Andrew Tobolowsky
@andytobo.bsky.social
Associate prof, biblical studies, but in a cool way. Author, dreamweaver etc.
Reposted by Andrew Tobolowsky
even my favored structural reforms are just finding ways to brute force a less destructive republican party, whether that is ending as much as possible the electoral bonus for representing rural areas or making multi-partyism more viable.
January 5, 2026 at 12:04 AM
even my favored structural reforms are just finding ways to brute force a less destructive republican party, whether that is ending as much as possible the electoral bonus for representing rural areas or making multi-partyism more viable.
I still think what’s weirdest about all this is that at the moment at least the entire Maduro gov is still in place except for Maduro. Like even if they hate Maduro that much, why would they be celebrating like this about being led by his VP, cabinet, officers….
This video, viewed millions of times on TikTok, Facebook and X, claims to show Venezuelans taking to the street to thank the US for detaining Maduro.
But the video is a combination of four AI-generated clips and was first posted on TikTok by a user who frequently shares AI videos. It's not real.
But the video is a combination of four AI-generated clips and was first posted on TikTok by a user who frequently shares AI videos. It's not real.
January 5, 2026 at 12:35 AM
I still think what’s weirdest about all this is that at the moment at least the entire Maduro gov is still in place except for Maduro. Like even if they hate Maduro that much, why would they be celebrating like this about being led by his VP, cabinet, officers….
I always feel bad piggybacking off J Bouie bc he’s so insightful it feels even more like a contribution no one needs than usual. But yes people will act like the end results of the GOP starting with - pick your poison, Gingrich or McConnell - just refusing to be part of governance -
yep. i can identify any number of structural issues but at the end of the day the basic problem is the republican party. this has been apparent for at least 20 years. it is also an incredibly unpopular observation to make among “serious” people.
Right.
If you want a good explanation of why the American system of government worked well enough for 200 years and then suddenly stopped, it's because Republicans in Congress suddenly started letting their partisan interests COMPLETELY override their institutional interests
If you want a good explanation of why the American system of government worked well enough for 200 years and then suddenly stopped, it's because Republicans in Congress suddenly started letting their partisan interests COMPLETELY override their institutional interests
January 5, 2026 at 12:32 AM
I always feel bad piggybacking off J Bouie bc he’s so insightful it feels even more like a contribution no one needs than usual. But yes people will act like the end results of the GOP starting with - pick your poison, Gingrich or McConnell - just refusing to be part of governance -
Again, I think the most logical explanation for all of this is that 1) Trump is one among many idiot conservatives who believe that you should conquer a place with oil, e.g., Iraq, and take their oil, then oil is magically cheaper and 2) he believes this kidnapping was so intimidating...
Trump says they're going to make a "lot of money" from Venezuela's oil, oil companies say that's not possible, Rubio says they're not doing regime change and is now in charge of the government but there's still a Venezuelan government in place, they said it's about fentanyl but no charges mention it
January 4, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Again, I think the most logical explanation for all of this is that 1) Trump is one among many idiot conservatives who believe that you should conquer a place with oil, e.g., Iraq, and take their oil, then oil is magically cheaper and 2) he believes this kidnapping was so intimidating...
A frustrating throughline of the Trump years is that he basically tries to get everything done through intimidation but he sucks at intimidation but he still often gets what he wants because of America's pre-existing power and the value of sucking up at him, then he takes credit -
WELKER: Is the Cuban government the Trump administration's next target?
MARCO RUBIO: Well, the Cuban government is a huge problem. Yeah.
WELKER: Is that a yes?
RUBIO: I think they're in a lot of trouble, yes
MARCO RUBIO: Well, the Cuban government is a huge problem. Yeah.
WELKER: Is that a yes?
RUBIO: I think they're in a lot of trouble, yes
January 4, 2026 at 3:49 PM
A frustrating throughline of the Trump years is that he basically tries to get everything done through intimidation but he sucks at intimidation but he still often gets what he wants because of America's pre-existing power and the value of sucking up at him, then he takes credit -
Max Christie is really a pretty good player
January 4, 2026 at 3:48 AM
Max Christie is really a pretty good player
It does seem like Trump's claim to be ruling Venezuela is based on what he assumed would happen if we kidnapped the president and left and not what anyone is in a position to do
January 4, 2026 at 2:46 AM
It does seem like Trump's claim to be ruling Venezuela is based on what he assumed would happen if we kidnapped the president and left and not what anyone is in a position to do
did they just go to wikipedia to get the first picture
January 4, 2026 at 12:47 AM
did they just go to wikipedia to get the first picture
This shit is so naked!
“What appears to be a newly created account appeared to invest $30,000 Friday in Maduro's exit. After Maduro went into custody Saturday morning, that same investor netted $436,759.61.”
Someone made $400K by predicting Maduro's capture. Here's what happened
The winnings come as the rules governing prediction markets are still evolving.
www.axios.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:56 PM
This shit is so naked!
Reposted by Andrew Tobolowsky
looks like someone is about to win the “fell for it again” award
Trump on María Corina Machado: "I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman but she doesn't have the respect."
January 3, 2026 at 6:56 PM
looks like someone is about to win the “fell for it again” award
Another skeleton key to the Trump years that I always think about is how Musk and Zuckerberg both came out publicly as pro-Trump after the assassination attempt, not that Musk was hiding it terribly well, and both described how he behaved after being shot as "epic" or "awesome" or whatever.
January 3, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Another skeleton key to the Trump years that I always think about is how Musk and Zuckerberg both came out publicly as pro-Trump after the assassination attempt, not that Musk was hiding it terribly well, and both described how he behaved after being shot as "epic" or "awesome" or whatever.
The common thread to everything Trump is that we have lost the idea that laws exist and are supposed to be enforced impartially because trying to decide when they are justified or not on a case by case basis is prime for extraordinary abuse
January 3, 2026 at 5:21 PM
The common thread to everything Trump is that we have lost the idea that laws exist and are supposed to be enforced impartially because trying to decide when they are justified or not on a case by case basis is prime for extraordinary abuse
Yeah they just learned "we don't have power over Trump" and kinda chilled
This lede makes no sense: "Congress learned some hard lessons about the limits of its power during the first year of the second Trump administration..." They did not in fact learn any lessons about how powers they entirely declined to exercise might have worked.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/u...
A Diminished Congress Weighs Whether to Reassert Its Power
www.nytimes.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Yeah they just learned "we don't have power over Trump" and kinda chilled
Mike Lee taking five minutes to be a principled libertarian before turning to "apparently Venezuelan forces were trying to stop us from kidnapping their president for some reason, which allows us to treat them as a hostile party so nm" is very Mike Lee
January 3, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Mike Lee taking five minutes to be a principled libertarian before turning to "apparently Venezuelan forces were trying to stop us from kidnapping their president for some reason, which allows us to treat them as a hostile party so nm" is very Mike Lee
Reposted by Andrew Tobolowsky
The conservative mind has been ruled for a generation by the fantasy of a brilliant, principled liberal who is led by the spirit of honest inquiry to a humble, weeping conversion to conservatism. And since that has never happened in reality, they have to pay each other to perform it for them.
I truly cannot wait for these incredibly stupid people to find out what happens when you try to wave the flag harder than Fox News
January 3, 2026 at 12:41 AM
The conservative mind has been ruled for a generation by the fantasy of a brilliant, principled liberal who is led by the spirit of honest inquiry to a humble, weeping conversion to conservatism. And since that has never happened in reality, they have to pay each other to perform it for them.
In 2026, if you want to be nice from distance on your toddler hoop, your shot should look like this
January 2, 2026 at 10:05 PM
In 2026, if you want to be nice from distance on your toddler hoop, your shot should look like this
Part of the reason the GOP grift works is there’s nothing that objectionable in a lot of this and even potentially good. If they wanted to cover news from the perspective of defending the rule of law and keeping the republic, they’d be very very anti Trump. No one thinks they mean it!
Incredible. CBS Evening News announces five new “simple values” — instead of their “38-page handbook” — as they roll out Tony Dokoupil is lead anchor.
One of those values is simply: “We love America and make no apologies for saying so.”
One of those values is simply: “We love America and make no apologies for saying so.”
January 2, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Part of the reason the GOP grift works is there’s nothing that objectionable in a lot of this and even potentially good. If they wanted to cover news from the perspective of defending the rule of law and keeping the republic, they’d be very very anti Trump. No one thinks they mean it!
Reposted by Andrew Tobolowsky
Most of the derangement about Mamdani is for the obvious reasons but part of it is also that a surprising amount of people were committed to the Cuomo rehabilitation project because they hated the idea that anything could have consequences for men of the right class.
January 2, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Most of the derangement about Mamdani is for the obvious reasons but part of it is also that a surprising amount of people were committed to the Cuomo rehabilitation project because they hated the idea that anything could have consequences for men of the right class.
I’m excited about this
January 2, 2026 at 2:29 PM
I’m excited about this
I think Trump is in better health than a lot of people on here but "the doctors keep making me take the medical test designed to assess cognitive impairment every five minutes" is doing slightly different work than he suspects
Trump claims his doctors say he is in “PERFECT HEALTH” and reports he has been administered a third cognitive assessment.
January 2, 2026 at 1:55 PM
I think Trump is in better health than a lot of people on here but "the doctors keep making me take the medical test designed to assess cognitive impairment every five minutes" is doing slightly different work than he suspects
No successful version of this Mavs team has Brandon Williams Doing Too Much
January 2, 2026 at 3:29 AM
No successful version of this Mavs team has Brandon Williams Doing Too Much
Reposted by Andrew Tobolowsky
I think one of the reasons mainstream democrats didn’t like Mamdani is that he is a guy who does things, and they don’t want that example out there.
Mayor Mamdani has nullified every executive order issued by Eric Adams after he struck his corrupt bargain with Trump to secure dismissal of the indictment against him.
January 2, 2026 at 12:09 AM
I think one of the reasons mainstream democrats didn’t like Mamdani is that he is a guy who does things, and they don’t want that example out there.
One thing I think any Dem could take from Mamdani regardless of their lefty-ness is to speak positively about their voters and the places where many of them live rather than constantly running on how horrible blue states and blue voters are and how you're gonna fix 'em
January 2, 2026 at 12:59 AM
One thing I think any Dem could take from Mamdani regardless of their lefty-ness is to speak positively about their voters and the places where many of them live rather than constantly running on how horrible blue states and blue voters are and how you're gonna fix 'em
Reposted by Andrew Tobolowsky
when i say that democrats have got to stop worrying about what republicans will to do us and make republicans worry about what we will do to them, this is what i am talking about
www.liberalcurrents.com/democrats-mu...
www.liberalcurrents.com/democrats-mu...
January 2, 2026 at 12:02 AM
when i say that democrats have got to stop worrying about what republicans will to do us and make republicans worry about what we will do to them, this is what i am talking about
www.liberalcurrents.com/democrats-mu...
www.liberalcurrents.com/democrats-mu...