Under the Volcano
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bfbnk.bsky.social
Under the Volcano
@bfbnk.bsky.social
Historian: ritual and culture, fraternal groups, symbols in culture, art, politics, etc. Writer of textbooks, college educator.
Stephen Miller, 2026–“We live in a world, in the real world that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world…”

Karl Rove, 2024: "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.“
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/u...
Stephen Miller Asserts U.S. Has Right to Take Greenland
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Ignoring the country's healthcare, transportation and housing crises while making billions $$ for himself, his family and friends:
"Since his return to office, President Trump and his family have engaged in a moneymaking campaign like none in modern American history"
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Trump’s Tangled Web of Deal-Making, Policy and Riches (Gift Article)
The president, his family and some of their closest associates have engaged in a sprawling campaign of deals that stretches across industries and the globe.
www.nytimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:34 AM
We know one thing--while Social Security is under steady attack by Trump and Republicans like Congressman Ben Cline in SW Virginia, the Trump family has gained $5+ billion in the past year from shady deals with Saudis, Qatar, and American billionaires.
wapo.st/4pheQks
How Social Security has gotten worse under Trump
Customer service has deteriorated by key measures as the agency enacted sweeping cuts in Trump’s second term, internal data and interviews show.
wapo.st
December 30, 2025 at 11:55 AM
@bethmacy.bsky.social is the real deal. Running for Congress in a SW VA district where the four-term Repub incumbent doesn't believe in holding public town halls or discussing his positions. Cong. Ben Cline's key asset is the "R" next to his name in a red district.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
She’s Written Bestsellers About Appalachian Struggles. She’s Running for Office. But Don’t Compare Her to JD Vance.
“Dopesick” author Beth Macy’s unlikely bid for Congress.
www.politico.com
December 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
No shoes for you: Trump's ICE thugs deport longtime Korean shoe/tailor shop owners despite being legally compliant w/immigration regs:
"The Parks were beloved in Richmond and leaned on local friends for support. Unfortunately, many letters did not change the outcome of the deportation..."
December 28, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
December 26, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
This Christmas, I have just one wish for you:
Take a moment to really see the older people in your life.
Let them know they’re loved, valued, and never invisible.
Share a smile with an elder you don’t know.
Offer a warm holiday greeting.
Small gestures carry enormous power.
Love,

Lynda 🎄✨
December 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
@nytimes.com has a problem with using clear, truthful language when discussing Trump. The word they're avoiding here is "CORRUPTION. "The astounding haul($2 billion) hints at a level of TRANSACTIONALISM which it is difficult to find comparisons in..American history."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Hundreds of Big Post-Election Donors Have Benefited From Trump’s Return to Office (Gift Article)
Well into his second term, the president and his allies have continued aggressively raising money. Many donors have interests before his administration, The Times found.
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Horns/whistles alert ICE targets/citizens of their presence but are also potent symbols: they catalyze opposition among the larger population to a presence of a fascist force, uninterested in evidence-based law enforcement and justice.
December 19, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Great thread on possible routes to restitution for fraudster Trevor Milton’s victims bypassing Trump‘s pardon.
restitution can be imposed as criminal penalty, as part of a criminal sentence, wherein the convict pays into a fund maintained by the gov't, and the gov't then distributes restitution to victims,

but restitution can also be part of a civil judgment award,

Trump's pardons wipe out the former,
Trump’s pardons wipe out restitution payments to defrauded victims

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
December 19, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Mr. Art of the Deal "not engaging" in critical health care / insurance issues, debates, negotiations. Instead his focus is building a giant ballroom for billionaires on the rubble of the historic East Wing of the White House and erecting a triumphal arch for himself. Priorities!

wapo.st/3MZZ1AV
Analysis | Rank-and-file Republicans feel heat from constituents on health care
As efforts to address expiring Obamacare subsidies stall in Congress, members of Trump’s party say it’s time to find a way to help millions afford health insurance.
wapo.st
December 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM
My guess is that folks who voted for Trump never bothered to look at his record as a "businessman" with serial bankruptcies and a long, long history of loan defaults and not paying or blatantly cheating contractors, suppliers, investors and employees.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
Denied Federal Disaster Aid, a Town in Trump Country Feels Forgotten
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
This 60 minute podcast doesn’t have one boring second. Three intelligent, very well-informed people talking techbros and the rural south. Absolutely fascinating. Apparently Beth Macy will be running in Virginia, and I can’t wait.

youtu.be/rJwETtZowD0?...
Tech Billionaires & the Rural Poor: 2 Sides of MAGA Populism
YouTube video by On with Kara Swisher
youtu.be
December 7, 2025 at 8:44 PM
"Thanksgiving- a sense that we need to take a moment to acknowledge what we have, and reminded to help others less fortunate...Trumpsgiving is not about that. [Trump's] spirit is always Trumpstaking. For himself, his family and the various oligarchs in his circle..."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Greedy Thanksgiving
www.nytimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:01 AM
When the Wampanoag first fed the Pilgrims
they didn't realize
they'd just invented Socialism
for undocumented refugee immigrants.

Happy Thanksgiving.
-@johnfugelsang.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Uh...this is nuts.
"The Interior department announced new “America-first” entrance fees for national parks.....Non-residents will choose between purchasing a $250 pass or paying $100 per person to visit national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee”.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US triples national park fee for non-residents, amid ‘new’ fee for Americans
Interior department, which has defunded conservation organizations, claims fee hike is for conservation
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
The DoGood movement in Roanoke really illuminates how the opposition to Trump has matured during this second regime.

1. Far more persistent, with weekly protests of all sorts.
2. It's reaching further into Trump country.
November 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
Listen to Michael Keaton!
Beth Macy is taking her message to voters that enough is enough. It's time that working on behalf of one's constituents becomes a thing again and Beth will do just that. Her heart knows no other way.
#BethMacyForCongress
Grateful to Michael Keaton, who lost a nephew to overdose, to come out swinging for my campaign—and for what is right!
November 20, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
It's important to understand what this ad does and why it is so threatening to the Trump admin. It gets to social identity theory, which posits that we have many identities, and the one which is salient in a given context will dictate how we think/behave in a particular situation. 1/
WATCH: After six Democratic lawmakers posted a video urging members of the military not to follow illegal orders, Trump erupted online, accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, one of the senators in that video, joins Chris Hayes to respond.
'HANG THEM': Trump melts down, accuses six Dems of ‘seditious behavior’
YouTube video by MS NOW
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:00 AM
I've never heard a louder crowd at a political rally. Roaring enthusiasm.
I went to Roanoke to witness a community's attempt to care for *everyone* in it, and to see how residents are demanding accountability from their elected officials. (Also, great news: @bethmacy.bsky.social is running for Congress!)
Of, by, and for the people
Roanoke is rising, and it's drafted Beth Macy for Congress.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Tremendous turnout and energy at author Beth Macy’s announcement in Roanoke, VA of her congressional campaign against incumbent Ben Cline, a fully owned subsidiary of Donald Trump. @andreapitzer.bsky.social @bethmacy.bsky.social @bluevirginia.bsky.social
www.roanokerambler.com/beth-macy-en...
Beth Macy Enters Race for Congress Blasting Ben Cline and Saying Enough is Enough
Democratic candidates are lining up to get a chance to run against incumbent Republican Ben Cline.
www.roanokerambler.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
“Come-to-America-spend-your-money-then-get-out” is some next-level, smooth salesmanship. 🤡
November 12, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
Former VA Del. Mark Levine (D): "I’m really surprised a Senator I know personally and have long respected is this naive. Kaine isn’t stupid. But his justification for bowing down to King Donald is so illogical that it insults any thinking Virginian." bluevirginia.us/2025/11/sen-...
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Under the Volcano
Great job, @schumer.senate.gov. You've changed the story from "GOP hurting millions of Americans to please unpopular, failing, delusional despot who's destroying his party" to "Dems are too weak and divided in the face of Trump's strength to take a stand and protect Americans"
November 10, 2025 at 11:49 AM