Erik Armstrong
@brilliancecake.bsky.social
Professor of English and writer. Words in Watershed Review, Solstice Literary Magazine, Composition Studies, UC Race and Equity Center. Dad and lover of nature.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
From our Winter issue CRYPTIDS, @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's takedown of Bigfoot and love letter to bears, birds, and other (real) wonders of the natural world.
orionmagazine.org/article/bigf...
orionmagazine.org/article/bigf...
January 25, 2026 at 4:20 PM
From our Winter issue CRYPTIDS, @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social's takedown of Bigfoot and love letter to bears, birds, and other (real) wonders of the natural world.
orionmagazine.org/article/bigf...
orionmagazine.org/article/bigf...
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
i think this attitude — that all opposition is illegitimate and nothing we do can be questioned— is probably pervasive in the white house and helps explain why they keep making terrible political choices
Putin pioneered this. No opposition is legitimate. Regular, decent, “ordinary” people cannot possibly be against us because only we represent “the real people.”
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
January 25, 2026 at 3:02 PM
i think this attitude — that all opposition is illegitimate and nothing we do can be questioned— is probably pervasive in the white house and helps explain why they keep making terrible political choices
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
ICE has now carried out two summary executions of innocent people in the streets of an American city.
If you work for ICE, there's no denying that's the mission you're supporting now. You don't get to claim in one year or ten or twenty that you didn't know what ICE was doing. You're complicit.
If you work for ICE, there's no denying that's the mission you're supporting now. You don't get to claim in one year or ten or twenty that you didn't know what ICE was doing. You're complicit.
January 24, 2026 at 3:55 PM
ICE has now carried out two summary executions of innocent people in the streets of an American city.
If you work for ICE, there's no denying that's the mission you're supporting now. You don't get to claim in one year or ten or twenty that you didn't know what ICE was doing. You're complicit.
If you work for ICE, there's no denying that's the mission you're supporting now. You don't get to claim in one year or ten or twenty that you didn't know what ICE was doing. You're complicit.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
Videos verified by The New York Times show the man federal agents shot and killed in Minneapolis on Saturday was holding a phone, not a gun, before the agents took him to the ground and shot him. At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
January 25, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Videos verified by The New York Times show the man federal agents shot and killed in Minneapolis on Saturday was holding a phone, not a gun, before the agents took him to the ground and shot him. At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
Tag a friend who should submit to our In-House Fiction and Poetry Contests! Use the link in our bio to submit your work for a chance to win a cash prize and publication. #writingcontest
January 23, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Tag a friend who should submit to our In-House Fiction and Poetry Contests! Use the link in our bio to submit your work for a chance to win a cash prize and publication. #writingcontest
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
This is the first example I’ve seen of an American government using AI to meaningfully misrepresent actual events with the intent to deceive the public. We are at Stalinesque levels of propaganda.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
January 23, 2026 at 2:23 PM
This is the first example I’ve seen of an American government using AI to meaningfully misrepresent actual events with the intent to deceive the public. We are at Stalinesque levels of propaganda.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
Liam Ramos, a preschooler ICE detained the five-year-old Minnesota boy as he returned home from school and transported him to a detention center in Texas.
January 22, 2026 at 4:56 AM
Liam Ramos, a preschooler ICE detained the five-year-old Minnesota boy as he returned home from school and transported him to a detention center in Texas.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
Chillingly, the whistleblower says that ICE trainers were directed (no paper trail?) to train all of ICE's new recruits that these administrative warrants authorize breaking into peoples' homes, even though DHS's own training materials still make clear that's illegal!
January 21, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Chillingly, the whistleblower says that ICE trainers were directed (no paper trail?) to train all of ICE's new recruits that these administrative warrants authorize breaking into peoples' homes, even though DHS's own training materials still make clear that's illegal!
This is a wild ride--literally 😱
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
January 20, 2026 at 11:47 PM
This is a wild ride--literally 😱
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
Mamdani: "I am in support of abolishing ICE. What we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist. We're seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it's doing is terrorizing people."
January 20, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Mamdani: "I am in support of abolishing ICE. What we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist. We're seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it's doing is terrorizing people."
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
He goes on to describe one of his officers being stopped when she was off-duty solely because she's non-white, harassed by ICE goons who slapped her phone out of her hand as she tried to record, only to be let go when she finally revealed she was a cop.
Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley: "We're hearing people being stopped with no cause & being demanded to show paperwork to determine if they're here legally. We started hearing from our police officers the same complaints. Every one of these individuals is a person of color... it has to stop"
January 20, 2026 at 5:53 PM
He goes on to describe one of his officers being stopped when she was off-duty solely because she's non-white, harassed by ICE goons who slapped her phone out of her hand as she tried to record, only to be let go when she finally revealed she was a cop.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
This man is an octogenarian child, and like a child, he will lash out at those who don't give into his demands.
Trump told Norway’s Prime Minister that he no longer feels any “obligation to think purely of Peace” due to the Nobel Committee snub.
Trump Links Greenland Threats To Nobel Peace Prize Snub In Letter To Norway’s Leader
Trump told Norway’s Prime Minister that he no longer feels any “obligation to think purely of Peace” due to the Nobel Committee snub.
www.forbes.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:08 PM
This man is an octogenarian child, and like a child, he will lash out at those who don't give into his demands.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
this is what it has come to for Mexican restaurants in the Twin Cities
January 19, 2026 at 2:12 AM
this is what it has come to for Mexican restaurants in the Twin Cities
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
recorded this last week
Why Congress Needs to Treat ICE Like the Ku Klux Klan
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
youtu.be
January 19, 2026 at 1:11 AM
recorded this last week
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
Average Sunday show interview:
OFFICIAL: we are going to dip enemies of the state into acid vats
HOST: how will you pay for it?
OFFICIAL: tariffs
HOST: critics say tariffs don't generate acid vat money
OFFICIAL: tariffs have generated more money than has ever existed
HOST: thank u for ur time
OFFICIAL: we are going to dip enemies of the state into acid vats
HOST: how will you pay for it?
OFFICIAL: tariffs
HOST: critics say tariffs don't generate acid vat money
OFFICIAL: tariffs have generated more money than has ever existed
HOST: thank u for ur time
January 18, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Average Sunday show interview:
OFFICIAL: we are going to dip enemies of the state into acid vats
HOST: how will you pay for it?
OFFICIAL: tariffs
HOST: critics say tariffs don't generate acid vat money
OFFICIAL: tariffs have generated more money than has ever existed
HOST: thank u for ur time
OFFICIAL: we are going to dip enemies of the state into acid vats
HOST: how will you pay for it?
OFFICIAL: tariffs
HOST: critics say tariffs don't generate acid vat money
OFFICIAL: tariffs have generated more money than has ever existed
HOST: thank u for ur time
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
I know it’s hard to have optimism right now, but if there’s one thing that is genuinely giving me hope it is seeing communities — hell, neighborhoods, even portions of cities — stand up in unison against tyranny in a way that is active, capable, savvy. It’s really powerful.
January 18, 2026 at 2:43 AM
I know it’s hard to have optimism right now, but if there’s one thing that is genuinely giving me hope it is seeing communities — hell, neighborhoods, even portions of cities — stand up in unison against tyranny in a way that is active, capable, savvy. It’s really powerful.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
"It seems like every few years, you could write a whole new book on gravity."
James Riordon, author of "Crush: Close Encounters with Gravity," recommends his favorite books on this peculiar force—from the equations needed to understand it, to a funny book about what it's like to live without it:
James Riordon, author of "Crush: Close Encounters with Gravity," recommends his favorite books on this peculiar force—from the equations needed to understand it, to a funny book about what it's like to live without it:
Gravity
Since the 17th century, we've been aware that the force that causes apples to fall from a tree is the same force that holds the planets in the sky, but we still don't know everything there is to know…
fivebooks.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:40 PM
"It seems like every few years, you could write a whole new book on gravity."
James Riordon, author of "Crush: Close Encounters with Gravity," recommends his favorite books on this peculiar force—from the equations needed to understand it, to a funny book about what it's like to live without it:
James Riordon, author of "Crush: Close Encounters with Gravity," recommends his favorite books on this peculiar force—from the equations needed to understand it, to a funny book about what it's like to live without it:
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
As of Thursday, ICE-Gestapo was holding over 73,000 people in their concentration camps, a record amount in their disgraceful 23 year history.
They aren’t a law enforcement agency, they are a militarized terrorist organization that should have been disbanded long ago.
They aren’t a law enforcement agency, they are a militarized terrorist organization that should have been disbanded long ago.
January 17, 2026 at 4:06 PM
As of Thursday, ICE-Gestapo was holding over 73,000 people in their concentration camps, a record amount in their disgraceful 23 year history.
They aren’t a law enforcement agency, they are a militarized terrorist organization that should have been disbanded long ago.
They aren’t a law enforcement agency, they are a militarized terrorist organization that should have been disbanded long ago.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
A massive "Hands off Greenland" protest is happening right now in Copenhagen to demonstrate against Trump's threats.
"The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland's democracy," organisers said.
“Respect for Greenland, respect for Greenlanders, respect for Denmark.”
"The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland's democracy," organisers said.
“Respect for Greenland, respect for Greenlanders, respect for Denmark.”
January 17, 2026 at 3:52 PM
A massive "Hands off Greenland" protest is happening right now in Copenhagen to demonstrate against Trump's threats.
"The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland's democracy," organisers said.
“Respect for Greenland, respect for Greenlanders, respect for Denmark.”
"The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland's democracy," organisers said.
“Respect for Greenland, respect for Greenlanders, respect for Denmark.”
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
Judge limits ICE’s crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting
Judge limits ICE’s crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting
The judge’s order prevents federal agents from arresting peaceful protesters.
dlvr.it
January 17, 2026 at 1:55 AM
Judge limits ICE’s crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
The actual story is that a family of American citizens trying to evacuate from a neighborhood that ICE had made unsafe, and then ICE tossed munitions into the car, causing three kids to be hospitalized and a six month old to stop breathing. DHS called the family “radical agitators”
January 16, 2026 at 5:16 PM
The actual story is that a family of American citizens trying to evacuate from a neighborhood that ICE had made unsafe, and then ICE tossed munitions into the car, causing three kids to be hospitalized and a six month old to stop breathing. DHS called the family “radical agitators”
How's that adage go? "Every computer app is really an advertisement app," or something like that. Also, "organic answer" is a really dubious choice of words.
ChatGPT's free ride is ending: Here's what OpenAI plans for advertising on the chatbot
ChatGPT's free ride is ending: Here's what OpenAI plans for advertising on the chatbot
ChatGPT's free ride is ending: Here's what OpenAI plans for advertising on the chatbot
www.independent.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 11:01 PM
How's that adage go? "Every computer app is really an advertisement app," or something like that. Also, "organic answer" is a really dubious choice of words.
Reposted by Erik Armstrong
More than 550 people have contracted measles in Spartanburg County, S.C., in a fast-growing outbreak. Like a majority of U.S. counties, nonmedical exemptions to school vaccination are also rising. n.pr/4qW0N4X
Measles is spreading fast in S.C. Here's what it says about vaccine exemptions
More than 550 people have contracted measles in Spartanburg County, S.C., in a fast-growing outbreak. Like a majority of U.S. counties, nonmedical exemptions to school vaccination are also rising.
n.pr
January 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM
More than 550 people have contracted measles in Spartanburg County, S.C., in a fast-growing outbreak. Like a majority of U.S. counties, nonmedical exemptions to school vaccination are also rising. n.pr/4qW0N4X