Ian Welsh
@ianwelsh.bsky.social
OG Blogger. ianwelsh.net
Email sub: tinyurl.com/vclcqnp
A lot less angry than I used to be. Not sure if that's good.
Email sub: tinyurl.com/vclcqnp
A lot less angry than I used to be. Not sure if that's good.
America's starving Cuba, because hey, they got away with Venezuela, so why not, if you're a psychopath?
The world or China or the EU could so something, but won't. What could they do and why should they?
t.co/R4Ge1vpJY7
The world or China or the EU could so something, but won't. What could they do and why should they?
t.co/R4Ge1vpJY7
https://www.ianwelsh.net/america-psychopathy-continues-to-stun-cuba-edition/
t.co
February 9, 2026 at 11:33 PM
America's starving Cuba, because hey, they got away with Venezuela, so why not, if you're a psychopath?
The world or China or the EU could so something, but won't. What could they do and why should they?
t.co/R4Ge1vpJY7
The world or China or the EU could so something, but won't. What could they do and why should they?
t.co/R4Ge1vpJY7
One of the things that seems to make me different from most other people is that I can empathize with almost anyhone -- feel what they feel, think what think.
Strangely (or not) this doesn't always make me sympathetic to them, it just means I understand.
Strangely (or not) this doesn't always make me sympathetic to them, it just means I understand.
February 8, 2026 at 9:02 PM
One of the things that seems to make me different from most other people is that I can empathize with almost anyhone -- feel what they feel, think what think.
Strangely (or not) this doesn't always make me sympathetic to them, it just means I understand.
Strangely (or not) this doesn't always make me sympathetic to them, it just means I understand.
Everything you let your rulers do to someone else tells them what they can do to you.
The most important thing to understand about elites is that when they commit genocide, torture, rape and impoverish other people they're telling you what they'd do to YOU if they thought they could get away with it.
February 7, 2026 at 1:29 PM
Everything you let your rulers do to someone else tells them what they can do to you.
The most important thing to understand about elites is that when they commit genocide, torture, rape and impoverish other people they're telling you what they'd do to YOU if they thought they could get away with it.
February 7, 2026 at 1:28 PM
The most important thing to understand about elites is that when they commit genocide, torture, rape and impoverish other people they're telling you what they'd do to YOU if they thought they could get away with it.
I have decided that the Spenser novels, for me, end with Ace Atkins last book. The new author doesn't have the voice and is making choices I don't think Parker would agree with (letting Spenser and Hawk get old, which Parker clearly decided not to do.)
February 5, 2026 at 6:15 PM
I have decided that the Spenser novels, for me, end with Ace Atkins last book. The new author doesn't have the voice and is making choices I don't think Parker would agree with (letting Spenser and Hawk get old, which Parker clearly decided not to do.)
A conspiracy is just a small group of people deciding to do something without letting everyone else know. Most of government and business is run that way and pretending conspiracies don't exist is the intellectual equivalent of self-lobotomizing.
I'm convinced one of the reasons epstein was able to coast for so long is that for many sensible people including and especially educated liberals, viewing the world through a conspiratorial lens was always seen as vaguely distasteful and rube-coded
as someone who pushes hard against conspiratorial thinking in my professional and political life, it is deeply irritating when, on top of the untold human harms Epstein caused, it turns out he was at the center of at least half a dozen actual conspiracies
February 3, 2026 at 5:01 PM
A conspiracy is just a small group of people deciding to do something without letting everyone else know. Most of government and business is run that way and pretending conspiracies don't exist is the intellectual equivalent of self-lobotomizing.
Reposted by Ian Welsh
I'm convinced one of the reasons epstein was able to coast for so long is that for many sensible people including and especially educated liberals, viewing the world through a conspiratorial lens was always seen as vaguely distasteful and rube-coded
as someone who pushes hard against conspiratorial thinking in my professional and political life, it is deeply irritating when, on top of the untold human harms Epstein caused, it turns out he was at the center of at least half a dozen actual conspiracies
February 3, 2026 at 3:11 PM
I'm convinced one of the reasons epstein was able to coast for so long is that for many sensible people including and especially educated liberals, viewing the world through a conspiratorial lens was always seen as vaguely distasteful and rube-coded
Reposted by Ian Welsh
Solid piece for understanding the age of neoliberalism.
Chinese and American elites both got what they wanted. The Chinese got the tech lead and the industrial base, American elites got an oligarchy and destroyed their working class.
www.ianwelsh.net/american-and...
www.ianwelsh.net/american-and...
American and Chinese Elites Both Achieved Their Goals – Ian Welsh
www.ianwelsh.net
February 3, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Solid piece for understanding the age of neoliberalism.
The world isn't run by satantic pedophiles. Just the West and some of its dependents. China executes pedophiles and China is the world's most important nation.
February 3, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The world isn't run by satantic pedophiles. Just the West and some of its dependents. China executes pedophiles and China is the world's most important nation.
Chinese and American elites both got what they wanted. The Chinese got the tech lead and the industrial base, American elites got an oligarchy and destroyed their working class.
www.ianwelsh.net/american-and...
www.ianwelsh.net/american-and...
American and Chinese Elites Both Achieved Their Goals – Ian Welsh
www.ianwelsh.net
February 3, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Chinese and American elites both got what they wanted. The Chinese got the tech lead and the industrial base, American elites got an oligarchy and destroyed their working class.
www.ianwelsh.net/american-and...
www.ianwelsh.net/american-and...
Reposted by Ian Welsh
All bodycams are going to do is facilitate a surge in prosecutions for “assaulting agents” and improve data collection about protesters so good work everyone who pushed for that big reform.
February 2, 2026 at 10:07 PM
All bodycams are going to do is facilitate a surge in prosecutions for “assaulting agents” and improve data collection about protesters so good work everyone who pushed for that big reform.
Reposted by Ian Welsh
People say that Newsom can’t win if everyone doesn’t support him. They are informed that everyone does not, in fact, support him. Logically, those people should then drop their support for Newsom because he can’t win. And yet, they then try to double down on him. Totally illogical.
USian trans people aren't telling you they won't vote for Gavin Newsom to cause you distress and despair.
USian trans people are telling you they won't vote for Gavin Newsom so you don't vote for his transphobic ass in the primaries.
They are giving you actionable information.
USian trans people are telling you they won't vote for Gavin Newsom so you don't vote for his transphobic ass in the primaries.
They are giving you actionable information.
February 2, 2026 at 10:20 PM
People say that Newsom can’t win if everyone doesn’t support him. They are informed that everyone does not, in fact, support him. Logically, those people should then drop their support for Newsom because he can’t win. And yet, they then try to double down on him. Totally illogical.
Reposted by Ian Welsh
/6 Someone left a comment with a link to a piece by Matt Taibbi and Michael Tracy explaining that actually this wasn’t pedophilia. So, you know, thanks, Al Gore.
February 2, 2026 at 12:39 AM
/6 Someone left a comment with a link to a piece by Matt Taibbi and Michael Tracy explaining that actually this wasn’t pedophilia. So, you know, thanks, Al Gore.
Reposted by Ian Welsh
/4 alas, this piece has caused Cathy Young to give up on me. Notably it took her only this one piece to realize I am terrible, whereas previously it took a number of years to realize Milo Yiannopoulos wasn’t actually a free speech hero. This is personal growth, Cathy, and I congratulate it.
February 2, 2026 at 12:09 AM
/4 alas, this piece has caused Cathy Young to give up on me. Notably it took her only this one piece to realize I am terrible, whereas previously it took a number of years to realize Milo Yiannopoulos wasn’t actually a free speech hero. This is personal growth, Cathy, and I congratulate it.
Reposted by Ian Welsh
/7 Update: some of Scott Alexander’s readers have discovered this post. They have used It as a springboard to discuss how, in fact, Jonathan Swift sucks, as does “A Modest Proposal,” because they immediately realized it is satirical, and it goes on too long for someone as smart as they are.
February 2, 2026 at 7:41 PM
/7 Update: some of Scott Alexander’s readers have discovered this post. They have used It as a springboard to discuss how, in fact, Jonathan Swift sucks, as does “A Modest Proposal,” because they immediately realized it is satirical, and it goes on too long for someone as smart as they are.
Reposted by Ian Welsh
Republicans love adding seats to state Supreme Courts! They've done it three times in recent years. This latest court-packing plan will shift Utah's high court far to the right and possibly flip rulings on abortion and gerrymandering.
Democrats should take note that Rs have deemed this acceptable!
Democrats should take note that Rs have deemed this acceptable!
This hasn’t received nearly enough attention:
Republicans just passed a law to pack Utah’s Supreme Court after it ruled against their congressional gerrymander.
Cox could appoint two more justices before the court hears the GOP’s latest appeal to preserve their gerrymander
Republicans just passed a law to pack Utah’s Supreme Court after it ruled against their congressional gerrymander.
Cox could appoint two more justices before the court hears the GOP’s latest appeal to preserve their gerrymander
Utah governor signs bill adding justices to state Supreme Court as redistricting appeal looms
Once the new seats are filled, Gov. Spencer Cox will have appointed five of the seven justices.
www.nbcnews.com
February 2, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Republicans love adding seats to state Supreme Courts! They've done it three times in recent years. This latest court-packing plan will shift Utah's high court far to the right and possibly flip rulings on abortion and gerrymandering.
Democrats should take note that Rs have deemed this acceptable!
Democrats should take note that Rs have deemed this acceptable!
Reposted by Ian Welsh
Kudos to Mayor Mamdani.
This is what economic justice looks like.
And it's a reminder of how we can fight corporate greed at the state and local level. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/mamdani-ice-delivery-workers-settlement-backpay-uber-gig-workers-million/
This is what economic justice looks like.
And it's a reminder of how we can fight corporate greed at the state and local level. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/mamdani-ice-delivery-workers-settlement-backpay-uber-gig-workers-million/
February 2, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Kudos to Mayor Mamdani.
This is what economic justice looks like.
And it's a reminder of how we can fight corporate greed at the state and local level. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/mamdani-ice-delivery-workers-settlement-backpay-uber-gig-workers-million/
This is what economic justice looks like.
And it's a reminder of how we can fight corporate greed at the state and local level. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/mamdani-ice-delivery-workers-settlement-backpay-uber-gig-workers-million/
Reposted by Ian Welsh
From FB regarding Pizza Luce in Minnesota.
I like it when I can do something to help people displaced by ICE and then after I do that thing I get to eat a pizza.
I like it when I can do something to help people displaced by ICE and then after I do that thing I get to eat a pizza.
February 2, 2026 at 6:06 PM
From FB regarding Pizza Luce in Minnesota.
I like it when I can do something to help people displaced by ICE and then after I do that thing I get to eat a pizza.
I like it when I can do something to help people displaced by ICE and then after I do that thing I get to eat a pizza.
Which does make one wonder about Peter Thiel.
Though I'm sure he didn't rape underage girls.
Though I'm sure he didn't rape underage girls.
we said all along that they wanted Gawker dead not because we embarrassed a pro wrestler but because the Epstein story is one Gawker was covering a decade before most other people caught up & was just one of many stories exposing powerful people and their misdeeds
Among the batch of newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein: Epstein telling Peter Thiel he would “gladly share…expenses for the Gawker suit.”
This was sent the day after @rmac.bsky.social and @mattdrange.bsky.social reported in Forbes that Thiel was behind the lawsuit that would bankrupt Gawker
This was sent the day after @rmac.bsky.social and @mattdrange.bsky.social reported in Forbes that Thiel was behind the lawsuit that would bankrupt Gawker
January 31, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Which does make one wonder about Peter Thiel.
Though I'm sure he didn't rape underage girls.
Though I'm sure he didn't rape underage girls.
Reposted by Ian Welsh
I remember a college professor of mine going on a rant about how the world was owned and ruined by “five old white men on yachts”
And I remember thinking, well, it’s probably more that people don’t examine their own actions, it’s not like a couple of people control the world
But you know what
And I remember thinking, well, it’s probably more that people don’t examine their own actions, it’s not like a couple of people control the world
But you know what
January 31, 2026 at 7:21 PM
I remember a college professor of mine going on a rant about how the world was owned and ruined by “five old white men on yachts”
And I remember thinking, well, it’s probably more that people don’t examine their own actions, it’s not like a couple of people control the world
But you know what
And I remember thinking, well, it’s probably more that people don’t examine their own actions, it’s not like a couple of people control the world
But you know what
Reposted by Ian Welsh
so all we agree he didn’t kill himself right
Epstein lawyers discussed possibility of cooperation with prosecutors days before his death, files reveal
Less than two weeks before convicted abuser was found dead, lawyers met with Manhattan federal prosecutors
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:13 PM
so all we agree he didn’t kill himself right
Reposted by Ian Welsh
👀 Looks like the husband of the woman ICE abducted called his lawyer, lawyer called the cops, then the police chief went and got her & took her home
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
![Screenshot from the quote skeeted article reading as follows:
The husband told MPR News that after his wife was taken into custody, he called his attorney, and soon after, he got a call from St. Peter Chief of Police Matt Grochow, whom he said he has known for years.
“I was talking to him, kind of venting some of my frustrations,” the man said, adding that he urged the chief to have his officers just be more visible during the federal enforcement actions. “If [local police] were present and they could see you, I promise you their behavior more than likely, or hopefully, would, you know, be appropriate and law abiding.”
The husband says he talked to the chief for a while and “we had a good conversation.”
“He asked me, ‘what was your wife's name’? I told him my wife's name. He said, ‘was she picked up in a bronco?’ And I said, ‘I'm not sure, but it was an SUV, dark colored. I'd have to look at my video.’ He goes, ‘I think I got her. I'll call you back’.”
The husband said a few minutes later, the chief called again, “and said, I got her or I'm bringing her home.”
“I was just so relieved that she got released and was able to come home,” he said.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kjklbsuepdppuppsfluytydl/bafkreigyienimomaibubdhiar3ijsvfacklpw2tqbnjnbphxenb5yvegk4@jpeg)
January 31, 2026 at 4:29 PM
👀 Looks like the husband of the woman ICE abducted called his lawyer, lawyer called the cops, then the police chief went and got her & took her home
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
Article says it may be the first time local Minnesota PD "intervened in a federal law enforcement action" since Trump started terrorizing the state
The elite are pedophiles by design. It's like how some gangs make would be members kill someone.
If you want to be a member of the US or Israel (and probably UK) elite, they need to know they can trust you and that means they need blackmail on you.
If you want to be a member of the US or Israel (and probably UK) elite, they need to know they can trust you and that means they need blackmail on you.
January 31, 2026 at 11:39 PM
The elite are pedophiles by design. It's like how some gangs make would be members kill someone.
If you want to be a member of the US or Israel (and probably UK) elite, they need to know they can trust you and that means they need blackmail on you.
If you want to be a member of the US or Israel (and probably UK) elite, they need to know they can trust you and that means they need blackmail on you.
Well, all these Epstein revelations mean it's time for a new military attack on someone, probably Iran.
January 31, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Well, all these Epstein revelations mean it's time for a new military attack on someone, probably Iran.