Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
@beninquiring.bsky.social
sociology phd 👥🎓 data engineer 📉🛠️ american soccer analysis podcast🎙️⚽️ up the fucking pids
Pinned
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
It is committing a nationalist fallacy to say “this is what America is.” America has no objective definition. It is, as Benedict Anderson says, an imagined community and *we* get to decide what defines it.
It should be clear why we should want to define it by its highest ideals.
It should be clear why we should want to define it by its highest ideals.
I very much disagree with @whstancil.bsky.social on this - how are you going to oppose ICE and the Trump administration if you don't understand that this *is* indeed who you are as a nation and that what we're seeing today is the culmination of a long history of American violence? 1/
People who say this are clearly speaking aspirationally about a shared American creed they hold dear. “Have you heard of the Trail of Tears?” is not a very helpful response, because they probably have and the priority right now is moral opposition to fascism and not fake-educating each other.
January 23, 2026 at 9:03 AM
It is committing a nationalist fallacy to say “this is what America is.” America has no objective definition. It is, as Benedict Anderson says, an imagined community and *we* get to decide what defines it.
It should be clear why we should want to define it by its highest ideals.
It should be clear why we should want to define it by its highest ideals.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
I’m seeking photos and videos of drones used by ICE, like these. Please send any you have my way - trying to better understand the patterns.
There are numerous reports across the Twin Cities on ICE monitoring pages of drones circling apartment buildings. What valid law enforcement reason could there be for this?
January 20, 2026 at 4:39 AM
I’m seeking photos and videos of drones used by ICE, like these. Please send any you have my way - trying to better understand the patterns.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Let America Be America Again - by Langston Hughes poets.org/poem/let-ame...
Thesis: ICE is un-American and the Minneapolis protestors are real Americans.
Antithesis: Ackshually ICE is operating in a long American tradition of racist terror.
Synthesis: Minneapolis is now the epicenter of a clash between two distinct but historically grounded American political traditions.
Antithesis: Ackshually ICE is operating in a long American tradition of racist terror.
Synthesis: Minneapolis is now the epicenter of a clash between two distinct but historically grounded American political traditions.
January 23, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Let America Be America Again - by Langston Hughes poets.org/poem/let-ame...
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"Slavery was real"
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
January 23, 2026 at 3:22 PM
"Slavery was real"
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
150 years ago today, the Colorado Territory's leading newspaper editorialized about the hottest political controversy of January 1876: a proposal by U.S. House Democrats to grant amnesty to about 750 of the senior-most ex-Confederates, who'd been disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment.
How party politics divided Colorado in 1876 — and eased its path to statehood | Colorado Newsline
The headline in the Jan. 23, 1876, edition of the Rocky Mountain News was a calculated provocation: “Jeff Davis Elected President.” The column that followed, which purported to be a dispatch from “Nov...
coloradonewsline.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:27 PM
150 years ago today, the Colorado Territory's leading newspaper editorialized about the hottest political controversy of January 1876: a proposal by U.S. House Democrats to grant amnesty to about 750 of the senior-most ex-Confederates, who'd been disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
This is on the official DHS website
January 23, 2026 at 4:15 PM
This is on the official DHS website
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
I honestly wonder how much of this is deeply psychological for Vance, the inability to reconcile that people can love their neighbors so much when his own mother abandoned him.
Vance in MN: "It's really cold outside. We in the Trump administration want to deport criminal aliens who are sex offenders. It takes a certain level of committed to sex offender criminal aliens to stand outside in -40 temperatures and attack the vice president, but they're committed to the bit."
January 23, 2026 at 3:02 PM
I honestly wonder how much of this is deeply psychological for Vance, the inability to reconcile that people can love their neighbors so much when his own mother abandoned him.
The FBI is gonna have to be rebuilt from scratch.
MS NOW EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel has carried out another purge of the bureau’s senior ranks, forcing out field office leaders and other senior agents connected to the two criminal investigations of Donald Trump, according to multiple people briefed on the matter. youtu.be/e_NzQDBom6o?...
January 23, 2026 at 2:30 PM
The FBI is gonna have to be rebuilt from scratch.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
January 22, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
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The funny thing about this standard MAGA response to protest is that in this case not only is it once again a lie, but the people they’re protesting — immigration officers — are literally paid agitators and chaos agents from out of state.
Emmer: "The people you're seeing in these videos, the vast majority of them I do not believe are from Minnesota. These are organized chaos agents, paid agitators. The vast majority of Minnesotans that are talking to me appreciate that law enforcement has arrived, and they are happy they're there."
January 22, 2026 at 7:33 PM
The funny thing about this standard MAGA response to protest is that in this case not only is it once again a lie, but the people they’re protesting — immigration officers — are literally paid agitators and chaos agents from out of state.
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I met an absolutely lovely academic who asked whether my department back home is affected by ICE -- a question dramatizing how little info is getting out.
For the record, the small example I chose:
My dept has a carpool to pick up grad students of color who can't safely commute to campus alone.
For the record, the small example I chose:
My dept has a carpool to pick up grad students of color who can't safely commute to campus alone.
January 22, 2026 at 7:52 PM
I met an absolutely lovely academic who asked whether my department back home is affected by ICE -- a question dramatizing how little info is getting out.
For the record, the small example I chose:
My dept has a carpool to pick up grad students of color who can't safely commute to campus alone.
For the record, the small example I chose:
My dept has a carpool to pick up grad students of color who can't safely commute to campus alone.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
My City Councilor uses a legal term, “color of law,” here that folks might want to learn more about: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_(...
January 22, 2026 at 6:52 PM
My City Councilor uses a legal term, “color of law,” here that folks might want to learn more about: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_(...
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
They're so desperate for a white middle-aged mom not to be the face of this anymore.
The White House posted an edited photo of the activist involved in the Minneapolis church protest, made to look like she was crying.
January 22, 2026 at 6:43 PM
They're so desperate for a white middle-aged mom not to be the face of this anymore.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Your HHS tax dollars at work:
January 22, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Your HHS tax dollars at work:
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Highlighting:
That's not the MN State flag anymore.
A major reason for the change was specifically blatant racist, anti-Indigenous imagery.
It is a specific choice to use this flag.
Minority extremists use the old flag as a dog whistle.
The Vice President is prominently dog whistling.
That's not the MN State flag anymore.
A major reason for the change was specifically blatant racist, anti-Indigenous imagery.
It is a specific choice to use this flag.
Minority extremists use the old flag as a dog whistle.
The Vice President is prominently dog whistling.
Vance podium flanked by steroidal SUV’s declaring “Protect the Homeland” and the *old* Minnesota flag.
January 22, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Highlighting:
That's not the MN State flag anymore.
A major reason for the change was specifically blatant racist, anti-Indigenous imagery.
It is a specific choice to use this flag.
Minority extremists use the old flag as a dog whistle.
The Vice President is prominently dog whistling.
That's not the MN State flag anymore.
A major reason for the change was specifically blatant racist, anti-Indigenous imagery.
It is a specific choice to use this flag.
Minority extremists use the old flag as a dog whistle.
The Vice President is prominently dog whistling.
I feel bad for our country, but this is terrific snowpack
Heavy snow is likely across a broad region from the Southern Rockies and Plains through the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast. Snowfall totals exceeding 12 inches are becoming more probable in localized areas. Widespread travel disruptions are likely.
January 22, 2026 at 6:39 PM
I feel bad for our country, but this is terrific snowpack
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Flashlights (not candles). Smoke/carbon monoxide alarms. Knowing where the vents to your home are so you can clear them of snow. Do it all. We're being given so much time with this storm.
January 22, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Flashlights (not candles). Smoke/carbon monoxide alarms. Knowing where the vents to your home are so you can clear them of snow. Do it all. We're being given so much time with this storm.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
To everyone who is only now just grappling with double consciousness: welcome
my Blackest opinion is that the presumption of conflict between "America has a long and deeply rooted history of violence" and "we can and should fight against today's version of that, as did those who came before us" is less a philosophical debate about how to treat the past and more a skill issue
January 22, 2026 at 5:52 PM
To everyone who is only now just grappling with double consciousness: welcome
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Federal officer murders a woman in the street? Not even a federal inquiry
Civil rights leader disrupts a church service? Arrested
Civil rights leader disrupts a church service? Arrested
The feds have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who led the protest in a Minnesota church over the weekend.
apnews.com/article/just...
apnews.com/article/just...
A woman who led a protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service has been arrested
Attorney General Pam Bondi says a woman who led an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church has been arrested.
apnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Federal officer murders a woman in the street? Not even a federal inquiry
Civil rights leader disrupts a church service? Arrested
Civil rights leader disrupts a church service? Arrested
Ha, I was just writing about this for my ASA preview! This will surely be Steffen’s last year with the club.
Inbox: Colorado Rapids sign goalkeeper Nico Hansen to a contract extension through December 2028. Previously had an option for 2027. There are options through December 2029 and December 2030. Looking into why these are midseason and not aligned with the calendar change.
January 22, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Ha, I was just writing about this for my ASA preview! This will surely be Steffen’s last year with the club.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Important to know that Armstrong is a reverend and that she and the protesters felt compelled by faith as well their commitment to civil rights.
This is the state choosing which Christians they will support and which part of the 1A they will defend.
Christian nationalism in action.
This is the state choosing which Christians they will support and which part of the 1A they will defend.
Christian nationalism in action.
The feds have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who led the protest in a Minnesota church over the weekend.
apnews.com/article/just...
apnews.com/article/just...
A woman who led a protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service has been arrested
Attorney General Pam Bondi says a woman who led an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church has been arrested.
apnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Important to know that Armstrong is a reverend and that she and the protesters felt compelled by faith as well their commitment to civil rights.
This is the state choosing which Christians they will support and which part of the 1A they will defend.
Christian nationalism in action.
This is the state choosing which Christians they will support and which part of the 1A they will defend.
Christian nationalism in action.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
If you're in nyc, the dept. of sanitation is looking to hire emergency staff to shovel snow after the storm.
$19.14 plus time and a half for OT.
$19.14 plus time and a half for OT.
http://on.nyc.gov/SnowEmploy
t.co
January 22, 2026 at 4:54 PM
If you're in nyc, the dept. of sanitation is looking to hire emergency staff to shovel snow after the storm.
$19.14 plus time and a half for OT.
$19.14 plus time and a half for OT.
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
From my hometown of Forest Lake: "Ice is working with Forest Lake police. Police are asking apartment complexes for access to buildings for 'possible medical emergencies' shortly after they requested that ice was in my building knocking on doors."
January 22, 2026 at 1:12 PM
From my hometown of Forest Lake: "Ice is working with Forest Lake police. Police are asking apartment complexes for access to buildings for 'possible medical emergencies' shortly after they requested that ice was in my building knocking on doors."
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
Reposted by Ben 🔔🧑🏻💻
