@abovoadmala.bsky.social
Feel like the standard complaint about Refuse Fascism is that Avakian runs it too much as a personal thing and they just put their aesthetic on things, but I've seen them at practically every protest I've been to for 9 years, always with branded materials. Gotta respect that imo
Large crowds of protesters have begun gathering outside the White House demanding Trump’s resignation because of the ongoing Epstein scandal.
November 16, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Feel like the standard complaint about Refuse Fascism is that Avakian runs it too much as a personal thing and they just put their aesthetic on things, but I've seen them at practically every protest I've been to for 9 years, always with branded materials. Gotta respect that imo
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There's innumerable examples of elite careers where one is continually appointed to positions by virtue of having been appointed to positions, with no meaningful achievement in any of them, but Summers has long struck me as a particularly illustrative case
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 2:25 AM
There's innumerable examples of elite careers where one is continually appointed to positions by virtue of having been appointed to positions, with no meaningful achievement in any of them, but Summers has long struck me as a particularly illustrative case
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This is an important new line being crossed. Trump isn't just pardoning the act of attempting to overthrow the government on January 6: he's pardoning *those people* for committing crimes generally. He may be creating a group of (federally) legally untouchable people.
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
The new pardon ends a legal clash over the limits of Trump’s sweeping Day One clemency for those who stormed the Capitol.
dlvr.it
November 16, 2025 at 12:49 AM
This is an important new line being crossed. Trump isn't just pardoning the act of attempting to overthrow the government on January 6: he's pardoning *those people* for committing crimes generally. He may be creating a group of (federally) legally untouchable people.
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I mean, this whole framing is ridiculous. “Canny Swiss diplomats hit on clever way to secure policy aims with the President: give him a bribe.”
November 15, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I mean, this whole framing is ridiculous. “Canny Swiss diplomats hit on clever way to secure policy aims with the President: give him a bribe.”
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Blending Family and Governance, Richard III has his nephews imprisoned in the Tower of London and later murdered.
Blending Family and Governance, Agrippina the Younger marries Emperor Claudius and later poisons him.
Blending Family and Governance, Louis XIV remarks “L'État, c'est moi”.
Blending Family and Governance, Agrippina the Younger marries Emperor Claudius and later poisons him.
Blending Family and Governance, Louis XIV remarks “L'État, c'est moi”.
November 16, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Blending Family and Governance, Richard III has his nephews imprisoned in the Tower of London and later murdered.
Blending Family and Governance, Agrippina the Younger marries Emperor Claudius and later poisons him.
Blending Family and Governance, Louis XIV remarks “L'État, c'est moi”.
Blending Family and Governance, Agrippina the Younger marries Emperor Claudius and later poisons him.
Blending Family and Governance, Louis XIV remarks “L'État, c'est moi”.
I think the power differentials and analogies to authoritarianism are the most analytically promising routes for dealing with the really pretty shocking extent of powerful men's sexual obsession with much younger girls and women but I'm hung up on how developmentally stunted it is
November 16, 2025 at 12:53 AM
I think the power differentials and analogies to authoritarianism are the most analytically promising routes for dealing with the really pretty shocking extent of powerful men's sexual obsession with much younger girls and women but I'm hung up on how developmentally stunted it is
jesus christ
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 12:06 AM
jesus christ
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Agree. Summers engaging in friendly gossipy 100% sexist emails with underage-girls-sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, long *after* Epstein had been indicted, shows remarkably poor judgement and hubris. Professional economists should openly question people and institutions that honor Summers.
November 15, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Agree. Summers engaging in friendly gossipy 100% sexist emails with underage-girls-sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, long *after* Epstein had been indicted, shows remarkably poor judgement and hubris. Professional economists should openly question people and institutions that honor Summers.
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this is an insane statistic for what is the fastest growing city and metropolitan area in north america. that growth isn't actually realized in most of the city.
it's usually places with tons of renters and density already that see the brunt of hyperfocused growth, & the consequences (displacement)
it's usually places with tons of renters and density already that see the brunt of hyperfocused growth, & the consequences (displacement)
Almost everywhere in the City of Toronto has fewer people that it did 50 years ago
November 15, 2025 at 11:04 PM
this is an insane statistic for what is the fastest growing city and metropolitan area in north america. that growth isn't actually realized in most of the city.
it's usually places with tons of renters and density already that see the brunt of hyperfocused growth, & the consequences (displacement)
it's usually places with tons of renters and density already that see the brunt of hyperfocused growth, & the consequences (displacement)
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A president who pulled every lever, jiggled every handle, and applied every kind of pressure he could think of, up to and including inciting a riot, to prevent his successor from taking office deserves no benefit of the doubt. ICYMI @monacharen.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/its-time-t...
It’s Time to Pivot to 2026 Election Security
Don’t underestimate how Trump and his allies will attempt to control the outcome of the midterms.
www.thebulwark.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:00 PM
A president who pulled every lever, jiggled every handle, and applied every kind of pressure he could think of, up to and including inciting a riot, to prevent his successor from taking office deserves no benefit of the doubt. ICYMI @monacharen.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/its-time-t...
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“But I never thought the enemy would be ME!” cried the leopard after running for office as a member of the Friend-Enemy Distinction Party
This is a Texas Republican who was part of the January 6th mob
November 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
“But I never thought the enemy would be ME!” cried the leopard after running for office as a member of the Friend-Enemy Distinction Party
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Anyone who advocates for impeachment is going to be popular in almost every demographic.
November 15, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Anyone who advocates for impeachment is going to be popular in almost every demographic.
Reposted
I semi-seriously believe that you can make sense out of the second Trump administration by imagining that he is a Javanese king, demonstrating power through his wahju (enlightenment/revelation), tédja (glow/radiance), possession of sacred objects, and willingness to showcase his virility...
![eath of Amangkurat II in 1703, was designed to indicate why
Pangeran Puger, who with Dutch assistance usurped the throne
from his nephew Amangkurat III, was the deceased sovereigns
legitimate successor. "The story is told that the [dead] king's man-
hood stood erect and on the top of it was a radiant light (tjahja),
only the size of a grain of pepper. But nobody observed it. Only
Pangeran Puger saw it. Pangeran Puger quickly sipped up the
[drop of] light. As soon as the light had been sipped, the manhood
ceased to stand erect. It was Allah's will that Pangeran Puger
should succeed to the throne." 39 Indeed the sexual fertility of the
ruler is one essential sign of the Power that he holds, for his seed
is the microcosmic expression of the Power he has concentrated. The
fertility of the ruler was seen as simultaneously evoking and guaran-
teeing the fertility of the land, the prosperity of the society, and the
expansionist vitality of the empire. The Sukarno period once again
provides a striking modern parallel to this old idea. Outside ob-
servers of the Indonesian scene frequently remarked that Sukarno's
well-publicized sexual activities appeared to do him no political
harm. It was even said that the Javanese indulgently expect their
rulers to act in this way. But if the foregoing analysis is correct, the
political aspects of Sukarno's personal life are overlooked in such a
perspective. For signs of the ruler's virility are political indicators
that he still has the Power. Conversely, any marked decline in sexual
activity could be taken as sign of waning Power in other respects.
More sophisticated observers of late Guided Democracy were
indeed inclined to suspect that Palace officials deliberately spread
exaggerated stories about the President's personal life as part of a
continuing effort to maintain his authority.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c2j4ta6z47nl3nxpb3urcrcm/bafkreihxx47eugygqq7adzhqgwwcytvw3tflflczowywh7ln6gadw7bbxe@jpeg)
November 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
I semi-seriously believe that you can make sense out of the second Trump administration by imagining that he is a Javanese king, demonstrating power through his wahju (enlightenment/revelation), tédja (glow/radiance), possession of sacred objects, and willingness to showcase his virility...
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Barro is a great example of a perfectly mediocre person elevated through social connection, so of course he needs to reduce the pool of potential talent - it’s threatening. He wants to trade L for L among other people of the same status.
November 15, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Barro is a great example of a perfectly mediocre person elevated through social connection, so of course he needs to reduce the pool of potential talent - it’s threatening. He wants to trade L for L among other people of the same status.
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A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break the stranglehold of the Clintons and the Summerses on the progressive wing forever, let’s freaking go
nothing is funnier than rightoids being like “Hehe your favs are also in the epstein files” as if my favs ever included a former Democratic president and known sex pest
November 15, 2025 at 6:40 PM
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break the stranglehold of the Clintons and the Summerses on the progressive wing forever, let’s freaking go
I quote this a lot now
Literary Chinese you can use, from Zhang Yanghao (1270-1329) on history:
興，百姓苦，亡，百姓苦
“Rise: the little people suffer.
Fall: the little people suffer.”
興，百姓苦，亡，百姓苦
“Rise: the little people suffer.
Fall: the little people suffer.”
November 15, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I quote this a lot now
Statics class has 3 sessions (out of 28) scheduled for the final third of the syllabus. How is it even possible to design and execute a class that badly
November 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Statics class has 3 sessions (out of 28) scheduled for the final third of the syllabus. How is it even possible to design and execute a class that badly
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There is absolutely nothing old or consolidated about *multiracial, pluralistic democracy* in America. It only started 60 years ago.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
From 2022:
November 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
There is absolutely nothing old or consolidated about *multiracial, pluralistic democracy* in America. It only started 60 years ago.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
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The constant, blatant, rank corruption that's on public display should horrify us all.
Impeach, convict, remove.
Impeach, convict, remove.
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The constant, blatant, rank corruption that's on public display should horrify us all.
Impeach, convict, remove.
Impeach, convict, remove.
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the astonishing thing about this wave of denialism is that we have more or less decidedly hit the point where clean energy is the *cheaper* option by some distance
I'm kind of baffled how the "moderates" have apparently all decided to turn against climate policy at once, just as China reaches green electrostate liftoff mode. I thought these people were all about National Greatness and making Hard Choices
November 14, 2025 at 3:25 PM
the astonishing thing about this wave of denialism is that we have more or less decidedly hit the point where clean energy is the *cheaper* option by some distance
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polisci and conlaw professors standing round the coffee machine asking what level of functional decline makes congress legally dead for constitutional purposes
November 15, 2025 at 6:02 AM
polisci and conlaw professors standing round the coffee machine asking what level of functional decline makes congress legally dead for constitutional purposes
Several years to develop necessarily revolutionary social technology? Incredible that it's not done yet. Have never heard of people working on something that long
I‘m tired of being nice about this; “abolitionism” has had years to develop a non-idiot policy program and the best they’ve come up with is ”murder without even the pretense of juridical process.” And I am not nut-picking; this is all over abolitionist writing.
"What about [form of abuse that is mostly de facto decriminalised right now anyway]?"
I didn't say abolish bullets, did I?
I didn't say abolish bullets, did I?
November 15, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Several years to develop necessarily revolutionary social technology? Incredible that it's not done yet. Have never heard of people working on something that long
Dumb question: not a lot of pre modern revolutions are there? Just a lot of conquests. Arguably Rome against the kings but even that's kind of a coup
November 15, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Dumb question: not a lot of pre modern revolutions are there? Just a lot of conquests. Arguably Rome against the kings but even that's kind of a coup
