Lisa Rokusek
@lisarokusek.bsky.social
tired but trying
I'm in STL. We make it harder here.
agitator
dissident - in the havel sense
disintegrating - i hope positively
magical queer
mostly benevolent
pushing the rock of persuasion
I'm in STL. We make it harder here.
agitator
dissident - in the havel sense
disintegrating - i hope positively
magical queer
mostly benevolent
pushing the rock of persuasion
Carney’s speech though. Values based realism gonna reverberate through my body for a long time.
January 21, 2026 at 12:10 PM
Carney’s speech though. Values based realism gonna reverberate through my body for a long time.
This is the time of bell hooks and Vaclav Havel. Whew.
January 21, 2026 at 12:03 PM
This is the time of bell hooks and Vaclav Havel. Whew.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
DOGE likely perpetrated the most serious, far-reaching data breaches in human history, and we will be dealing with the consequences for years.
Many DOGErs should have been, and still could be, prosecuted for these crimes.
Many DOGErs should have been, and still could be, prosecuted for these crimes.
NEWS: The Social Security Administration has referred two DOGE employees for Hatch Act violations after discovering contacts with a political group seeking SSA data to overturn election results. www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
January 20, 2026 at 7:23 PM
DOGE likely perpetrated the most serious, far-reaching data breaches in human history, and we will be dealing with the consequences for years.
Many DOGErs should have been, and still could be, prosecuted for these crimes.
Many DOGErs should have been, and still could be, prosecuted for these crimes.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
I criticize Senate Democrats a lot, but 0 of them voted for the OBBB, and its multi-year appropriation for ICE only exists because JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. I do think it’s worth filibustering DHS funding, however, and it is just insulting to say you won’t even bother trying anything.
Appropriators release remaining spending bills ... including one funding DHS!
Dem Sen. Murray says deal gives ICE less than Republicans wanted
"ICE must be reined in, and unfortunately, neither a CR nor a shutdown would do anything to restrain it" b/c of funding in OBBB
Dem Sen. Murray says deal gives ICE less than Republicans wanted
"ICE must be reined in, and unfortunately, neither a CR nor a shutdown would do anything to restrain it" b/c of funding in OBBB
January 20, 2026 at 1:04 PM
I criticize Senate Democrats a lot, but 0 of them voted for the OBBB, and its multi-year appropriation for ICE only exists because JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. I do think it’s worth filibustering DHS funding, however, and it is just insulting to say you won’t even bother trying anything.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
I can't tell you how many times in my old job I warned that a change in technology would not result in a change in productivity because the technology was implemented not in response to identifying a business problem and finding a well-matched solution but because some guy wanted it.
"More than half of CEOs report seeing neither increased revenue nor decreased costs from AI, despite massive investments in the technology, according to a PwC survey of 4,454 business leaders."
Majority of CEOs report zero payoff from AI splurge
: PwC survey finds more than half of 4,500+ biz leaders see no revenue growth nor cost savings
www.theregister.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:47 PM
I can't tell you how many times in my old job I warned that a change in technology would not result in a change in productivity because the technology was implemented not in response to identifying a business problem and finding a well-matched solution but because some guy wanted it.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
The biggest miscalculation of the Trumpists is about human nature. They assume we're all selfish and cowardly and can be cowed into silence or submission or surrender, which is to say they seem to base their version of human nature partly on themselves and partly on their scorn for the rest of us.
One Long Year Later: It's Not Over, and We Haven't Surrendered
I wrote an essay in the immediate aftermath of the 2024 election, an essay to encourage people to not give up and not assume that the Trumpists had won. It follows, after this prelude about where we a...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:12 PM
The biggest miscalculation of the Trumpists is about human nature. They assume we're all selfish and cowardly and can be cowed into silence or submission or surrender, which is to say they seem to base their version of human nature partly on themselves and partly on their scorn for the rest of us.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
i do think even a lot of otherwise well-informed Americans really do not understand just how much Trump has already mutilated our global reputation and global trust.
it will take a long time and many acts of extreme contrition on our part to rebuild this.
it will take a long time and many acts of extreme contrition on our part to rebuild this.
I swear everything I see out of the US is "wait until the midterms. We'll get a majority back and everything will return to normal"
I don't think they're aware of the damage that's been done
I don't think they're aware of the damage that's been done
January 19, 2026 at 7:25 PM
i do think even a lot of otherwise well-informed Americans really do not understand just how much Trump has already mutilated our global reputation and global trust.
it will take a long time and many acts of extreme contrition on our part to rebuild this.
it will take a long time and many acts of extreme contrition on our part to rebuild this.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
The 50s and 60s civil rights battles are disappearing out of living memory just as those of the 30s and 40s did. And there’s a renewed push to memory-hole MLK himself, or at least make the things he fought for appear out of bounds. The March never ended, but we have to fight for our lives again.
January 19, 2026 at 12:50 PM
The 50s and 60s civil rights battles are disappearing out of living memory just as those of the 30s and 40s did. And there’s a renewed push to memory-hole MLK himself, or at least make the things he fought for appear out of bounds. The March never ended, but we have to fight for our lives again.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
Any one of these daily atrocities should result in a full congressional investigation and a disbanding of the agency. The fact that it’s all just shrugged off by those with the power to stop it is a national disgrace.
ICE ended up returning the man, Saly, after realizing he’s a fucking US citizen with no criminal record, per his sister-in-law. These fucking animals.
January 19, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Any one of these daily atrocities should result in a full congressional investigation and a disbanding of the agency. The fact that it’s all just shrugged off by those with the power to stop it is a national disgrace.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
Many white, affluent Americans are being personally exposed to capricious policing, rationing healthcare, and reduced quality of life that used to be abstractions. It’s important to remember that just because it is new to us doesn’t mean it is new.
Black folks and immigrants have long lived in a "perogative state" when it comes to law enforcement, and maybe pundits at the largest national outlets should recognize that their past support for punitive policing and immigration enforcement laid the groundwork for the current moment.
January 18, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Many white, affluent Americans are being personally exposed to capricious policing, rationing healthcare, and reduced quality of life that used to be abstractions. It’s important to remember that just because it is new to us doesn’t mean it is new.
David French has been a dick & is still a dick but perhaps his dick eyes are opening a little to how dickishness eventually comes for us all.
It’s like recovering libertarians. We must work for and leave space for transformation and then firewall the still harmful people away from greater society.
It’s like recovering libertarians. We must work for and leave space for transformation and then firewall the still harmful people away from greater society.
January 18, 2026 at 1:58 PM
David French has been a dick & is still a dick but perhaps his dick eyes are opening a little to how dickishness eventually comes for us all.
It’s like recovering libertarians. We must work for and leave space for transformation and then firewall the still harmful people away from greater society.
It’s like recovering libertarians. We must work for and leave space for transformation and then firewall the still harmful people away from greater society.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
The first thing Virginia Spanberger did after being sworn in as Governor of Virginia was repeal Youngkin’s executive order requiring state and local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE.
This is the kind of leadership Democratic governors nationwide should be emulating.
This is the kind of leadership Democratic governors nationwide should be emulating.
January 18, 2026 at 11:35 AM
The first thing Virginia Spanberger did after being sworn in as Governor of Virginia was repeal Youngkin’s executive order requiring state and local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE.
This is the kind of leadership Democratic governors nationwide should be emulating.
This is the kind of leadership Democratic governors nationwide should be emulating.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
literally everyone: left wing needs prominent voices to elevate them bc we dont have billionaire backers
gavin newsom: im going to interview this pepe the frog ai chatbot trained on the breitbart comment section about it
gavin newsom: im going to interview this pepe the frog ai chatbot trained on the breitbart comment section about it
January 18, 2026 at 1:33 PM
literally everyone: left wing needs prominent voices to elevate them bc we dont have billionaire backers
gavin newsom: im going to interview this pepe the frog ai chatbot trained on the breitbart comment section about it
gavin newsom: im going to interview this pepe the frog ai chatbot trained on the breitbart comment section about it
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
hard not to notice that as trump's polls crater and gop gets crushed in election after election, news orgs are not racing around hiring progressive commenters and boasting about how they're reaching out to real americans by following the will of the volk.
January 18, 2026 at 5:58 AM
hard not to notice that as trump's polls crater and gop gets crushed in election after election, news orgs are not racing around hiring progressive commenters and boasting about how they're reaching out to real americans by following the will of the volk.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
Happy new year.
You can't defeat every enemy outright, & you can't win at everything.
But you can swear at everything...
Here's a thread of no context profanity & cusses (& occasional bugs/lichen/etc) in case you need help with that in 2026.
1. Rancid wankspangled dicklimpet
You can't defeat every enemy outright, & you can't win at everything.
But you can swear at everything...
Here's a thread of no context profanity & cusses (& occasional bugs/lichen/etc) in case you need help with that in 2026.
1. Rancid wankspangled dicklimpet
January 1, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Happy new year.
You can't defeat every enemy outright, & you can't win at everything.
But you can swear at everything...
Here's a thread of no context profanity & cusses (& occasional bugs/lichen/etc) in case you need help with that in 2026.
1. Rancid wankspangled dicklimpet
You can't defeat every enemy outright, & you can't win at everything.
But you can swear at everything...
Here's a thread of no context profanity & cusses (& occasional bugs/lichen/etc) in case you need help with that in 2026.
1. Rancid wankspangled dicklimpet
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
It’s been reported locally, but I’m not sure how much national notice this has gotten. As part of this invasion by shithead goons, they are putting ICE agents in jetbridges and other parts of the airport at Minneapolis-Saint Paul. If you are flying Delta via MSP, you are putting yourself at risk.
ICE agents to begin checking documents at MSP airport, patrol jet bridges - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will begin checking documents of travelers and workers at MSP airport, with patrols inside jet bridges.
www.bizjournals.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:11 AM
It’s been reported locally, but I’m not sure how much national notice this has gotten. As part of this invasion by shithead goons, they are putting ICE agents in jetbridges and other parts of the airport at Minneapolis-Saint Paul. If you are flying Delta via MSP, you are putting yourself at risk.
The sky in STL looks like aluminum foil.
January 16, 2026 at 5:46 PM
The sky in STL looks like aluminum foil.
Most of my effort right now goes to minding my mind, so I can be then have the energy to be effective in the world.
January 16, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Most of my effort right now goes to minding my mind, so I can be then have the energy to be effective in the world.
This is a great thread. A helpful stance. And a useful way to move through the world.
to despair and embrace cynicism was to hand powerful weapons to the enemy
January 16, 2026 at 5:20 PM
This is a great thread. A helpful stance. And a useful way to move through the world.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
Bouie keeps getting slammed for these sensible and sober minded Takes because there are people who've come to see anything short of maximal Doomerism as somehow complacency - you're saying I *shouldn't* feel maximally bad!??? Yet it is obvious on reflection that maximal doomerism breeds complacency.
There are places where Trump, as president, has broad freedom of action. And there are places where Trump, as president, has been able to act unilaterally because the main point of opposition, Congress (and SCOTUS), support his program. (1/?)
January 16, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Bouie keeps getting slammed for these sensible and sober minded Takes because there are people who've come to see anything short of maximal Doomerism as somehow complacency - you're saying I *shouldn't* feel maximally bad!??? Yet it is obvious on reflection that maximal doomerism breeds complacency.
I support this message.
It is 2026 and there is zero practical or strategic reason to genuflect before the feet of notorious dead-eyed chucklefuck Gavin Newsom
January 16, 2026 at 4:40 PM
I support this message.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
The raid of a journalist’s home, Washington Post´s Hannah Natanson, along with the jailing of their alleged source, are shocking acts of authoritarianism. And they are in line with Trump’s willingness to use the state as a weapon against the press, which is a serious threat to democracy.
January 16, 2026 at 12:25 PM
The raid of a journalist’s home, Washington Post´s Hannah Natanson, along with the jailing of their alleged source, are shocking acts of authoritarianism. And they are in line with Trump’s willingness to use the state as a weapon against the press, which is a serious threat to democracy.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
a reminder for those outside Chicago that Alderman Jessie Fuentes was literally cuffed and detained by the feds INSIDE A HOSPITAL for asking agents to provide a warrant for arresting a man they were holding there because he broke his leg being chased down by them.
January 15, 2026 at 3:12 PM
a reminder for those outside Chicago that Alderman Jessie Fuentes was literally cuffed and detained by the feds INSIDE A HOSPITAL for asking agents to provide a warrant for arresting a man they were holding there because he broke his leg being chased down by them.
Reposted by Lisa Rokusek
No coincidence that Trump's rise coincides with election betting/forecasting, which turns a question of values/policy/identity into a sporting contest between two teams that are of equal standing.
January 14, 2026 at 4:16 PM
No coincidence that Trump's rise coincides with election betting/forecasting, which turns a question of values/policy/identity into a sporting contest between two teams that are of equal standing.