowardice.
They are always surprised to find that we do not.
They are always surprised to find that we do not.
Repressive occupying forces often believe that a few acts of horrifically unjustified violence will get the public to forfeit freedom and kowtow to them, especially if the violent is well publicized. But it usually does not work that way.
A woman recording an ICE agent tells him "Shame on you."
The agent responds, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?"
"Learned what?" she asks
Then he knocks her phone out of her hand
The agent responds, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?"
"Learned what?" she asks
Then he knocks her phone out of her hand
January 10, 2026 at 4:46 PM
These thugs believe that the rest of us have the same understanding of the social pecking order that they do. The same willingness to submit to violence and intimidation. The same cowardice.
They are always surprised to find that we do not.
They are always surprised to find that we do not.
In an earlier time, this same “Conservative man“ lauded those who gave their lives in the defense of Freedoms against Tyranny.
It is remarkable how MAGA has poisoned America.
www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-...
It is remarkable how MAGA has poisoned America.
www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-...
January 9, 2026 at 8:59 AM
In an earlier time, this same “Conservative man“ lauded those who gave their lives in the defense of Freedoms against Tyranny.
It is remarkable how MAGA has poisoned America.
www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-...
It is remarkable how MAGA has poisoned America.
www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-...
There has to be consequences.
ICE needs to understand that they do not serve Donald J. Trump.
Either they serve America, America's laws and America's Constitution, or they serve time.
ICE needs to understand that they do not serve Donald J. Trump.
Either they serve America, America's laws and America's Constitution, or they serve time.
January 8, 2026 at 8:56 PM
There has to be consequences.
ICE needs to understand that they do not serve Donald J. Trump.
Either they serve America, America's laws and America's Constitution, or they serve time.
ICE needs to understand that they do not serve Donald J. Trump.
Either they serve America, America's laws and America's Constitution, or they serve time.
ICE agent commits cold-blooded murder.
For the sole purpose of demonstrating their psychological need to control the situation and domineer anyone who asserts they are not the final arbiter of the rule of law in America.
For the sole purpose of demonstrating their psychological need to control the situation and domineer anyone who asserts they are not the final arbiter of the rule of law in America.
This is the video.
January 7, 2026 at 6:13 PM
ICE agent commits cold-blooded murder.
For the sole purpose of demonstrating their psychological need to control the situation and domineer anyone who asserts they are not the final arbiter of the rule of law in America.
For the sole purpose of demonstrating their psychological need to control the situation and domineer anyone who asserts they are not the final arbiter of the rule of law in America.
Nuh-uh.
The majors know well that any investment they make won't pump oil for 3-5 years.
By that time, the Trump Administration will be gone-daddy-gone and we'll all be pissing on his grave.
If they invest, they carry the risk.
The majors know well that any investment they make won't pump oil for 3-5 years.
By that time, the Trump Administration will be gone-daddy-gone and we'll all be pissing on his grave.
If they invest, they carry the risk.
In an interview with NBC News, President Trump suggests U.S. taxpayers could reimburse oil companies for improving Venezuela’s energy infrastructure:
January 6, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Nuh-uh.
The majors know well that any investment they make won't pump oil for 3-5 years.
By that time, the Trump Administration will be gone-daddy-gone and we'll all be pissing on his grave.
If they invest, they carry the risk.
The majors know well that any investment they make won't pump oil for 3-5 years.
By that time, the Trump Administration will be gone-daddy-gone and we'll all be pissing on his grave.
If they invest, they carry the risk.
So. Donald Trump decided to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the United States with an attempt to overthrow Venezuela?
January 4, 2026 at 1:59 AM
So. Donald Trump decided to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the United States with an attempt to overthrow Venezuela?
My god. Who could have predicted before 2024 that Chuck Schumer could be this much of an idiot.
Asked about the possibility of impeachment, Schumer says "we hope that we can have support from our Republican colleagues to put a brake on this long before it gets that far"
January 3, 2026 at 8:51 PM
My god. Who could have predicted before 2024 that Chuck Schumer could be this much of an idiot.
I write both Senators and my Representative, all Republicans, to ask what they will do in response to the President initiating an unconstitutional and illegal war against a sovereign nation.
Sadly, I anticipate I already know the answer:
Not a damn thing.
Sadly, I anticipate I already know the answer:
Not a damn thing.
January 3, 2026 at 7:38 PM
I write both Senators and my Representative, all Republicans, to ask what they will do in response to the President initiating an unconstitutional and illegal war against a sovereign nation.
Sadly, I anticipate I already know the answer:
Not a damn thing.
Sadly, I anticipate I already know the answer:
Not a damn thing.
When I started reading this my brain immediately went to 9th Circle. As in, Dante’s Inferno…
9th Cir., 2-1, holds that open carry is protected by the Second Amendment even where a state allows concealed carry, strikes California's law banning urban open carry and its licensing law for open carry in rural counties.
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
January 3, 2026 at 1:01 AM
When I started reading this my brain immediately went to 9th Circle. As in, Dante’s Inferno…
This mirrors a ca. 2009 Pew poll that found only 6% of scientists self-identified as Republicans. We were early-adopters to the notion that Republican political premises are generally false, if one approaches from a reality-based rather than ideological or tribal prism of understanding.
A 2022 study found that most journalists (51.7%) were independent. Those identifying as Republican fell from 18% percent in 2002 to 3.4% in 2022. Again, not a leftist plot. My theory: Fact-based people were put off by GOP lies. (If you don't think Republicans lie a lot, I can’t help you.) 5/10 🧵
Key Findings From The 2022 American Journalist Study
Executive Summary
This survey continues the series of major national studies of U.S. journalists begun in 1971 by sociologist John Johnstone and continued in 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2013 by David Weaver...
www.theamericanjournalist.org
December 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM
This mirrors a ca. 2009 Pew poll that found only 6% of scientists self-identified as Republicans. We were early-adopters to the notion that Republican political premises are generally false, if one approaches from a reality-based rather than ideological or tribal prism of understanding.
From the first moment he spoke about immigrants, after descending that gilded escalator in 2015, it was clear that electoral support for this monster would lead to concentration camps. It was an inevitability.
Again: storing human beings in warehouses, like cargo. Like freight.
The historical echoes remain deafening.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
The historical echoes remain deafening.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
ICE documents reveal plan to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouses
The Trump administration wants to build seven large-scale deportation hubs to speed up deportations, internal ICE documents show.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
From the first moment he spoke about immigrants, after descending that gilded escalator in 2015, it was clear that electoral support for this monster would lead to concentration camps. It was an inevitability.
“Minority rule cannot last in America. It never has.”
www.hnn.us/article/mino...
www.hnn.us/article/mino...
December 24, 2025 at 1:50 PM
“Minority rule cannot last in America. It never has.”
www.hnn.us/article/mino...
www.hnn.us/article/mino...
This is why so much of the Administration is made up 20-somethings, zealots, and alcoholics. Folks with a bit more wisdom/judgment have thought this through enough to realize what happens to Trumpers in a world post-Trump.
the main reward you are likely to get for total loyalty to trump is the destruction of your career and your reputation www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/n...
Elise Stefanik Drops Out of N.Y. Governor’s Race and Will Leave Congress
www.nytimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:35 PM
This is why so much of the Administration is made up 20-somethings, zealots, and alcoholics. Folks with a bit more wisdom/judgment have thought this through enough to realize what happens to Trumpers in a world post-Trump.
U.S. auto makers have already made plans to back off their plans to ramp up the electric vehicle market, but are transitioning their battery plants to provide energy storage for wind and solar installations.
Somebody's not reading the tea leaves correctly here.
Somebody's not reading the tea leaves correctly here.
New paper:
China's current rate of Wind-Water-Solar (WWS) installations puts it on a trajectory to transition to 100% WWS across all energy sectors by 2051
US & India won't get there until past 2130
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
China's current rate of Wind-Water-Solar (WWS) installations puts it on a trajectory to transition to 100% WWS across all energy sectors by 2051
US & India won't get there until past 2130
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
December 19, 2025 at 9:11 PM
U.S. auto makers have already made plans to back off their plans to ramp up the electric vehicle market, but are transitioning their battery plants to provide energy storage for wind and solar installations.
Somebody's not reading the tea leaves correctly here.
Somebody's not reading the tea leaves correctly here.
Yes, yes; I recognized while typing that Trump is all dark-recess and no soul.
But I went with the rhyme.
But I went with the rhyme.
Trump is trying to pre-emptively create his own memorial, knowing somewhere in the dark recesses of his soul that ultimately his legacy will be a memory-hole.
December 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Yes, yes; I recognized while typing that Trump is all dark-recess and no soul.
But I went with the rhyme.
But I went with the rhyme.
The Blatantly Unconstitutional 47th Presidency of the United States.
Major fail. Trump never should have been able to run for public office—any public office—ever again.
Former special counsel Jack Smith tells a congressional committee that his team found "proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Trump engaged in a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to portions of his opening statement obtained by NBC News.
December 17, 2025 at 10:33 PM
The Blatantly Unconstitutional 47th Presidency of the United States.
There are many hypotheses for the antecedents to America’s economic and geopolitical success circa 1940 to 2000… Stephen Miller attributes it all to a 1924 law clamping down on immigration, and seeks to revitalize America with policies like those that made 1930s Germany great again.
Stephen Miller is employing state terror in service of the open goal of shifting the ethnic mix of the country. In numerous ways he's doing this at the expense of public safety.
We spent weeks reporting on Miller's real aims. Here's the result. We hope you'll read:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
We spent weeks reporting on Miller's real aims. Here's the result. We hope you'll read:
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State
He is descended from Russian Jews—you know, the kind of people who were once denounced as alien and unassimilable. Today, his project is to unleash government persecution of those he deems alien and u...
newrepublic.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:54 PM
There are many hypotheses for the antecedents to America’s economic and geopolitical success circa 1940 to 2000… Stephen Miller attributes it all to a 1924 law clamping down on immigration, and seeks to revitalize America with policies like those that made 1930s Germany great again.
Yes. Cognitive energy spent weighing how best to game a mercurially changing grant system (and all of the academic systems that depend on it) is cognitive energy not spent on advancing the frontiers of scientific understanding.
The Trump administration caused seismic disruptions to the world's premier scientific superpower in 2025
go.nature.com/4q1IkDq
go.nature.com/4q1IkDq
Grant cuts, arrests, lay-offs: Trump made 2025 a tumultuous year for science
How the Trump administration caused seismic disruptions to the world’s premier scientific superpower.
go.nature.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Yes. Cognitive energy spent weighing how best to game a mercurially changing grant system (and all of the academic systems that depend on it) is cognitive energy not spent on advancing the frontiers of scientific understanding.
Not even a bandaid on a bullet wound… More like pour salt
Great headline and subhed combo. Real curiosity gap when readers will naturally be asking, ok what the fuck does it do
December 13, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Not even a bandaid on a bullet wound… More like pour salt