@charlesjunior.bsky.social
Reposted
"ICE and CBP must be abolished" is the only reasonable position. We can debate the specifics of new agencies for immigration functions, but these agencies are simply too infected with a culture of impunity, racism, and fascism to continue. They're gangs with badges.
Armed ICE agents trapped US citizens in a restaurant and demanded their papers. Federal agents walked into East African restaurants in Cedar-Riverside, MN. They closed and blocked the doors. Then they demanded to see everyone’s papers. Every person present was a US citizen.
Federal agents use chemical irritant on crowd in Somali neighborhood of Minneapolis amid Trump crackdown
Federal agents have used chemical irritant to disperse a crowd in a heavily Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis. This happened Tuesday during a identification checks amid the Trump administration's cra...
www.mprnews.org
December 14, 2025 at 8:49 PM
"ICE and CBP must be abolished" is the only reasonable position. We can debate the specifics of new agencies for immigration functions, but these agencies are simply too infected with a culture of impunity, racism, and fascism to continue. They're gangs with badges.
Reposted
October 29, 2023: FiveThirtyEight became self-aware.
October 29, 2023 at 4:48 PM
October 29, 2023: FiveThirtyEight became self-aware.
Reposted
Birthright citizenship under the common law, a thread:
I have done this many times on social media, in print, and in media interviews, but not to be accused of taking others’ not seriously enough, by plainly stating the law and history of birthright citizenship, I’m taking the time here:
I have done this many times on social media, in print, and in media interviews, but not to be accused of taking others’ not seriously enough, by plainly stating the law and history of birthright citizenship, I’m taking the time here:
December 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Birthright citizenship under the common law, a thread:
I have done this many times on social media, in print, and in media interviews, but not to be accused of taking others’ not seriously enough, by plainly stating the law and history of birthright citizenship, I’m taking the time here:
I have done this many times on social media, in print, and in media interviews, but not to be accused of taking others’ not seriously enough, by plainly stating the law and history of birthright citizenship, I’m taking the time here:
Reposted
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
November 23, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
Reposted
All of these supposed failures by Democrats should more rightly be attributed to the remarkable success of right wing propagandists. They have gotten very good at what they do, and the Dems need to catch up and fight fire with fire in the narrative wars.
It's such a weird situation where centrist Democrats clearly lead the party yet always blame their failures on a perceived powerful left-wing. www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
Left-wing ideas have wrecked Democrats’ brand, new report warns
The center-left group Welcome relied on polling of hundreds of thousands of voters over six months for its findings, shared first with Semafor.
www.semafor.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:41 AM
All of these supposed failures by Democrats should more rightly be attributed to the remarkable success of right wing propagandists. They have gotten very good at what they do, and the Dems need to catch up and fight fire with fire in the narrative wars.
Reposted
Those voters, given a choice between an ersatz Republican-lite and a genuine Republican, will always choose the real deal.
Meanwhile, the misguided effort to chase them is driving away gettable voters on the left.
Meanwhile, the misguided effort to chase them is driving away gettable voters on the left.
2000s Dems found that supporting the Iraq war wasn’t the key to winning elections. Voters who wanted that backed Bush.
2010s Dems found that running away from Obama didn’t yield wins. Voters who wanted that went GOP.
2020s Dems will find that Bigotry Lite isn’t the key to winning elections either.
2010s Dems found that running away from Obama didn’t yield wins. Voters who wanted that went GOP.
2020s Dems will find that Bigotry Lite isn’t the key to winning elections either.
October 26, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Those voters, given a choice between an ersatz Republican-lite and a genuine Republican, will always choose the real deal.
Meanwhile, the misguided effort to chase them is driving away gettable voters on the left.
Meanwhile, the misguided effort to chase them is driving away gettable voters on the left.
Reposted
Here's a photo of my friend and colleague, Jorge Bautista, getting shot in the face with a flashbang grenade. The ICE Agent is so afraid of Jorge (who was posing no threat) that he has wet himself. Please share this photo. Everyone needs to know what cowards ICE agents are.
October 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Here's a photo of my friend and colleague, Jorge Bautista, getting shot in the face with a flashbang grenade. The ICE Agent is so afraid of Jorge (who was posing no threat) that he has wet himself. Please share this photo. Everyone needs to know what cowards ICE agents are.
Reposted
there are good & worthwhile historical & legal arguments for why the unitary executive is nonsense but to my mind the most straightforward argument is that it makes no logical sense that the president has absolute removal power over the people whose job it is to keep the executive branch accountable
The Inspector General system is basically broken now. Most IGs have been fired, most positions remain vacant. Those who remain or would take the job pose no risk to holding the regime accountable.
Congress added more barriers to Trump firing IGs after his first term. He just ignored them.
Congress added more barriers to Trump firing IGs after his first term. He just ignored them.
October 21, 2025 at 10:47 PM
there are good & worthwhile historical & legal arguments for why the unitary executive is nonsense but to my mind the most straightforward argument is that it makes no logical sense that the president has absolute removal power over the people whose job it is to keep the executive branch accountable
Reposted
There’s an essay to be written about how maga patriotism is just shitty fandom. Anyone who follows sports knows fans like this, it’s always the ref’s fault, the other team doesn’t exist, there’s some plot/player/coach holding the team back otherwise they’d always win easy bsky.app/profile/atru...
Trump: "The problem with Vietnam, we, you know, we stopped fighting to win. We would've won easy. We would've won Afghanistan easy. We would've won every war easy. But we got politically correct. 'Oh, let's take it easy.' We're not politically correct anymore, just so you understand."
October 6, 2025 at 1:10 AM
There’s an essay to be written about how maga patriotism is just shitty fandom. Anyone who follows sports knows fans like this, it’s always the ref’s fault, the other team doesn’t exist, there’s some plot/player/coach holding the team back otherwise they’d always win easy bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted
one thing which is patently obvious about the Supreme Court right now is that it is using the shadow docket to avoid making precedents that a future Democrat might be able to use, while nonetheless giving Donald Trump everything he wants -- at least in part because if the did not, he'd do it anyway.
September 8, 2025 at 5:42 PM
one thing which is patently obvious about the Supreme Court right now is that it is using the shadow docket to avoid making precedents that a future Democrat might be able to use, while nonetheless giving Donald Trump everything he wants -- at least in part because if the did not, he'd do it anyway.
Reposted
I signed the Harper's letter to show I was brave enough to stand up to the left on free speech. But I've decided that I'm not brave enough to stand up to the right about it.
September 18, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I signed the Harper's letter to show I was brave enough to stand up to the left on free speech. But I've decided that I'm not brave enough to stand up to the right about it.
Reposted
When MAGA expresses anger at the state of things, the press and pundit class treat every utterance as the received wisdom of True America. When the left expresses anger, the press reaches for its pearls and smelling salts and bemoans the end of civility.
September 13, 2025 at 5:42 PM
When MAGA expresses anger at the state of things, the press and pundit class treat every utterance as the received wisdom of True America. When the left expresses anger, the press reaches for its pearls and smelling salts and bemoans the end of civility.
Reposted
A pre-dog-walk 🧵 on the pandemic.
To me, the lesson of the pandemic is a very familiar one, although as far as I can tell, no one is talking about it or learning it (which is also familiar). It's about the contrast between America's two political parties.
To me, the lesson of the pandemic is a very familiar one, although as far as I can tell, no one is talking about it or learning it (which is also familiar). It's about the contrast between America's two political parties.
September 1, 2025 at 7:12 PM
A pre-dog-walk 🧵 on the pandemic.
To me, the lesson of the pandemic is a very familiar one, although as far as I can tell, no one is talking about it or learning it (which is also familiar). It's about the contrast between America's two political parties.
To me, the lesson of the pandemic is a very familiar one, although as far as I can tell, no one is talking about it or learning it (which is also familiar). It's about the contrast between America's two political parties.
Reposted
“I didn’t mean to/I didn’t know it would do that” is not supposed to be adequate excuse for causing harm when we’re children. It’s absolutely better than maliciously causing harm on purpose, but I don’t think my mom would have accepted it as cause for absolution. I still would have been punished
August 27, 2025 at 3:48 PM
“I didn’t mean to/I didn’t know it would do that” is not supposed to be adequate excuse for causing harm when we’re children. It’s absolutely better than maliciously causing harm on purpose, but I don’t think my mom would have accepted it as cause for absolution. I still would have been punished
Reposted
the actual communication problem democrats have is this: their most prominent national figures filter everything through focus grouped lines and are incapable of plain speech
Jeffries on Trump planning a military crackdown in Chicago: "We should continue to support local law enforcement and not simply allow Donald Trump to play games with the lives of the American people as part of his effort to manufacture a crisis and create a distraction because he's deeply unpopular"
August 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
the actual communication problem democrats have is this: their most prominent national figures filter everything through focus grouped lines and are incapable of plain speech
Reposted
We just got through an election where voters told us they voted on egg prices and thinking Biden was President in 2020 and people are arguing Dems lose because of “Latinx” and let me tell you that’s the most online stupid fucking shit I’ve ever heard in my life.
August 24, 2025 at 3:27 AM
We just got through an election where voters told us they voted on egg prices and thinking Biden was President in 2020 and people are arguing Dems lose because of “Latinx” and let me tell you that’s the most online stupid fucking shit I’ve ever heard in my life.
Reposted
one question to ask the editorial board is whether there is a minimum bar for what constitutes "american democracy." if most people in most states are gerrymandered out of effective political representation, is that democracy?
August 21, 2025 at 2:32 PM
one question to ask the editorial board is whether there is a minimum bar for what constitutes "american democracy." if most people in most states are gerrymandered out of effective political representation, is that democracy?
Reposted
Okay, I've deleted my earlier post. Apparently, this is *not* a pipe. But the fact that I thought it was says a lot about society.
August 13, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Okay, I've deleted my earlier post. Apparently, this is *not* a pipe. But the fact that I thought it was says a lot about society.
Reposted
Reposted
The entire point of good reporting or good scholarship is to tell us something we didn’t already know and the idea that they could ever be replaced by AI tools that rely on scraping the internet database of what we *do* know is just ludicrous.
it really is both insanely inaccurate and also wildly offensive to assume that scientists and reporters can be readily replaced with passive sensors
This is what popped into my head immediately upon reading that, like, okay, so all those field scientists... we can just replace them with Waymos, got it, can't wait to see how a Waymo creeps through a bush for 7 weeks just to take a photograph of a bird that nobody has ever photographed before
July 19, 2025 at 5:47 PM
The entire point of good reporting or good scholarship is to tell us something we didn’t already know and the idea that they could ever be replaced by AI tools that rely on scraping the internet database of what we *do* know is just ludicrous.
Reposted
Democrats really don't understand the information environment. The "base gives a shit" about the things you relentlessly signal they should give a shit about. They have on their radar the things you PUT on their radar. The GOP is so much better at this game and it really shows.
They all wanted to go home and didn’t want their constituents to get rewarded for asking they do the bare minimum during the worst constitutional crisis we’ve faced since the civil war.
If that means public media and foreign aid get destroyed in the process? So be it.
If that means public media and foreign aid get destroyed in the process? So be it.
July 18, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Democrats really don't understand the information environment. The "base gives a shit" about the things you relentlessly signal they should give a shit about. They have on their radar the things you PUT on their radar. The GOP is so much better at this game and it really shows.
Reposted
I remain convinced that the entire country, including Trump, would be much happier if we just Truman Showed him
HOLD UP. Are you telling us that the President of the United States is refusing regular briefings about threats to the country so his minions are creating a briefing TV show just for him? WHAT THE HELL?
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
May 31, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I remain convinced that the entire country, including Trump, would be much happier if we just Truman Showed him
Reposted
the U.S. press position is that user LeninGood1921 stands for the Democratic Party, but the words and actions of the Republican President cannot be taken as representing the Republican Party.
It’s sure is great that the media environment has effectively flattened their idea who “stands for” the Democratic Party, where random people online are seen as more representative and authoritative than actual politicians doing politics. No negative consequences to that whatsoever
May 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
the U.S. press position is that user LeninGood1921 stands for the Democratic Party, but the words and actions of the Republican President cannot be taken as representing the Republican Party.
Reposted
no amount of substantive moderation will help you if you seem like a weenie and, vice versa, someone who codes as independent can get away with a few out-of-the-mainstream positions because they *reinforce the idea that you're independent and not beholden to anyone*
May 25, 2025 at 3:07 PM
no amount of substantive moderation will help you if you seem like a weenie and, vice versa, someone who codes as independent can get away with a few out-of-the-mainstream positions because they *reinforce the idea that you're independent and not beholden to anyone*
Reposted
If you do not understand that Republicans have invested heavily in creating a vast infrastructure that is designed for the singular purpose of shifting public opinion, and that their best politicians know how to use it for electoral politics, you should not be a political pundit
Nuanced disagreement here: I don't think that public opinion is fixed and unchanging.
I do think that people engaged in electoral politics should treat it as de facto fixed and simply respond.
If you want to shift public opinion, you should be invested in something other than electoral politics.
I do think that people engaged in electoral politics should treat it as de facto fixed and simply respond.
If you want to shift public opinion, you should be invested in something other than electoral politics.
Don’t get distracted by the snark and criticism in this thread. Instead take a step back:
Everything Matt says here *implicitly assumes public opinion is fixed and unchanging. (‼️)
THAT is the key error of the popularists. Their status quo ideology means they reject any efforts to persuade, 1/
Everything Matt says here *implicitly assumes public opinion is fixed and unchanging. (‼️)
THAT is the key error of the popularists. Their status quo ideology means they reject any efforts to persuade, 1/
May 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
If you do not understand that Republicans have invested heavily in creating a vast infrastructure that is designed for the singular purpose of shifting public opinion, and that their best politicians know how to use it for electoral politics, you should not be a political pundit