Jon Frandsen
@jcfrandsen.bsky.social
Dismayed retired journalist/writer; dog walker; cat herder. Proud father, grandfather & partner. “Not long lines. Long tables!”—Chef and future Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Andres.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
For the second year in a row, the wealth gains for the 100 richest Americans exceeded what ALL American households spent on groceries combined.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
December 14, 2025 at 11:28 PM
For the second year in a row, the wealth gains for the 100 richest Americans exceeded what ALL American households spent on groceries combined.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
What a way to treat some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable federal employees we have. They are among the most forward-facing employees in government and they love being stewards of public lands and sharing them with visitors.
A top National Park Service official has instructed park superintendents to limit the number of staff who get top marks in performance reviews, a move that experts say violates federal code and could make it easier to lay off staff.
Park Service orders changes to staff ratings, a move experts call illegal
Lower performance ratings could be used as a factor in layoff decisions and will demoralize staff, advocates say.
wapo.st
December 12, 2025 at 11:51 PM
What a way to treat some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable federal employees we have. They are among the most forward-facing employees in government and they love being stewards of public lands and sharing them with visitors.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
A top National Park Service official has instructed park superintendents to limit the number of staff who get top marks in performance reviews, a move that experts say violates federal code and could make it easier to lay off staff.
Park Service orders changes to staff ratings, a move experts call illegal
Lower performance ratings could be used as a factor in layoff decisions and will demoralize staff, advocates say.
wapo.st
December 12, 2025 at 11:30 PM
A top National Park Service official has instructed park superintendents to limit the number of staff who get top marks in performance reviews, a move that experts say violates federal code and could make it easier to lay off staff.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
Everyone should read this incredible first-person piece by Jason Collins (as told to @ramonaespn.bsky.social), on his battle with brain cancer. So much admiration for this man.
Jason Collins, on his cancer diagnosis: It's Stage 4 glioblastoma and I'm fighting
In an exclusive with ESPN, the 13-year NBA veteran and pioneer reveals that he is fighting for his life.
www.espn.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Everyone should read this incredible first-person piece by Jason Collins (as told to @ramonaespn.bsky.social), on his battle with brain cancer. So much admiration for this man.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
Extremely insane story involving Goodreads sleuthing, the guy steering policy on women in the military being into a lot of weird/dark/unfaithful sex stuff, AND Jack Posobiac apparently threatening the journalist reporting it
This is a really disturbing story on several levels and certainly anyone who interacts with the Pentagon specifically or the administration more generally should read it:
I asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth's mentor. Then the threats started.
Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal.
www.motherjones.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Extremely insane story involving Goodreads sleuthing, the guy steering policy on women in the military being into a lot of weird/dark/unfaithful sex stuff, AND Jack Posobiac apparently threatening the journalist reporting it
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
Remind me: Did Brett Kavanaugh include having your wedding band cut in pieces among the minor inconveniences of being arrested by ICE as a US citizen?
“She has marks on her neck and wrist from where agents restrained her. Agents cut off her wedding ring and held her in leg shackles at Whipple Federal Building for about five hours.”
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Federal agents arrest citizen observer watching ICE detain neighbors on her north Minneapolis block
Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old American citizen, appears to be the first observer arrested by federal immigration enforcement officers since the agency launched an immigration surge in the Twin Cities l...
www.mprnews.org
December 10, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Remind me: Did Brett Kavanaugh include having your wedding band cut in pieces among the minor inconveniences of being arrested by ICE as a US citizen?
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
December 10, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
"there's a new serif in town"
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:06 AM
"there's a new serif in town"
Their stupidity knows no bounds. None.
Here's Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) raging about Missouri's elections being "decided in California" in response to an article about Missourians protesting a gerrymandering petition in California -- except the article is about the town of California in Missouri.
December 8, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Their stupidity knows no bounds. None.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
Here's Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) raging about Missouri's elections being "decided in California" in response to an article about Missourians protesting a gerrymandering petition in California -- except the article is about the town of California in Missouri.
December 8, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Here's Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) raging about Missouri's elections being "decided in California" in response to an article about Missourians protesting a gerrymandering petition in California -- except the article is about the town of California in Missouri.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
It’s as if Anne Frank was describing the state sanctioned terror in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
December, 2025
December, 2025
December 8, 2025 at 3:55 PM
It’s as if Anne Frank was describing the state sanctioned terror in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
December, 2025
December, 2025
This is the perfect combination of Orwell & Heller’s Catch-22:
They weren’t helpless in the water because they managed to pull themselves to safety after being blown out of the water. They really think we’re stupid ... or don’t care how stupid they look when making absurd excuses.
They weren’t helpless in the water because they managed to pull themselves to safety after being blown out of the water. They really think we’re stupid ... or don’t care how stupid they look when making absurd excuses.
WELKER: Lawmakers say the 2 men appeared to raise their arms potentially to surrender. Why did Admiral Bradley interpret these actions as anything other than them trying to survive?
TOM COTTON: They were sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat. They weren't floating helplessly in the water
TOM COTTON: They were sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat. They weren't floating helplessly in the water
December 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
This is the perfect combination of Orwell & Heller’s Catch-22:
They weren’t helpless in the water because they managed to pull themselves to safety after being blown out of the water. They really think we’re stupid ... or don’t care how stupid they look when making absurd excuses.
They weren’t helpless in the water because they managed to pull themselves to safety after being blown out of the water. They really think we’re stupid ... or don’t care how stupid they look when making absurd excuses.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
WELKER: Lawmakers say the 2 men appeared to raise their arms potentially to surrender. Why did Admiral Bradley interpret these actions as anything other than them trying to survive?
TOM COTTON: They were sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat. They weren't floating helplessly in the water
TOM COTTON: They were sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat. They weren't floating helplessly in the water
December 7, 2025 at 3:14 PM
WELKER: Lawmakers say the 2 men appeared to raise their arms potentially to surrender. Why did Admiral Bradley interpret these actions as anything other than them trying to survive?
TOM COTTON: They were sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat. They weren't floating helplessly in the water
TOM COTTON: They were sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat. They weren't floating helplessly in the water
Neo-royalist is a term we all need in our lexicons. It describes our circumstances perfectly.
1/As FIFA delivers Trump his peace prize there will be many uncomfortable chuckles and head scratches. But this is no joke. It is another peace in building a neo-royalist order based not on states but hyper elites. Orders use symbols for legitimation.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System - Volume 79 Issue S1
www.cambridge.org
December 5, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Neo-royalist is a term we all need in our lexicons. It describes our circumstances perfectly.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
1/As FIFA delivers Trump his peace prize there will be many uncomfortable chuckles and head scratches. But this is no joke. It is another peace in building a neo-royalist order based not on states but hyper elites. Orders use symbols for legitimation.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System - Volume 79 Issue S1
www.cambridge.org
December 5, 2025 at 6:03 PM
1/As FIFA delivers Trump his peace prize there will be many uncomfortable chuckles and head scratches. But this is no joke. It is another peace in building a neo-royalist order based not on states but hyper elites. Orders use symbols for legitimation.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
Wow
Senator Kelly is correct.
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
Plus a Public Service Announcement:
KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1.
The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal:
"orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
December 1, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Wow
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
NEW: ICE had initially planned a limited pilot program to hire bounty hunters and private investigators for immigrant tracking.
The agency has now scrapped that plan and is going all-in, removing the program’s spending cap and offering up to $280M to any given contractor.
From @dell.bsky.social
The agency has now scrapped that plan and is going all-in, removing the program’s spending cap and offering up to $280M to any given contractor.
From @dell.bsky.social
ICE Offers Up to $280 Million to Immigrant-Tracking ‘Bounty Hunter’ Firms
Immigration and Customs Enforcement lifted a $180 million cap on a proposed immigrant-tracking program while guaranteeing multimillion-dollar payouts for private surveillance firms.
www.wired.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:59 PM
NEW: ICE had initially planned a limited pilot program to hire bounty hunters and private investigators for immigrant tracking.
The agency has now scrapped that plan and is going all-in, removing the program’s spending cap and offering up to $280M to any given contractor.
From @dell.bsky.social
The agency has now scrapped that plan and is going all-in, removing the program’s spending cap and offering up to $280M to any given contractor.
From @dell.bsky.social
I’m having a very difficult time with the idea that shipping human beings to a torture prison hasn’t caused more outrage. There’s something deeply wrong with our country.
November 24, 2025 at 8:43 PM
I’m having a very difficult time with the idea that shipping human beings to a torture prison hasn’t caused more outrage. There’s something deeply wrong with our country.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
In the end, it didn’t cut government spending, and there was no promised “savings.” In the end, DOGE destroyed countless lives, ravaged American soft power, killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world (soon millions), & stole your data.
Elon Musk should be on trial.
Elon Musk should be on trial.
November 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM
In the end, it didn’t cut government spending, and there was no promised “savings.” In the end, DOGE destroyed countless lives, ravaged American soft power, killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world (soon millions), & stole your data.
Elon Musk should be on trial.
Elon Musk should be on trial.
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
REMINDER: you can LISTEN instead. Just search "Letters from an American" on Substack or your favorite podcast platform.
November 20, 2025 at 12:17 PM
REMINDER: you can LISTEN instead. Just search "Letters from an American" on Substack or your favorite podcast platform.
All that madness, drama and polished torture porn video & hysteria from DHS … and not a single criminal charge. Nada. Zip. Bupkis. Grotesque abuse of power. 🤢
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
November 13, 2025 at 4:50 PM
All that madness, drama and polished torture porn video & hysteria from DHS … and not a single criminal charge. Nada. Zip. Bupkis. Grotesque abuse of power. 🤢
Reposted by Jon Frandsen
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
November 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.