Benjamin McKean
@blmckean.bsky.social
associate professor of political science at Ohio State University // global justice, supply chains, populism, climate change, critical theory, etc // all tweets (skeets?) produced accidentally by having my phone in a pants pocket while I walk the dog
Pinned
Benjamin McKean
@blmckean.bsky.social
· Nov 20
OK, with many new followers this week, it's a good time for a thread introducing myself - I'm a political theorist who works on questions of global justice, focusing on supply chains, populism, and (increasingly) climate change. Below I'll link some of my work that's free to read benjaminlmckean.com
Looks like the cops ran into the Blair Witch
I'm starting to think the Trumpist mastery of propaganda is failing them. The DHS agents posing this way makes it look like they're ashamed of themselves.
January 28, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Looks like the cops ran into the Blair Witch
there’s a lot of discourse about “We Built This City” but I can now say definitively it is NOT the worst song ever because I am at an indoor playground (3rd snow day in a row here) and the jingle for this franchise is an *even worse* cover that goes 🎵”we built Slick City / where good times roll”🎵
January 28, 2026 at 8:51 PM
there’s a lot of discourse about “We Built This City” but I can now say definitively it is NOT the worst song ever because I am at an indoor playground (3rd snow day in a row here) and the jingle for this franchise is an *even worse* cover that goes 🎵”we built Slick City / where good times roll”🎵
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
4th Cir., 2-1, holds that school guidelines requiring employees to keep private students' trans or gender-nonconforming presentation and to use pronouns corresponding to gender identity do not violate a wannabe substitute teacher's 1A rights.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/251...
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/251...
January 28, 2026 at 8:18 PM
4th Cir., 2-1, holds that school guidelines requiring employees to keep private students' trans or gender-nonconforming presentation and to use pronouns corresponding to gender identity do not violate a wannabe substitute teacher's 1A rights.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/251...
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/251...
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
ICE kidnapped 5 people from my community this morning. I don’t live in Minneapolis. I live in LA County. They’re still here and their still brutalizing.
January 28, 2026 at 7:50 PM
ICE kidnapped 5 people from my community this morning. I don’t live in Minneapolis. I live in LA County. They’re still here and their still brutalizing.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
This is a beautiful testament to food, memory, and adaptation. Reminds me a bit of Sara Hendren's What Can a Body Do (gift link)
How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:01 PM
This is a beautiful testament to food, memory, and adaptation. Reminds me a bit of Sara Hendren's What Can a Body Do (gift link)
Love to see unions like @steelworkers.bsky.social stand against ICE, boosting a member who’s protesting: “The principles they are fighting for are no different from the principles we hold as a union – principles that emphasize representation, ensuring equal treatment, defending due process and more”
His words draw on a core belief of our union: that defending fairness, dignity and safety for all remains central to who we are and the humanity we share. Read the full letter here: usw.org/news/minneso...
January 28, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Love to see unions like @steelworkers.bsky.social stand against ICE, boosting a member who’s protesting: “The principles they are fighting for are no different from the principles we hold as a union – principles that emphasize representation, ensuring equal treatment, defending due process and more”
Uh, no?
Columbus was pummeled by nearly a foot of snow in Winter Storm Fern. Should you remove snow from your roof?
Should you clear the snow off your roof after winter storm Fern?
Columbus was pummeled by nearly a foot of snow in Winter Storm Fern. Should you remove snow from your roof?
bit.ly
January 28, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Uh, no?
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
The idea that you want to give deference to a guy that has backed every cruel policy to the hilt, and is also openly corrupt, just shows you want to surrender
TIM WALZ: “I don't agree with Tom Homan’s philosophy on things, but I do understand that he is law enforcement and he understands right and wrong.”
January 28, 2026 at 2:13 PM
The idea that you want to give deference to a guy that has backed every cruel policy to the hilt, and is also openly corrupt, just shows you want to surrender
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Very little if anything seems to have changed on the ground. ICE is still out there terrorizing neighborhoods and trying to disappear neighbors. None of us on the ground are buying this bullshit. We will keep organizing and fighting.
The intense fallout from the killing of Alex Pretti has forced President Trump to publicly change course in Minneapolis.
Listen to our White House reporters discuss the changes on today's episode of "The Daily."
Listen to our White House reporters discuss the changes on today's episode of "The Daily."
Trump Changes Course in Minneapolis
The White House has been met with broad outcry over the killing of Alex Pretti, as well as pushback from Congress.
nyti.ms
January 28, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Very little if anything seems to have changed on the ground. ICE is still out there terrorizing neighborhoods and trying to disappear neighbors. None of us on the ground are buying this bullshit. We will keep organizing and fighting.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Where exactly is the collapse in immigration enforcement during the Democratic administrations?
January 28, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Where exactly is the collapse in immigration enforcement during the Democratic administrations?
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Different Places Have Different Safety Rules and That's OK
EXCLSUVIE: The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules and shared them with the companies they're meant to regulate, without making the new rules publicly available.
We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules
The rewrite was done to speed up the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Critics warn it could compromise safety and public trust.
www.npr.org
January 28, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Different Places Have Different Safety Rules and That's OK
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Not to mention, the Holocaust also targeted people for being disabled.
Nothing says, "I care so much about protecting the sanctity of Holocaust memory" like bringing back widely-condemned offensive terms for disabled individuals.
January 28, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Not to mention, the Holocaust also targeted people for being disabled.
Comparing a Jewish artist to Leni Riefenstahl because she expressed “moral outrage” at the genocide in Gaza is completely nuts
January 28, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Comparing a Jewish artist to Leni Riefenstahl because she expressed “moral outrage” at the genocide in Gaza is completely nuts
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
my grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor, was Anne Frank’s neighbor in Amsterdam, and Oma thinks this comparison is perfectly apt
The Minnesota governor is getting widespread criticism for comparing children dealing with immigration enforcement to Holocaust victim Anne Frank.
Tim Walz condemned for comparing Minnesota children to Anne Frank
The Minnesota governor is getting widespread criticism for comparing children dealing with immigration enforcement to Holocaust victim Anne Frank.
bit.ly
January 28, 2026 at 2:37 AM
my grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor, was Anne Frank’s neighbor in Amsterdam, and Oma thinks this comparison is perfectly apt
Tablet Magazine is otherwise retweeting completely unhinged stuff about how protests in Minneapolis reveal “The Palestinianization of American society” because they are “designed solely to manufacture fresh and sympathetic martyrs” so a reactionary has to fuck up very egregiously for them to notice
JD Vance's strategy for succeeding Trump as head of the MAGA movement is predicated on retaining and exciting the support of violent Nazis all around the US. That's what makes his Holocaust commemoration so unique.
January 28, 2026 at 3:45 AM
Tablet Magazine is otherwise retweeting completely unhinged stuff about how protests in Minneapolis reveal “The Palestinianization of American society” because they are “designed solely to manufacture fresh and sympathetic martyrs” so a reactionary has to fuck up very egregiously for them to notice
More evidence Devo were too optimistic about the future
In response to announcement that he will be a new CBS contributor, Andrew Huberman tweeted “I’ve always gone issue-by-issue on health & science, spoken to experts w/a range of takes & presented where I see the center of (data) mass pointed. I’ll do the same with @CBSNews”. In Sept he posted this:
January 28, 2026 at 2:54 AM
More evidence Devo were too optimistic about the future
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
elected dems: "we just want to return to the sane, competent immigration enforcement that we had under president biden"
[the immigration enforcement we had under president biden]
[the immigration enforcement we had under president biden]
January 28, 2026 at 1:30 AM
elected dems: "we just want to return to the sane, competent immigration enforcement that we had under president biden"
[the immigration enforcement we had under president biden]
[the immigration enforcement we had under president biden]
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
They've given the literal dumbest guys in America a military arsenal, a blank check, and immunity to do whatever they want. How fucking stupid do you have to be to break into a consulate?
1/27/2026 - Minneapolis
ICE just attempted an illegal entry into the ECUADORIAN CONSULATE to abduct someone
They did not have a warrant
ICE just attempted an illegal entry into the ECUADORIAN CONSULATE to abduct someone
They did not have a warrant
January 27, 2026 at 11:13 PM
They've given the literal dumbest guys in America a military arsenal, a blank check, and immunity to do whatever they want. How fucking stupid do you have to be to break into a consulate?
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Some events in Columbus this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Come out and show your support— for the immigrants, being targeted by ICE and CBP, for the brave activists giving their all, for the millions of people who have had enough of this racism, violence, and terror.
January 27, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Some events in Columbus this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Come out and show your support— for the immigrants, being targeted by ICE and CBP, for the brave activists giving their all, for the millions of people who have had enough of this racism, violence, and terror.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
The dedication of our amazing refuse collection workers is unrivaled! Thank you for continuing to provide exceptional service through Winter Storm Fern (and everyday)!
January 27, 2026 at 7:09 PM
The dedication of our amazing refuse collection workers is unrivaled! Thank you for continuing to provide exceptional service through Winter Storm Fern (and everyday)!
stupid, self-defeating, indefensible
New: Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday directed all public universities and state agencies to freeze new H-1B visa applications, escalating his administration’s scrutiny of foreign workers employed at taxpayer-funded institutions.
Greg Abbott halts H-1B visas at Texas universities, agencies
The governor said public universities and state agencies may not seek new visas without permission through the end of the 2027 legislative session.
www.texastribune.org
January 27, 2026 at 8:37 PM
stupid, self-defeating, indefensible
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
FYI - There are currently 3 GOP bills in Ohio to force cities & counties to cooperate w/ICE - HB 26, HB 200 & SB 172. The latter two include requirements to hold some immigrants in jail for ICE...even after they are otherwise legally free to go.
January 27, 2026 at 7:37 PM
FYI - There are currently 3 GOP bills in Ohio to force cities & counties to cooperate w/ICE - HB 26, HB 200 & SB 172. The latter two include requirements to hold some immigrants in jail for ICE...even after they are otherwise legally free to go.
It is long past time to ban tear gas in the U.S.
Video from this morning shows ICE agents deploying tear gas outside a Minneapolis preschool as parents shout, “This is a preschool! There’s kids here!”
January 27, 2026 at 7:45 PM
It is long past time to ban tear gas in the U.S.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Glad the Times is covering the subject but come the f on
January 27, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Glad the Times is covering the subject but come the f on
“It was not self-destruction, Pitts argues, but contact with Westerners that caused statue-making to peter out on Rapa Nui. Westerners, in turn, sought an answer to the “mystery” of the island by warping it into a mirror of their own problems: environmental devastation and bloody civil wars.”
So basically it turns out that what doomed Rapa Nui was not the sort of resource drain / ecological devastation that took down the Maya (and which Diamond & co are only too eager to apply everywhere even without evidence), but simple colonialism
It’s Long Been Considered One of the Most Mysterious Places in the World. The Answer Was Hiding in Plain Sight.
Easter Island has long been misunderstood by the West. A new book by Mike Pitts sets the record straight.
slate.com
January 27, 2026 at 7:35 PM
“It was not self-destruction, Pitts argues, but contact with Westerners that caused statue-making to peter out on Rapa Nui. Westerners, in turn, sought an answer to the “mystery” of the island by warping it into a mirror of their own problems: environmental devastation and bloody civil wars.”