Seth Kahn (he/him)
@badpacifist.bsky.social
Writing/rhetoric prof in PA. Write about higher ed organizing. Teach about demagoguery. Spurs/Union/Phillies/UGA fan. Read sci-fi, police procedurals, and horror fiction. No DMs with strangers.
My employer says I have to tell you I don't represent them.
My employer says I have to tell you I don't represent them.
Pinned
I've been harping on the idea of *preparing* for a general strike for months, so I decided it's time to do some thinking about what that actually entails for people who are riled up enough to go tomorrow but may not be thinking about how to protect yourselves and each other if we do this.
1/
1/
Next up, with a shout to @magicbeans.bsky.social.
January 6, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Next up, with a shout to @magicbeans.bsky.social.
Reposted by Seth Kahn (he/him)
Starting tomorrow, the Trump administration is set to send notices to 1,000 student loan borrowers (first round) noticing them of an intent to garnish their wages for student loan debt.
This is cruel and unnecessary.
If you receive a notice, send it to us and we'll try to help.
This is cruel and unnecessary.
If you receive a notice, send it to us and we'll try to help.
January 6, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Starting tomorrow, the Trump administration is set to send notices to 1,000 student loan borrowers (first round) noticing them of an intent to garnish their wages for student loan debt.
This is cruel and unnecessary.
If you receive a notice, send it to us and we'll try to help.
This is cruel and unnecessary.
If you receive a notice, send it to us and we'll try to help.
Today's editing soundtrack. This is a repeat from last time because it bleeping rocks. Copenhagen art/punk/post-punk genius.
This Ain't Real, by HalfCutLemon
9 track album
halfcutlemon.bandcamp.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Today's editing soundtrack. This is a repeat from last time because it bleeping rocks. Copenhagen art/punk/post-punk genius.
I didn't know this was a practice (journal editors in fields I read or write in haven't talked about it), but it explains the recent flood of review invites from journals not really related to anything I can competently read.
This! And another new issue is big publishers using AI-suggested reviewer lists for us editors handling manuscripts; I’ve found the suggestions to be much worse than older systems, and AI garbage increased my workload even more as an editor! Sometimes >20 declines per paper until a reviewer agrees.
I'm handling a manuscript and have invited seventeen reviewers. So far, the responses are: no response, declined, declined, no response, declined, declined, declined, declined, declined, no response, no response. One person has turned in a review and I'm still trying to find a second reviewer.
January 6, 2026 at 1:20 PM
I didn't know this was a practice (journal editors in fields I read or write in haven't talked about it), but it explains the recent flood of review invites from journals not really related to anything I can competently read.
Reposted by Seth Kahn (he/him)
I say this a lot, but it is always fascinating to observe who is permitted to be a victim in our society and whose harm gets ignored
This is really bad; Grok is now going into is third day of regularly producing nonconsensual deepfake pornography and nobody is doing anything about it. The "Mechahitler" and "white genocide" episodes were stopped much more quickly. I suppose this tells us all about relative priorities.
January 6, 2026 at 12:00 PM
I say this a lot, but it is always fascinating to observe who is permitted to be a victim in our society and whose harm gets ignored
Textbook projection. He can't resolve the tension between his efforts at indoctrination and his faith that he's a good person, so he projects it onto other people. Also textbook demagoguery: his projection onto scientists turns them into a threat that must be defused in some way.
Why 99% of scientists believe in evolution
The answer is a lot simpler than Nathaniel Jeanson thinks. It’s because creationism is bullshit. The gentleman to the left is Nathaniel Jeanson, a guy who went to all the trouble of getting a…
freethoughtblogs.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Textbook projection. He can't resolve the tension between his efforts at indoctrination and his faith that he's a good person, so he projects it onto other people. Also textbook demagoguery: his projection onto scientists turns them into a threat that must be defused in some way.
So yeah, it turns out a pretty tight network of ultra-wealthy dudes who fancy themselves geniuses *just so happen* to want Greenland, Venezuela, and a couple of other places for their fever dreams. Go figure. Thanks for piecing it together, @jennycohn.bsky.social.
😳 Thiel Fellowship co-founder Michael Gibson & American Moment founder Nick Solheim led a 2024 talk about colonizing Greenland. Gibson wrote yesterday that someone shld “pitch Rubio on building a charter city in Venezuela…” In reply, his colleague tagged an American Moment alum IN THE STATE DEPT. 1/
January 6, 2026 at 2:14 AM
So yeah, it turns out a pretty tight network of ultra-wealthy dudes who fancy themselves geniuses *just so happen* to want Greenland, Venezuela, and a couple of other places for their fever dreams. Go figure. Thanks for piecing it together, @jennycohn.bsky.social.
TAPPER: Can you rule out the US is going to take Greenland by force?
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
January 6, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Reposted by Seth Kahn (he/him)
If the biggest donor to the DCCC/DNC ran a website where you could use AI to take women's clothes off I feel like there'd be a demand for Dems to give the money back.
January 5, 2026 at 11:14 PM
If the biggest donor to the DCCC/DNC ran a website where you could use AI to take women's clothes off I feel like there'd be a demand for Dems to give the money back.
My 5' 0.25" wife saw a toy she thought was cute on top of a freezer at the grocery, asked if I'd grab it so she could look at it. I jumped, didn't notice a little overhang on the freezer case, smacked my hand into it, sprained wrist.
I got the toy, but she decided it wasn't so cute after all.
I got the toy, but she decided it wasn't so cute after all.
What's the most ridiculous way you ever hurt yourself? I got out of the tub, skidded in water and tripped over the toilet. Ankle sprain.
😅
😅
January 5, 2026 at 11:56 PM
My 5' 0.25" wife saw a toy she thought was cute on top of a freezer at the grocery, asked if I'd grab it so she could look at it. I jumped, didn't notice a little overhang on the freezer case, smacked my hand into it, sprained wrist.
I got the toy, but she decided it wasn't so cute after all.
I got the toy, but she decided it wasn't so cute after all.
For fairly obvious reasons if you know me, I don't want to call this "Admin" party, but I'd be happy with... Task Party? Tedious Bullshit Party? Lots of possibilities.
props to WSJ for once on a useful notion, ADMIN PARTY for everybody
January 5, 2026 at 11:06 PM
For fairly obvious reasons if you know me, I don't want to call this "Admin" party, but I'd be happy with... Task Party? Tedious Bullshit Party? Lots of possibilities.
OK, it's not just me. I've been trying to figure out this whole time how McFascist could talk about a country that still has a constitutional order as if it just...didn't (other than his own, that is). It turns out, none of it makes sense at all. I feel less insane.
Thanks, @joshtpm.bsky.social!
Thanks, @joshtpm.bsky.social!
Venezuela Regime Change and the Theater of the Absurd
On Saturday, a friend and I were comparing notes on the events...
talkingpointsmemo.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:54 PM
OK, it's not just me. I've been trying to figure out this whole time how McFascist could talk about a country that still has a constitutional order as if it just...didn't (other than his own, that is). It turns out, none of it makes sense at all. I feel less insane.
Thanks, @joshtpm.bsky.social!
Thanks, @joshtpm.bsky.social!
This is one big reason (among many) that I haven't even run for executive positions in my own union. I already talk too much and need to not be tempted to do more of it. Wish Schumer had figured that out sometime in the last 40 years too.
Who was it who joked that the most dangerous place in Washington was standing between Chuck Schumer and a camera crew?
January 5, 2026 at 6:38 PM
This is one big reason (among many) that I haven't even run for executive positions in my own union. I already talk too much and need to not be tempted to do more of it. Wish Schumer had figured that out sometime in the last 40 years too.
Yeah, one reason we're "fixating on that" is that you're too corrupt and inept to run a single small agency competently, much less the Department of State, much less an entire other country, much less all of those at once.
Any other stupid questions, Little Marco?
Any other stupid questions, Little Marco?
WELKER: Mr. Secretary, are you running Venezuela right now?
MARCO RUBIO: Yeah. People are fixating on that. Here's the bottom line -- we expect to see changes in Venezuela
MARCO RUBIO: Yeah. People are fixating on that. Here's the bottom line -- we expect to see changes in Venezuela
January 5, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Yeah, one reason we're "fixating on that" is that you're too corrupt and inept to run a single small agency competently, much less the Department of State, much less an entire other country, much less all of those at once.
Any other stupid questions, Little Marco?
Any other stupid questions, Little Marco?
Please get this through your head, @schumer.senate.gov. The day the GOP refused to punish Trump for a literal insurrection, your hope they'd ever do the right thing about anything became a fever dream. They support a traitor. Many of them are as guilty as he is. You can't expect them to get it.
Schumer: "Republicans must -- if there was ever a time, they must step up to the plate. This is the time. And if they don't, they're gonna feel the heat from their constituents."
January 5, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Please get this through your head, @schumer.senate.gov. The day the GOP refused to punish Trump for a literal insurrection, your hope they'd ever do the right thing about anything became a fever dream. They support a traitor. Many of them are as guilty as he is. You can't expect them to get it.
Amplifying the point here. The wealthiest person in the world and a massive supporter of right wing/eugenicist policies and politicians also created a program that creates/circulates sexual images of underage girls. The bigotry, eugenics, and sexual predation are deeply connected.
once again, this is the company of the most high profile republican donor. democrats are fucking around by not bringing this up.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said it was “very seriously looking into” the creation of sexually explicit images of girls – including minors – by Grok, the AI model integrated into X.
➡️ https://l.euronews.com/h6ZS
➡️ https://l.euronews.com/h6ZS
January 5, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Amplifying the point here. The wealthiest person in the world and a massive supporter of right wing/eugenicist policies and politicians also created a program that creates/circulates sexual images of underage girls. The bigotry, eugenics, and sexual predation are deeply connected.
Reposted by Seth Kahn (he/him)
once again encouraging you all to support billionaire-free, worker-run, independent newsrooms how and where you are able
The Washington Post editorial board comes out in favor of the Venezuela attack/operation to capture Maduro
January 5, 2026 at 1:40 PM
once again encouraging you all to support billionaire-free, worker-run, independent newsrooms how and where you are able
No, Ed Luce, McFascist does not "own Venezuela." He kidnapped their president and has murdered several hundred of their citizens. He's treating another country like he's treated teenage girls and his other victims, there to use when he wants.
He didn't own them either.
He didn't own them either.
January 5, 2026 at 2:13 PM
No, Ed Luce, McFascist does not "own Venezuela." He kidnapped their president and has murdered several hundred of their citizens. He's treating another country like he's treated teenage girls and his other victims, there to use when he wants.
He didn't own them either.
He didn't own them either.
Once again, Lamar Jackson's team lets him down, and yet he's going to spend his whole career being another Black QB who couldn't win. What a shitty, shitty way to lose.
January 5, 2026 at 4:49 AM
Once again, Lamar Jackson's team lets him down, and yet he's going to spend his whole career being another Black QB who couldn't win. What a shitty, shitty way to lose.
This is appalling tho unsurprising. Of course the purpose isn't "to spend as much ...as possible." It's to prevent suffering, you inhumane dipshits.
No. No. No.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
January 4, 2026 at 11:39 PM
This is appalling tho unsurprising. Of course the purpose isn't "to spend as much ...as possible." It's to prevent suffering, you inhumane dipshits.
Sportsball (duck and cover for a while today):
LOL, Ben Davies starts his first game of the year on Matchday 20, scores his first goal in 2+ years. Frank is a genius!
#COYS!
LOL, Ben Davies starts his first game of the year on Matchday 20, scores his first goal in 2+ years. Frank is a genius!
#COYS!
January 4, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Sportsball (duck and cover for a while today):
LOL, Ben Davies starts his first game of the year on Matchday 20, scores his first goal in 2+ years. Frank is a genius!
#COYS!
LOL, Ben Davies starts his first game of the year on Matchday 20, scores his first goal in 2+ years. Frank is a genius!
#COYS!
Reposted by Seth Kahn (he/him)
"I just start invading them. It’s like a magnet. I just kidnap their leaders. I don’t even wait. And when you’re the President, they let you do it. You can do anything."
"Whatever you want."
"Grab them by the oil. You can do anything."
"Whatever you want."
"Grab them by the oil. You can do anything."
January 4, 2026 at 1:13 PM
"I just start invading them. It’s like a magnet. I just kidnap their leaders. I don’t even wait. And when you’re the President, they let you do it. You can do anything."
"Whatever you want."
"Grab them by the oil. You can do anything."
"Whatever you want."
"Grab them by the oil. You can do anything."
This regime is better following @ianbetteridge.com's law than most.
[ICYMI, Betteridge's law: when a headline asks a question, the answer is no.]
[ICYMI, Betteridge's law: when a headline asks a question, the answer is no.]
Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?
International law experts expect Washington to claim self-defence and face little serious pushback
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:14 PM
This regime is better following @ianbetteridge.com's law than most.
[ICYMI, Betteridge's law: when a headline asks a question, the answer is no.]
[ICYMI, Betteridge's law: when a headline asks a question, the answer is no.]
Somali first? What does Somalia have to do with any of this, you fucking bigot?
Of course FNC wouldn't mind him saying this, but anyone else who didn't immediately shut his mic off would be committing journalistic malpractice.
Of course FNC wouldn't mind him saying this, but anyone else who didn't immediately shut his mic off would be committing journalistic malpractice.
GOP Rep. Pat Harrigan: "There are members of Congress that they just cannot trust. And I understand that. We have folks that are Somali first and not America first."
January 4, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Somali first? What does Somalia have to do with any of this, you fucking bigot?
Of course FNC wouldn't mind him saying this, but anyone else who didn't immediately shut his mic off would be committing journalistic malpractice.
Of course FNC wouldn't mind him saying this, but anyone else who didn't immediately shut his mic off would be committing journalistic malpractice.
You'd think he's too busy running two countries at once to be playing at this Nazi horse shit. No, fuckface. That was your team.
Donald Trump is now reposting videos on Truth Social suggesting that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had Melissa Hortman assassinated.
This is objectively evil, and calling it out should not be political.
This is objectively evil, and calling it out should not be political.
January 3, 2026 at 11:20 PM
You'd think he's too busy running two countries at once to be playing at this Nazi horse shit. No, fuckface. That was your team.