Michael Hobbes
@michaelhobbes.bsky.social
Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
For a great listen on why how centrism works in US media--and why it's a problem, this convo between @volts.wtf and @michaelhobbes.bsky.social is illuminating:
www.volts.wtf/p/all-about-...
www.volts.wtf/p/all-about-...
All about "reactionary centrism"
Michael Hobbes joins me to diagnose the pundit class's obsession with scolding the left while the right burns down the house.
www.volts.wtf
February 9, 2026 at 6:14 PM
For a great listen on why how centrism works in US media--and why it's a problem, this convo between @volts.wtf and @michaelhobbes.bsky.social is illuminating:
www.volts.wtf/p/all-about-...
www.volts.wtf/p/all-about-...
Bari Weiss bravely invites us to focus on the real fascism in Minneapolis
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
February 9, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Bari Weiss bravely invites us to focus on the real fascism in Minneapolis
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
Conor Friedersdorf.
Not to be relentlessly negative, but let’s enjoy ourselves a bit.
Who is the Dumbest Guy That Has A Reputation For Being Smart?
Musk seems the clear winner, so let’s say: who else might be in the Top 10?
I’ll start the proceedings with Ezra Klein, the Abundance boy. Not impressive!
Who is the Dumbest Guy That Has A Reputation For Being Smart?
Musk seems the clear winner, so let’s say: who else might be in the Top 10?
I’ll start the proceedings with Ezra Klein, the Abundance boy. Not impressive!
February 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Conor Friedersdorf.
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
i like how british op-eds are just anti-woke madlibs now
February 9, 2026 at 5:34 PM
i like how british op-eds are just anti-woke madlibs now
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
The performance was political from the first image to the last. I don’t even know how to explain this to someone who so thoroughly didn’t understand it
Analysis: Weeks before he set foot on the stage, Bad Bunny’s halftime performance had already become a media event.
But if you were looking for political commentary, the closest that you got was when he said “God bless America” in English.
But if you were looking for political commentary, the closest that you got was when he said “God bless America” in English.
Analysis | Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show was expected to provoke. Did it?
The Bad Bunny Super Bowl show nodded to injustices in Puerto Rico but mostly evoked wholesome family values that meshed with the more sentimental commercials.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:38 PM
The performance was political from the first image to the last. I don’t even know how to explain this to someone who so thoroughly didn’t understand it
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
From skimming through discussions about this, I've concluded that a lot of people don't account for the fact that (at least ideally) *everybody's* speed would be limited. It's true that it would be annoying if you were the only person whose speed was capped, but I think that's what many envision.
This technology already exists and is widely used. It doesn't involve 'government surveillance' and would not allow ICE or any other government agency to stop individual cars.
Just say you think thousands of kids dying every year is worth it so you can speed!
www.autoweek.com/news/a615322...
Just say you think thousands of kids dying every year is worth it so you can speed!
www.autoweek.com/news/a615322...
Speed Limiters Now Mandatory in All New EU Cars
Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) isn't an ironclad speeding prevention system, but could be just annoying enough to spark a backlash.
www.autoweek.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:33 PM
From skimming through discussions about this, I've concluded that a lot of people don't account for the fact that (at least ideally) *everybody's* speed would be limited. It's true that it would be annoying if you were the only person whose speed was capped, but I think that's what many envision.
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
It's already in our cars if you turn on cruise control. I've rented cars for long trips and lately when the speed limit lowers they all slow down
February 9, 2026 at 5:40 PM
It's already in our cars if you turn on cruise control. I've rented cars for long trips and lately when the speed limit lowers they all slow down
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
My E-bike has a Government Mandated Speed Limiter (for assistive power) installed and the government can't track my bike or shut it off. The tech is there, it isn't new.
This technology already exists and is widely used. It doesn't involve 'government surveillance' and would not allow ICE or any other government agency to stop individual cars.
Just say you think thousands of kids dying every year is worth it so you can speed!
www.autoweek.com/news/a615322...
Just say you think thousands of kids dying every year is worth it so you can speed!
www.autoweek.com/news/a615322...
Speed Limiters Now Mandatory in All New EU Cars
Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) isn't an ironclad speeding prevention system, but could be just annoying enough to spark a backlash.
www.autoweek.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:25 PM
My E-bike has a Government Mandated Speed Limiter (for assistive power) installed and the government can't track my bike or shut it off. The tech is there, it isn't new.
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
Even as a little kid I remember wondering why speedometers went up to like 140mph or whatever, when there's no circumstance where that's legal.
This just feels like the most common sense policy imaginable.
This just feels like the most common sense policy imaginable.
This technology already exists and is widely used. It doesn't involve 'government surveillance' and would not allow ICE or any other government agency to stop individual cars.
Just say you think thousands of kids dying every year is worth it so you can speed!
www.autoweek.com/news/a615322...
Just say you think thousands of kids dying every year is worth it so you can speed!
www.autoweek.com/news/a615322...
Speed Limiters Now Mandatory in All New EU Cars
Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) isn't an ironclad speeding prevention system, but could be just annoying enough to spark a backlash.
www.autoweek.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Even as a little kid I remember wondering why speedometers went up to like 140mph or whatever, when there's no circumstance where that's legal.
This just feels like the most common sense policy imaginable.
This just feels like the most common sense policy imaginable.
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
Isn't it super random that all of the "anti-woke" cancel culture academics who all leaned into transphobia and race science later in their careers all seem to be connected through Jeffrey Epstein?
February 6, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Isn't it super random that all of the "anti-woke" cancel culture academics who all leaned into transphobia and race science later in their careers all seem to be connected through Jeffrey Epstein?
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
this rules and everyone opposed to it just sounds like this to me
February 9, 2026 at 4:28 PM
this rules and everyone opposed to it just sounds like this to me
Bizarre editorial. It says bringing back prohibition would be a disaster, but the federal government should tax weed and regulate its potency. Fair enough, but that requires federal legalization. You can't tax something if it's illegal to sell it.
February 9, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Bizarre editorial. It says bringing back prohibition would be a disaster, but the federal government should tax weed and regulate its potency. Fair enough, but that requires federal legalization. You can't tax something if it's illegal to sell it.
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
Not just the oppositon party but some voters too! Acting like an abused partner, taking the scraps from the table and calling it a win and coddling our dogshit representatives while children get kidnapped (and worse) and they shoot random people in the street. Stand up for your neighbors man.
U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.
February 9, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Not just the oppositon party but some voters too! Acting like an abused partner, taking the scraps from the table and calling it a win and coddling our dogshit representatives while children get kidnapped (and worse) and they shoot random people in the street. Stand up for your neighbors man.
No it wouldn't lol
I feel obligated to point out that if cars worked this way, the same tech would also enable Cops/ICE/etc. to stop any car they wanted remotely, to say nothing of a potentially malicious hacker.
I get the sentiment but this is a terrible idea.
I get the sentiment but this is a terrible idea.
My least popular (and most correct) view is that cars should be automatically limited to the local speed limit. Put the pedal to the floor and you still can't go over 25mph in a residential area.
(15 in Manhattan btw)
(15 in Manhattan btw)
February 9, 2026 at 4:13 PM
No it wouldn't lol
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
Neoconservatism
Has any ideology more quickly and comprehensively abandoned its ostensible principles than Libertarianism? Virtually every libertarian I know has gone full, devoted MAGA. Just totally rolled over for fascism instantly.
(I know the REAL principles have always been "I get to be selfish" lol)
(I know the REAL principles have always been "I get to be selfish" lol)
I feel like I'm losing my goddamnned mind.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
February 9, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Neoconservatism
'they were too busy being Latino,' says man whose entire job, personality and political ideology are about being white
February 9, 2026 at 4:10 PM
'they were too busy being Latino,' says man whose entire job, personality and political ideology are about being white
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
Jake Paul is a very dumb person and that he has ascended to the economic heights of wealth that he has is a testament to the inversion of our economic system and the fabrication of an actual “meritocracy,” just as Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk also are examples of this dynamic.
February 9, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Jake Paul is a very dumb person and that he has ascended to the economic heights of wealth that he has is a testament to the inversion of our economic system and the fabrication of an actual “meritocracy,” just as Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk also are examples of this dynamic.
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
One thing I don't get are the academics who would praise Epstein's intellect, even now. I honestly didn't see it. Even on just two minutes acquaintance, he seemed like a standard fast-talking charlatan, someone who trotted out lots of big words with no real understanding. A very common type.
February 9, 2026 at 3:40 PM
One thing I don't get are the academics who would praise Epstein's intellect, even now. I honestly didn't see it. Even on just two minutes acquaintance, he seemed like a standard fast-talking charlatan, someone who trotted out lots of big words with no real understanding. A very common type.
This must hurt so bad
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 9, 2026 at 4:00 PM
This must hurt so bad
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
we're bringing Maxine Waters back for One Last Job
Mike Tracey is a greasy right wing opportunist posing as a journalist, whose latest trolling engagement shtick is harassing victims of Jeffrey Epstein
Notice how Newsnation and The Hill prop him up as a serious good faith actor
Notice how Newsnation and The Hill prop him up as a serious good faith actor
February 9, 2026 at 2:37 PM
we're bringing Maxine Waters back for One Last Job
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
5/ “I have already spent more than 60 days waking up eating the same repetitive meals…going to the doctor and that the only thing they tell you is to drink more water and the worst thing is that it seems like the water is what makes people sick here…”
From 12-year-old Ender, detained 60+ days
From 12-year-old Ender, detained 60+ days
February 9, 2026 at 12:34 PM
5/ “I have already spent more than 60 days waking up eating the same repetitive meals…going to the doctor and that the only thing they tell you is to drink more water and the worst thing is that it seems like the water is what makes people sick here…”
From 12-year-old Ender, detained 60+ days
From 12-year-old Ender, detained 60+ days
They're torture camps
The government says the people being deported are violent criminals, and they treat them inhumanely. But mostly they are subjecting ordinary people to extraordinary punishments.
February 9, 2026 at 2:51 PM
They're torture camps
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
This is the most entertaining game of the night
February 9, 2026 at 3:23 AM
This is the most entertaining game of the night
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
what do you mean the leader of your country will sometimes "resign" just because there's "a scandal"
February 9, 2026 at 12:59 PM
what do you mean the leader of your country will sometimes "resign" just because there's "a scandal"
Reposted by Michael Hobbes
Speaking just for myself, by now I've had my fill of efforts to "understand" people who have stuck with Trump.
We know who they are.
There are more of us than of them.
Just have to make sure that diff keeps showing up in election results. (As it has in virtually all special elections so far.)
We know who they are.
There are more of us than of them.
Just have to make sure that diff keeps showing up in election results. (As it has in virtually all special elections so far.)
We spoke with more than a dozen Trump voters about how they are making sense of the recent events in Minneapolis. Listen to "The Daily."
Why Trump Voters Are Torn Over Minneapolis
Illegal immigration and government overreach are colliding in Minneapolis, fundamentally changing Trump voters’ views of the president.
nyti.ms
February 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Speaking just for myself, by now I've had my fill of efforts to "understand" people who have stuck with Trump.
We know who they are.
There are more of us than of them.
Just have to make sure that diff keeps showing up in election results. (As it has in virtually all special elections so far.)
We know who they are.
There are more of us than of them.
Just have to make sure that diff keeps showing up in election results. (As it has in virtually all special elections so far.)