Jim Erskine
@jimers.bsky.social
Retired finance/banking guy. No party preference. Seeking intelligent discourse. Not a fan of bumper stickers.
Wow!
Charted: Life Expectancy vs. Healthcare Spending (1970-2023) 🩺
This graphic by @ourworldindata.org is one of the many data-driven charts and stories from creators featured on our @voronoiapp.bsky.social ✅
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/life-expectancy-vs-healthcare-spending-1970-2023/
This graphic by @ourworldindata.org is one of the many data-driven charts and stories from creators featured on our @voronoiapp.bsky.social ✅
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/life-expectancy-vs-healthcare-spending-1970-2023/
January 30, 2026 at 4:15 AM
Wow!
This is a great read re Phillip Glass' decision to drop the Kennedy Center performance.
"To understand the force of Glass’s gesture, one must read the Lyceum Address not as a ceremonial ode to law, but as a remarkably prescient theory of democratic self-destruction."
Trump Meets Lincoln, Doesn’t Recognize Him
Philip Glass’s eloquent gesture.
harrylitman.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:47 PM
This is a great read re Phillip Glass' decision to drop the Kennedy Center performance.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
"I'm coming to Boston and I'm bringing hell with me."
--Homan in February
"Do I expect violence to escalate? Absolutely."
-- Tom Homan in March
"I actually thought about getting up and throwing that man a beating right there in the middle of the room"
-- Homan in July, referring to a D congressman
--Homan in February
"Do I expect violence to escalate? Absolutely."
-- Tom Homan in March
"I actually thought about getting up and throwing that man a beating right there in the middle of the room"
-- Homan in July, referring to a D congressman
Homan: "I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March -- if the rhetoric doesn't stop, there is gonna be bloodshed. And there has been. I wish I wasn't right. I don't want to see anybody die."
January 29, 2026 at 3:32 PM
"I'm coming to Boston and I'm bringing hell with me."
--Homan in February
"Do I expect violence to escalate? Absolutely."
-- Tom Homan in March
"I actually thought about getting up and throwing that man a beating right there in the middle of the room"
-- Homan in July, referring to a D congressman
--Homan in February
"Do I expect violence to escalate? Absolutely."
-- Tom Homan in March
"I actually thought about getting up and throwing that man a beating right there in the middle of the room"
-- Homan in July, referring to a D congressman
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Senate Dems are going to fully fund ICE if they agree to more body cameras.
And that, boys and girls, is why the republic is crumbling.
We do NOT need more video of ICE atrocities! We have plenty.
We need to STOP the atrocities, PERIOD!
Defund ICE or go to hell.
That is all.
And that, boys and girls, is why the republic is crumbling.
We do NOT need more video of ICE atrocities! We have plenty.
We need to STOP the atrocities, PERIOD!
Defund ICE or go to hell.
That is all.
January 19, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Senate Dems are going to fully fund ICE if they agree to more body cameras.
And that, boys and girls, is why the republic is crumbling.
We do NOT need more video of ICE atrocities! We have plenty.
We need to STOP the atrocities, PERIOD!
Defund ICE or go to hell.
That is all.
And that, boys and girls, is why the republic is crumbling.
We do NOT need more video of ICE atrocities! We have plenty.
We need to STOP the atrocities, PERIOD!
Defund ICE or go to hell.
That is all.
Excellent article, inspiring.
People who are speaking up, in the right way:
fallows.substack.com/p/the-rhetor...
By me. First 4/5ths before paywall.
fallows.substack.com/p/the-rhetor...
By me. First 4/5ths before paywall.
The Rhetoric of Leaders: Meeting the Moment.
'In the life of the human spirit, words are action.' So said a US president during the Iron Curtain era, supporting all who spoke up for human dignity and human rights. Who is speaking up now? A list.
fallows.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Excellent article, inspiring.
Delusional. Will be a disaster if this clown is selected as Fed chair.
January 15, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Delusional. Will be a disaster if this clown is selected as Fed chair.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Our researcher @godin.bsky.social has collated our analysis so far on the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan 7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into one shareable article. Read here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Analysing Footage of Minneapolis ICE Shooting - bellingcat
Synced up footage of the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal agent in Minneapolis helps a fuller picture of events to emerge.
www.bellingcat.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Our researcher @godin.bsky.social has collated our analysis so far on the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan 7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into one shareable article. Read here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Reposted by Jim Erskine
This slogan adopted by Kristi Noem, "One of Ours, All of Yours," is taken from the Nazis, who retaliated for the killing of an SS officer by murdering all the inhabitants of the Czech village of Lidice, apparently none of whom had anything to do with it, and razing the village to the ground.
January 11, 2026 at 7:04 PM
This slogan adopted by Kristi Noem, "One of Ours, All of Yours," is taken from the Nazis, who retaliated for the killing of an SS officer by murdering all the inhabitants of the Czech village of Lidice, apparently none of whom had anything to do with it, and razing the village to the ground.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
We've analysed this video of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis frame-by-frame to highlight the positioning of the gun and phone in the ICE agent's hands.
Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat
Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat
January 8, 2026 at 6:38 PM
We've analysed this video of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis frame-by-frame to highlight the positioning of the gun and phone in the ICE agent's hands.
Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat
Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat
Reposted by Jim Erskine
The most disturbing presidential press conference I have ever seen.
fallows.substack.com/p/blind-into...
(First 3/4ths before paywall.)
fallows.substack.com/p/blind-into...
(First 3/4ths before paywall.)
‘Blind Into Caracas’
Less than 24 hours in, members of the Trump team are celebrating victory. None of them seem to have wondered what happens a day, a month, a decade from now.
fallows.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:21 PM
The most disturbing presidential press conference I have ever seen.
fallows.substack.com/p/blind-into...
(First 3/4ths before paywall.)
fallows.substack.com/p/blind-into...
(First 3/4ths before paywall.)
Reposted by Jim Erskine
A year-end special from me:
The 25 Worst Villains of the Trump Admin, in ranking order. open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...
The 25 Worst Villains of the Trump Admin, in ranking order. open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...
25 Worst Villains of the Trump Admin
The worst of the worst, ranked 1-25.
open.substack.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:09 PM
A year-end special from me:
The 25 Worst Villains of the Trump Admin, in ranking order. open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...
The 25 Worst Villains of the Trump Admin, in ranking order. open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...
Reposted by Jim Erskine
It’s the worst Presidency ever in just 11 months. Countless people killed. A shitty job market. Military conflicts everywhere. Ethnic cleansing. Terrorizing the American populace. Mass corruption. Terrorists and pedos pardoned. Measles back. White supremacist foreign policy. Voting attacks.
December 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
It’s the worst Presidency ever in just 11 months. Countless people killed. A shitty job market. Military conflicts everywhere. Ethnic cleansing. Terrorizing the American populace. Mass corruption. Terrorists and pedos pardoned. Measles back. White supremacist foreign policy. Voting attacks.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Despite anti-drug rhetoric, Trump has granted clemency to 100 people accused of drug-related crimes
That includes felon Juan Orlando Hernández who is responsible for importing 400 tons of cocaine AND felon Ross Upbricht, a notorious internet drug trafficker
That includes felon Juan Orlando Hernández who is responsible for importing 400 tons of cocaine AND felon Ross Upbricht, a notorious internet drug trafficker
December 17, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Despite anti-drug rhetoric, Trump has granted clemency to 100 people accused of drug-related crimes
That includes felon Juan Orlando Hernández who is responsible for importing 400 tons of cocaine AND felon Ross Upbricht, a notorious internet drug trafficker
That includes felon Juan Orlando Hernández who is responsible for importing 400 tons of cocaine AND felon Ross Upbricht, a notorious internet drug trafficker
Reposted by Jim Erskine
It doesn’t have to be this way 🤦♀️
December 10, 2025 at 11:47 PM
It doesn’t have to be this way 🤦♀️
@chrismurphyct.bsky.social explains it clearly
I need you to listen to and share this story - of how Trump is preparing to abandon Ukraine in exchange for Russian money for his billionaire friends.
It could be the greatest corruption of American foreign policy in our history. Russia gets Ukraine. Trump's friends get rich.
It could be the greatest corruption of American foreign policy in our history. Russia gets Ukraine. Trump's friends get rich.
December 10, 2025 at 2:06 AM
@chrismurphyct.bsky.social explains it clearly
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Affordability concerns are real because:
- Tariffs raise import costs
- Deportations make it harder to harvest crops
- Attacking Obamacare hikes premiums
- Budget deficits raise mortgage payments
- Undermining the Fed risks inflation.
It's not a hoax; it's a policy choice.
- Tariffs raise import costs
- Deportations make it harder to harvest crops
- Attacking Obamacare hikes premiums
- Budget deficits raise mortgage payments
- Undermining the Fed risks inflation.
It's not a hoax; it's a policy choice.
December 7, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Affordability concerns are real because:
- Tariffs raise import costs
- Deportations make it harder to harvest crops
- Attacking Obamacare hikes premiums
- Budget deficits raise mortgage payments
- Undermining the Fed risks inflation.
It's not a hoax; it's a policy choice.
- Tariffs raise import costs
- Deportations make it harder to harvest crops
- Attacking Obamacare hikes premiums
- Budget deficits raise mortgage payments
- Undermining the Fed risks inflation.
It's not a hoax; it's a policy choice.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
The whole Cabinet is a bunch of fucking weirdos.
December 6, 2025 at 12:59 AM
The whole Cabinet is a bunch of fucking weirdos.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
12 former commissioners of the FDA came together to write a Perspectives piece for the New England Journal of Medicine; raising our concerns about recent changes to vaccine approval policy at the FDA and its implications for patients and public health.
December 3, 2025 at 10:28 PM
12 former commissioners of the FDA came together to write a Perspectives piece for the New England Journal of Medicine; raising our concerns about recent changes to vaccine approval policy at the FDA and its implications for patients and public health.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
Especially for the racist trash talk, but I think even more generally people see Omar, and hear that Minneapolis has the country's biggest Somali community, and assume that must be a substantial chunk of her voters. The numerical reality is nowhere close to that, there just aren't that many of them.
December 3, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Especially for the racist trash talk, but I think even more generally people see Omar, and hear that Minneapolis has the country's biggest Somali community, and assume that must be a substantial chunk of her voters. The numerical reality is nowhere close to that, there just aren't that many of them.
Reposted by Jim Erskine
What the fuck is wrong with this man?
Jeffries: "The border is secure. That's a good thing. It happened on his watch. He wants to claim credit for it, of course he'll get credit for that. In terms of making sure that we actually deal with the issues that matter, including on immigration, there's a lot that's left to be desired."
December 3, 2025 at 6:46 PM
What the fuck is wrong with this man?
Tennessee is not a democracy. Gerrymandering, Gov. Lee interfering with local politics and constituent preferences, etc.
Some background! I wrote about Tennessee in 2023, asking whether it's still a democracy
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Is Tennessee a Democracy?
What happened when a Republican supermajority gained control—and wasn’t satisfied
www.theatlantic.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Tennessee is not a democracy. Gerrymandering, Gov. Lee interfering with local politics and constituent preferences, etc.
Why am I paying taxes so the White House can put out this bullshit?
Don't know whether this is new or has been up for awhile. Either way, when the White House creates a hit list of journalists it doesn't like, the free press is in danger. www.whitehouse.gov/mediabias/
Media Offenders
Explore the Media Bias Tracker that fact checks and holds Fake News accountable. False claims debunked, Hall of Shame for serial offenders, Leaderboard of networks ranked by Repeated Lies. Stay inform...
www.whitehouse.gov
November 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Why am I paying taxes so the White House can put out this bullshit?