Isaac Speer
@isaacspeer.bsky.social
Continuing Lecturer in UCLA's Sociology Department
Pinned
Isaac Speer
@isaacspeer.bsky.social
· Jun 14
"The road to authoritarianism is littered with people telling you you're overreacting." - MN Governor Tim Walz
Possibly another instance of institutional capitulation to authoritarian rule. So sad and infuriating
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...
February 11, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Possibly another instance of institutional capitulation to authoritarian rule. So sad and infuriating
Reposted by Isaac Speer
Trump Justice Department tries to indict six Democratic members of Congress for making a video reminding members of the military that they should not obey illegal orders, only to have the grand jury refuse to go along. @alanfeuer.bsky.social @glennthrush.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
Grand Jury Rebuffs Justice Dept. Attempt to Indict 6 Democrats in Congress
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Trump Justice Department tries to indict six Democratic members of Congress for making a video reminding members of the military that they should not obey illegal orders, only to have the grand jury refuse to go along. @alanfeuer.bsky.social @glennthrush.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
Reposted by Isaac Speer
He was pardoned for serious crimes - facilitating the financing of terrorists and sex predators.
Because he agreed to put millions into Trump’s pocket.
Naked corruption. Out in the open for all to see.
Because he agreed to put millions into Trump’s pocket.
Naked corruption. Out in the open for all to see.
February 10, 2026 at 3:29 PM
He was pardoned for serious crimes - facilitating the financing of terrorists and sex predators.
Because he agreed to put millions into Trump’s pocket.
Naked corruption. Out in the open for all to see.
Because he agreed to put millions into Trump’s pocket.
Naked corruption. Out in the open for all to see.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
Every time I re-read Trump v. United States, it feels like getting hit in the head with a mallet.
February 6, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Every time I re-read Trump v. United States, it feels like getting hit in the head with a mallet.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
They're actively succeeding in building a state media apparatus akin to what they have in Orban's Hungary and Putin's Russia, but our corporate press is already so broken and captured it's incapable of or unwilling to communicate that to anybody
February 9, 2026 at 4:16 PM
They're actively succeeding in building a state media apparatus akin to what they have in Orban's Hungary and Putin's Russia, but our corporate press is already so broken and captured it's incapable of or unwilling to communicate that to anybody
Reposted by Isaac Speer
*Green card application in process and work permit, married to US citizen
*Lived in US for 20 years, no criminal record
*In detention for five months with no charge, despite judge approving release
*He disputes ICE claim that he signed forms agreeing to deportation
*Lived in US for 20 years, no criminal record
*In detention for five months with no charge, despite judge approving release
*He disputes ICE claim that he signed forms agreeing to deportation
And here is my story: ‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:29 PM
*Green card application in process and work permit, married to US citizen
*Lived in US for 20 years, no criminal record
*In detention for five months with no charge, despite judge approving release
*He disputes ICE claim that he signed forms agreeing to deportation
*Lived in US for 20 years, no criminal record
*In detention for five months with no charge, despite judge approving release
*He disputes ICE claim that he signed forms agreeing to deportation
Reposted by Isaac Speer
You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling.
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:47 PM
You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling.
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Reposted by Isaac Speer
You’ve got to see the video and the “immigration enforcement” as one picture: gutter racism, running the government, symbolically and practically.
February 6, 2026 at 4:06 PM
You’ve got to see the video and the “immigration enforcement” as one picture: gutter racism, running the government, symbolically and practically.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:04 PM
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
Reposted by Isaac Speer
Jeff Bezos took over the Washington Post Editorial Board and turned it into a mouthpiece for pro-corporate, pro-billionaire propaganda.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
February 4, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Jeff Bezos took over the Washington Post Editorial Board and turned it into a mouthpiece for pro-corporate, pro-billionaire propaganda.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.
Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
Republicans seem to be insisting DHS has the right to break the 4th amendment (obviously unconstitutional) and the need to wear masks (which was never the norm before last year and is not normal for law enforcement nationwide). This is a pro-tyranny position.
February 4, 2026 at 1:12 AM
Republicans seem to be insisting DHS has the right to break the 4th amendment (obviously unconstitutional) and the need to wear masks (which was never the norm before last year and is not normal for law enforcement nationwide). This is a pro-tyranny position.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
I genuinely have no idea how to convey this to the American people, but I think the biggest impediment to any kind of immigration reform is that people are convinced that "legal" and "illegal" are immutable, intrinsic categories instead of a rapidly-shifting arbitrary constellation of regulations.
February 1, 2026 at 10:24 PM
I genuinely have no idea how to convey this to the American people, but I think the biggest impediment to any kind of immigration reform is that people are convinced that "legal" and "illegal" are immutable, intrinsic categories instead of a rapidly-shifting arbitrary constellation of regulations.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
Elite impunity has long been the problem, and the US political system won’t stabilize until it’s handled. Trump even channeled populist rage at it for his own gain
February 1, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Elite impunity has long been the problem, and the US political system won’t stabilize until it’s handled. Trump even channeled populist rage at it for his own gain
Reposted by Isaac Speer
They used "anti-semitism" as a pretext to deport foreign-born students and chill free speech, and their deportation chief -- the one with the nonstandard Hugo Boss-style greatcoat -- was spouting anti-semitic insults at a US attorney
Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor’s Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/u...
Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor’s Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers
www.nytimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:02 PM
They used "anti-semitism" as a pretext to deport foreign-born students and chill free speech, and their deportation chief -- the one with the nonstandard Hugo Boss-style greatcoat -- was spouting anti-semitic insults at a US attorney
Reposted by Isaac Speer
This is a plan for a system of concentration camps. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
ICE Begins Buying ‘Mega’ Warehouse Detention Centers Across US
Plans for such centers and jails in nearly two dozen communities have sparked protests over suitability, proximity to homes and schools.
www.bloomberg.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:46 PM
This is a plan for a system of concentration camps. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Isaac Speer
Six days ago federal officers murdered a man in the streets of Minneapolis and we still don't know their identities. Is there any modern precedent for this?
January 30, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Six days ago federal officers murdered a man in the streets of Minneapolis and we still don't know their identities. Is there any modern precedent for this?
The regime is arresting journalists now. They are shredding our Constitution. They are anti-American authoritarians.
January 30, 2026 at 4:34 PM
The regime is arresting journalists now. They are shredding our Constitution. They are anti-American authoritarians.
"Do what we want or we will hurt you" appears to be the mantra of Trumpublicans. Whether the targets are other countries, universities, city governments, etc. it's the same abuser logic each time.
January 30, 2026 at 1:41 AM
"Do what we want or we will hurt you" appears to be the mantra of Trumpublicans. Whether the targets are other countries, universities, city governments, etc. it's the same abuser logic each time.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, in which he demands that the IRS, which he as president controls, pay him $10 billion.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 30, 2026 at 12:56 AM
President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, in which he demands that the IRS, which he as president controls, pay him $10 billion.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Isaac Speer
"We will continue to break the law, violate the Constitution, & kill Americans until Congress stops us" is both a massive Kinsley Gaffe AND a perfect description of exactly where we are - stuck in the worst, most unprecedented Article I constitutional crisis in American history - as a country.
Surprised there aren’t perpetual crowds around the Capitol and Supreme Court building already.
January 29, 2026 at 8:19 PM
"We will continue to break the law, violate the Constitution, & kill Americans until Congress stops us" is both a massive Kinsley Gaffe AND a perfect description of exactly where we are - stuck in the worst, most unprecedented Article I constitutional crisis in American history - as a country.
It really bears repeating that there is nothing so clearly anti-American as tyranny. The whole point of the country's founding as to break away from the rule of a king.
January 29, 2026 at 5:03 PM
It really bears repeating that there is nothing so clearly anti-American as tyranny. The whole point of the country's founding as to break away from the rule of a king.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
"Who's city is it Chief?
Bovino: "It's our fucking city."
And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. It is not a democracy when men with guns and uniforms believe they have more control over a city than its residents.
Bovino: "It's our fucking city."
And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. It is not a democracy when men with guns and uniforms believe they have more control over a city than its residents.
January 29, 2026 at 2:41 PM
"Who's city is it Chief?
Bovino: "It's our fucking city."
And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. It is not a democracy when men with guns and uniforms believe they have more control over a city than its residents.
Bovino: "It's our fucking city."
And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. It is not a democracy when men with guns and uniforms believe they have more control over a city than its residents.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
It is wild to me that a military incursion to steal another country’s resources so the president can have a personal slush fund in Qatar is like the 5th most scandalous thing currently happening.
this is a straightforward impeachable offense for trump, vance, rubio and every other person down the line who enabled it and the framers would have thought impeachment for it did not go nearly far enough
Marco Rubio: "The oil proceeds are being deposited into an account that ultimately will become a US Treasury blocked account here in the US. We will say 'this is what this money can be spent on.' They will submit to us a budget request -- 'we want to use the money on these things.'"
January 29, 2026 at 12:54 AM
It is wild to me that a military incursion to steal another country’s resources so the president can have a personal slush fund in Qatar is like the 5th most scandalous thing currently happening.
Reposted by Isaac Speer
Schumer calls for Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller to be removed from their jobs.
January 28, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Schumer calls for Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller to be removed from their jobs.