Matt Kavanagh
@mattkavanagh.bsky.social
college professor / contemporary American novel / film noir / financial fiction / writer and reviewer / 🇨🇦 / personal account
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Matt Kavanagh
@mattkavanagh.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Since I’m new here, I thought I’d repost myTwitter thread from 2018 on #HannahArendt and #Trumphasia: a topic that is unfortunately still relevant today. 1/
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Happy New Year!
In 2026, we keep building the citizen-based alternative to the top-down mainstream media.
Join us! ✊
In 2026, we keep building the citizen-based alternative to the top-down mainstream media.
Join us! ✊
At a time when billionaires and oligarchs own the majority of our press, when local journalism is in decline, and social media is rife with misinformation and abuse, there has never been a greater need for citizen journalism
Who funds us? No one...except you. Become a friends of Bylines supporter:
Who funds us? No one...except you. Become a friends of Bylines supporter:
Friends of Bylines Network - Bylines Network
Stand with us – sign up. now to become a Friend of Bylines Network
bylinesnetwork.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Happy New Year!
In 2026, we keep building the citizen-based alternative to the top-down mainstream media.
Join us! ✊
In 2026, we keep building the citizen-based alternative to the top-down mainstream media.
Join us! ✊
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Reference to Rhodesia, fashwave aesthetic… whoever is designing DHS propaganda is a white supremacist and their target audience is white supremacists.
This ICE post is a reference to a Rhodesian Army recruiting poster ("Be A Man Among Men") that's very popular with white supremacists.
January 1, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Reference to Rhodesia, fashwave aesthetic… whoever is designing DHS propaganda is a white supremacist and their target audience is white supremacists.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Kim is a phenomenal historian, equally well versed in political history and NYC’s history. Listen to her.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
Zohran Mamdani “is part of a long tradition in New York City that has framed itself as seeking to reclaim the democratic community of the city from wealth, power and greed,” Kim Phillips-Fein writes.
Zohran Mamdani “is part of a long tradition in New York City that has framed itself as seeking to reclaim the democratic community of the city from wealth, power and greed,” Kim Phillips-Fein writes.
Opinion | Why New York City Needs Someone Like Mamdani
The new mayor is an entirely familiar type of New York politician.
nyti.ms
January 1, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Kim is a phenomenal historian, equally well versed in political history and NYC’s history. Listen to her.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Worrying stuff at the old Kennedy Institute- if allegations hold true then there is serious mismanagement to support MAGA causes and also FIFA
‘Their first instinct was to loot’: how Trump’s acolytes are plundering the Kennedy Center
Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, remains undeterred and determined to press on with his investigation
www.theguardian.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Worrying stuff at the old Kennedy Institute- if allegations hold true then there is serious mismanagement to support MAGA causes and also FIFA
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I have made no secret of my belief that the parallels between today and the immediate Antebellum are as disquieting as they are undeniable. Indeed, I've become something of an internet cryptid because of it.
1860s problems require 1860s solutions: Resurrect the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
1860s problems require 1860s solutions: Resurrect the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
January 1, 2026 at 6:25 AM
I have made no secret of my belief that the parallels between today and the immediate Antebellum are as disquieting as they are undeniable. Indeed, I've become something of an internet cryptid because of it.
1860s problems require 1860s solutions: Resurrect the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
1860s problems require 1860s solutions: Resurrect the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
It's New Year, so time to look back and forward. These are 10 things I think we need to recognise in 2026. It’s a response to what I think are profoundly damaging mistaken assumptions I’ve heard and read from practitioners, journalists, and analysts in 2025. Warning: very long🧵
January 1, 2026 at 4:55 PM
It's New Year, so time to look back and forward. These are 10 things I think we need to recognise in 2026. It’s a response to what I think are profoundly damaging mistaken assumptions I’ve heard and read from practitioners, journalists, and analysts in 2025. Warning: very long🧵
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Trump may be extreme in all sorts of ways, but looking at the last 30 years of US politics, there’s no reason to think of Trump as an anomaly.
January 1, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Trump may be extreme in all sorts of ways, but looking at the last 30 years of US politics, there’s no reason to think of Trump as an anomaly.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
It's 1958 & a group of conservatives in California, fed up with the liberalism of both the GOP & the Democratic Party, have nominated for governor a white nationalist antisemite named William Potter Gale who leads a neo-Nazi paramilitary organization. They've garnered many high-profile endorsements.
January 1, 2026 at 6:05 PM
It's 1958 & a group of conservatives in California, fed up with the liberalism of both the GOP & the Democratic Party, have nominated for governor a white nationalist antisemite named William Potter Gale who leads a neo-Nazi paramilitary organization. They've garnered many high-profile endorsements.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Amid growing concerns over Big Tech firms aligning with Trump administration policies, people are starting to move their digital lives to services based overseas. Here's what you need to know.
How to Avoid US-Based Digital Services—and Why You Might Want To
Amid growing concerns over Big Tech firms aligning with Trump administration policies, people are starting to move their digital lives to services based overseas. Here's what you need to know.
wrd.cm
January 1, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Amid growing concerns over Big Tech firms aligning with Trump administration policies, people are starting to move their digital lives to services based overseas. Here's what you need to know.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Again, the man who’s next in line for the presidency after this walking corpse has said he’s deeply influenced by this outright Nazi, so maybe we could get a little more attention on that?
Curtis Yarvin, JD Vance’s friend & ideological influence, ended 2025 by claiming “only Hitler spoke the truth” about “too many subjects” & “Hitler was a genius.”
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
January 1, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Again, the man who’s next in line for the presidency after this walking corpse has said he’s deeply influenced by this outright Nazi, so maybe we could get a little more attention on that?
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
My son had back-to-back appts M-W, before the clock struck midnight on insurance.
He was miserable; labs, scans, stitch removal.
He just had his 42nd surgery, with another planned… who tf knows?
New deductible—$6500.
We’re all literally paying the price for a massively corrupt GOP lunatic/Congress.
He was miserable; labs, scans, stitch removal.
He just had his 42nd surgery, with another planned… who tf knows?
New deductible—$6500.
We’re all literally paying the price for a massively corrupt GOP lunatic/Congress.
Final broadcast of ABC News Tonight for 2025. I hope every rep and senator saw it.
Millions are being forced to cancel health insurance because it’s unaffordable. That pressure doesn’t stop with them; it spreads. When people drop coverage, everyone’s rates go up.
Call your Rep and Senators.
Millions are being forced to cancel health insurance because it’s unaffordable. That pressure doesn’t stop with them; it spreads. When people drop coverage, everyone’s rates go up.
Call your Rep and Senators.
January 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM
My son had back-to-back appts M-W, before the clock struck midnight on insurance.
He was miserable; labs, scans, stitch removal.
He just had his 42nd surgery, with another planned… who tf knows?
New deductible—$6500.
We’re all literally paying the price for a massively corrupt GOP lunatic/Congress.
He was miserable; labs, scans, stitch removal.
He just had his 42nd surgery, with another planned… who tf knows?
New deductible—$6500.
We’re all literally paying the price for a massively corrupt GOP lunatic/Congress.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
We just cancelled all federal funding for foreign language & area studies at America’s universities to “save”…$86,000,000:
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Trump golfed 1/4 of the days he was president in 2025. Costing US taxpayers to pay his Golf clubs $110,600,000.
January 1, 2026 at 5:45 PM
We just cancelled all federal funding for foreign language & area studies at America’s universities to “save”…$86,000,000:
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I did an awful job of reading books for adults this year but I read "Second Life" by Amanda Hess about parenting in the digital age and for a year defined by child-rearing and Too Much Phone, it was a good fit. Would recommend to anyone who has looked up Wirecutter reviews of baby monitors.
January 1, 2026 at 6:31 AM
I did an awful job of reading books for adults this year but I read "Second Life" by Amanda Hess about parenting in the digital age and for a year defined by child-rearing and Too Much Phone, it was a good fit. Would recommend to anyone who has looked up Wirecutter reviews of baby monitors.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
"At a party held to announce the findings, a knife sliced through a layer of frosting to reveal the fleshy gender inside. A pregnant woman beat a piñata until its gender spilled out. A father-to-be pulled the trigger and rained gender across the range."
Amanda Hess' "Second Life" is so good.
Amanda Hess' "Second Life" is so good.
July 29, 2025 at 1:45 PM
"At a party held to announce the findings, a knife sliced through a layer of frosting to reveal the fleshy gender inside. A pregnant woman beat a piñata until its gender spilled out. A father-to-be pulled the trigger and rained gender across the range."
Amanda Hess' "Second Life" is so good.
Amanda Hess' "Second Life" is so good.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I have genuinely never seen a cat sit like this
November 1, 2025 at 5:52 AM
I have genuinely never seen a cat sit like this
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over
January 1, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Just making sure that 2025 is definitely over
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Vermont Lodges Complaint that it Wasn't Them
In response to multiple threats by the United States to turn Canada into the 51st state, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney surprised Canadians and Washingtonians by declaring Washington Canada’s 11th Province: tinyurl.com/4w688ss6
January 1, 2026 at 4:14 AM
Vermont Lodges Complaint that it Wasn't Them
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
2025 will go down in history as the greatest year ever for corruption in US politics. In fact, it’s fair to expect 2025 will just go down in history. But whatever the case, it’s good to just see it go.
Donald Trump’s net worth increased by about $2.5 billion since his re-election.
January 1, 2026 at 6:16 AM
2025 will go down in history as the greatest year ever for corruption in US politics. In fact, it’s fair to expect 2025 will just go down in history. But whatever the case, it’s good to just see it go.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
In all seriousness it is something special to know that the mayor of the largest city in the country is a Muslim Indian who is the son of one of the most esteemed de-colonial scholars on the planet, and who is steadfast with Palestine; and who is visibly proud of his identity and his politics.
January 1, 2026 at 5:39 AM
In all seriousness it is something special to know that the mayor of the largest city in the country is a Muslim Indian who is the son of one of the most esteemed de-colonial scholars on the planet, and who is steadfast with Palestine; and who is visibly proud of his identity and his politics.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
The funniest thing could happen in 2026.
Bless the day.
Bless the day.
January 1, 2026 at 5:49 AM
The funniest thing could happen in 2026.
Bless the day.
Bless the day.
Keep blaming the voters who couldn’t stomach supporting a genocide instead of the politicians who helped instigate said genocide. What a fucking idiot.
Dearborn, Michigan could not be reached for comment.
Trump: "I'm not concerned about anything that Israel is doing"
January 1, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Keep blaming the voters who couldn’t stomach supporting a genocide instead of the politicians who helped instigate said genocide. What a fucking idiot.
The energy I’m bringing to the new year…
December 31, 2025 at 10:34 PM
The energy I’m bringing to the new year…