Jonathan Blanks
@blanksslate.bsky.social
D.C.-based criminal justice writer and socio-political critic who spends a lot of time at the library.
Hoosier by birth and college education.
Some would call me a libertarian. I would not.
https://theblanksslate.substack.com/
Signal: @jpblanks.36
Hoosier by birth and college education.
Some would call me a libertarian. I would not.
https://theblanksslate.substack.com/
Signal: @jpblanks.36
Pinned
Jonathan Blanks
@blanksslate.bsky.social
· Jan 27
Now comes the hard part
Making the country a better place starts with being a better American
theblanksslate.substack.com
Anyway, really think about how you are on here/online.
Try to focus your attention where it can do the most good, because being fucked up about everything all the time is not a healthy way to live. theblanksslate.substack.com/p/now-comes-...
Try to focus your attention where it can do the most good, because being fucked up about everything all the time is not a healthy way to live. theblanksslate.substack.com/p/now-comes-...
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
Spraying pepper spray directly into the eyes of a detained person who’s already fully subdued
An observer arrested in Suth Minneapolis. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 21, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Spraying pepper spray directly into the eyes of a detained person who’s already fully subdued
Well that’s unfortunate, @minakimes.bsky.social
January 21, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Well that’s unfortunate, @minakimes.bsky.social
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
Heartbreaking cruelty visited upon children in our name
January 21, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Heartbreaking cruelty visited upon children in our name
I’m not a sobbing mess, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
January 20, 2026 at 4:28 AM
I’m not a sobbing mess, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
HOO HOO HOO HOOSIERS
January 20, 2026 at 4:21 AM
HOO HOO HOO HOOSIERS
You have no idea
January 20, 2026 at 4:19 AM
You have no idea
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
To reiterate, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Don’t ask me anything as I’m just a constant scream right now
Oh, ask @blanksslate.bsky.social what the last Hoosier MBB season before I was born was.
January 20, 2026 at 2:07 AM
To reiterate, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
HOO HOO HOO HOOSIERS!
a football player wearing a red indiana jersey with the number 13 on it
Alt: a football player wearing a red indiana jersey with the number 13 on it does the IU salute
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:41 AM
HOO HOO HOO HOOSIERS!
Did I mention “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”?
To reiterate, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Don’t ask me anything as I’m just a constant scream right now
January 20, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Did I mention “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”?
This.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
January 20, 2026 at 2:58 AM
This.
To reiterate, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Don’t ask me anything as I’m just a constant scream right now
Oh, ask @blanksslate.bsky.social what the last Hoosier MBB season before I was born was.
January 20, 2026 at 2:07 AM
To reiterate, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Apologies to my neighbors
Don’t ask me anything as I’m just a constant scream right now
Oh, ask @blanksslate.bsky.social what the last Hoosier MBB season before I was born was.
January 20, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Apologies to my neighbors
Don’t ask me anything as I’m just a constant scream right now
Oh, ask @blanksslate.bsky.social what the last Hoosier MBB season before I was born was.
January 20, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Don’t ask me anything as I’m just a constant scream right now
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
One thing that makes me absolutely insane about the Weiss faction is how they use the language of polarization to simp for the regime.
It is not the media's job is not to smother discontent over genuinely abhorrent things. It is, in fact, the fucking opposite.
It is not the media's job is not to smother discontent over genuinely abhorrent things. It is, in fact, the fucking opposite.
New CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil closing the broadcast from MN last night.
January 9, 2026 at 2:13 PM
One thing that makes me absolutely insane about the Weiss faction is how they use the language of polarization to simp for the regime.
It is not the media's job is not to smother discontent over genuinely abhorrent things. It is, in fact, the fucking opposite.
It is not the media's job is not to smother discontent over genuinely abhorrent things. It is, in fact, the fucking opposite.
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
We cannot say enough: This is insane. Just insanity start to finish.
Q: Does the US intend to buy Greenland?
MARCO RUBIO: That's always been the president's intent
MARCO RUBIO: That's always been the president's intent
January 7, 2026 at 4:34 PM
We cannot say enough: This is insane. Just insanity start to finish.
This was in re: Joe Cocker
But it is also a convenient time to remind people that many—myself included—grew up thinking Bobby Caldwell was Black. open.spotify.com/track/6Dk5fH...
But it is also a convenient time to remind people that many—myself included—grew up thinking Bobby Caldwell was Black. open.spotify.com/track/6Dk5fH...
January 7, 2026 at 2:43 PM
This was in re: Joe Cocker
But it is also a convenient time to remind people that many—myself included—grew up thinking Bobby Caldwell was Black. open.spotify.com/track/6Dk5fH...
But it is also a convenient time to remind people that many—myself included—grew up thinking Bobby Caldwell was Black. open.spotify.com/track/6Dk5fH...
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
Given that Trump's critics call it a kidnapping, and Trump says it's an apt term, I see no reason for the media not to use it. Literally both sides agree it's the proper description of what happened.
Q: Rodriguez called it a 'kidnapping' of Maduro
TRUMP: That's alright. That's not a bad term.
TRUMP: That's alright. That's not a bad term.
January 5, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Given that Trump's critics call it a kidnapping, and Trump says it's an apt term, I see no reason for the media not to use it. Literally both sides agree it's the proper description of what happened.
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
as I find myself asking over and over again these days: "how is this legal?"
followed quickly by: "who the fuck is going to stop them, though?"
followed quickly by: "who the fuck is going to stop them, though?"
Wegmans in New York City has begun collecting biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces from anyone who enters its supermarkets
NYC Wegmans is storing biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces
The supermarket chain says it’s a move to ensure shopper safety. Surveillance experts warn of privacy risks.
gothamist.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:51 PM
as I find myself asking over and over again these days: "how is this legal?"
followed quickly by: "who the fuck is going to stop them, though?"
followed quickly by: "who the fuck is going to stop them, though?"
![Screen shot from the show Andor. Someone says to Mon Mothma “They [meaning the Empire] don’t even bother to lie badly anymore.” Mon replies “I suppose that’s the final humiliation.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ny5w2k6brb2kdubxnevke6li/bafkreibrxbmhwrnkwo2ztnczubpnzpup3uf6dpyhs7mk2uxpeoeynhjo2q@jpeg)
::stares at Cato FP team::
I’m thinking this morning about all the people I spoke to last year who were absolutely convinced, and tried to convince me, that Trump would be antiwar compared to Biden and Harris.
In the past week alone he has attacked Nigeria and then Venezuela and also threatened to attack Iran (again).
In the past week alone he has attacked Nigeria and then Venezuela and also threatened to attack Iran (again).
January 3, 2026 at 1:24 PM
::stares at Cato FP team::
Trump predictably rake stepping with horrific consequences
One of the most consistent failures in regime-change planning is the absence of honest red-teaming, i.e., calculations of the enemy’s options to respond. Regimes facing existential threats do not capitulate quietly.
What ‘Regime Change’ in Venezuela Would Really Mean
It’s not clear the administration has settled on a goal, much less considered the consequences.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Trump predictably rake stepping with horrific consequences
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
It's commonly used as a pejorative for any kind of right-wing war hawk, but these people are not neoconservatives either in personnel or ideological substance. Misguided as their military adventurism was, neocons did believe in spreading liberal democracy. Nobody in Trump's orbit cares about that.
“He’s siding with all this neocon stuff,” a senior Trump administration official says. “The president has not made a final decision yet on if he will strike inside Venezuela, but I’ve seen nothing to make me doubt that he wants to.”
“Trump has been ramping up his wars - both in his militarized crackdowns at home and his military adventures abroad.”
@swin24.bsky.social explains how Trump and his advisers are getting increasingly serious about bombing Venezuela to destabilize the Maduro regime.
Read: zeteo.com/p/team-trump...
@swin24.bsky.social explains how Trump and his advisers are getting increasingly serious about bombing Venezuela to destabilize the Maduro regime.
Read: zeteo.com/p/team-trump...
January 3, 2026 at 1:08 PM
It's commonly used as a pejorative for any kind of right-wing war hawk, but these people are not neoconservatives either in personnel or ideological substance. Misguided as their military adventurism was, neocons did believe in spreading liberal democracy. Nobody in Trump's orbit cares about that.
Reposted by Jonathan Blanks
I’ve long maintained that it was a mistake for Congress to have abolished itself.
January 3, 2026 at 10:57 AM
I’ve long maintained that it was a mistake for Congress to have abolished itself.