John Ma 🇺🇦
@nakhthor.bsky.social
Chinese-American anc historian, Columbia. Antiochos III & the Cities of W Asia Minor (1999), Statues & Cities (2013), Aršāma and his World (2020, co-ed), Polis: A New History (2024). Guggenheim Fellow.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
The good folks of The Five went on an extended rant about how CNN is biased. Earlier in the same program Kayleigh McEnany praised Trump at length. She also mentioned @jimacosta.bsky.social for seemingly no reason as he no longer works for CNN. Fox is a Trump state propaganda.
February 16, 2026 at 8:14 PM
The good folks of The Five went on an extended rant about how CNN is biased. Earlier in the same program Kayleigh McEnany praised Trump at length. She also mentioned @jimacosta.bsky.social for seemingly no reason as he no longer works for CNN. Fox is a Trump state propaganda.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
yeah. this is the problem with left wing populist analysis. AOC hits this less hard than Sanders in general, but it's still inaccurate.
far right doesn't care about wealth inequality. they are upset that "elites"—ie marginalized people—are gaining status and supposedly ruling over them. 1
far right doesn't care about wealth inequality. they are upset that "elites"—ie marginalized people—are gaining status and supposedly ruling over them. 1
That is not what right-wing populists say! They blame various out groups for lots of things, but "wealth inequality" is not one of them because they don't care about that, it is not what's driving them, and it is not what they are claiming to solve. That's your issue. People can have other concerns.
We can't fall into right-wing populism’s lie that the most vulnerable in society are to blame for wealth inequality in our countries. We need to build movements that tell the truth: the story of wealth inequality is not a cultural one, but a class one.
February 15, 2026 at 8:36 PM
yeah. this is the problem with left wing populist analysis. AOC hits this less hard than Sanders in general, but it's still inaccurate.
far right doesn't care about wealth inequality. they are upset that "elites"—ie marginalized people—are gaining status and supposedly ruling over them. 1
far right doesn't care about wealth inequality. they are upset that "elites"—ie marginalized people—are gaining status and supposedly ruling over them. 1
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Not only would I be comfortable with that person teaching my children I'd be deeply uncomfortable with my children being taught by any person who thought that standing up against this type of vicious nastiness was wrong
Chaya Raichik is trying to get an elementary-school teacher fired for reposting a single viral video with zero additional commentary
February 15, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Not only would I be comfortable with that person teaching my children I'd be deeply uncomfortable with my children being taught by any person who thought that standing up against this type of vicious nastiness was wrong
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
“western civilization” in this construction should be juxtaposed *against* the american tradition.
February 15, 2026 at 1:17 AM
“western civilization” in this construction should be juxtaposed *against* the american tradition.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
it has more in common, in fact, with with the antebellum slaveholder preoccupation with (its vision of) medieval europe, a romantic notion of Anglo supremacy that you can see articulated, in similar form, during the early days of american imperialism at the turn of the 20th century.
February 15, 2026 at 1:17 AM
it has more in common, in fact, with with the antebellum slaveholder preoccupation with (its vision of) medieval europe, a romantic notion of Anglo supremacy that you can see articulated, in similar form, during the early days of american imperialism at the turn of the 20th century.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
rubio’s invocation of “western civilization” — defined here as racial and religious chauvinism, if not outright supremacy — is a rejection of the more egalitarian and universalistic notions that came out of america’s two revolutions.
February 15, 2026 at 1:17 AM
rubio’s invocation of “western civilization” — defined here as racial and religious chauvinism, if not outright supremacy — is a rejection of the more egalitarian and universalistic notions that came out of america’s two revolutions.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Nobody at the time of the American Revolution would have thought of themselves as part of "Western civilization" because the term really didn't even exist yet. It started percolating through elite discourse only in the late 19th C. and didn't become a common vernacular term until the early 20th.
rubio’s invocation of “western civilization” — defined here as racial and religious chauvinism, if not outright supremacy — is a rejection of the more egalitarian and universalistic notions that came out of america’s two revolutions.
February 15, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Nobody at the time of the American Revolution would have thought of themselves as part of "Western civilization" because the term really didn't even exist yet. It started percolating through elite discourse only in the late 19th C. and didn't become a common vernacular term until the early 20th.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Our court system is largely working, with the exception of the most important court
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
The decisions amount to a huge legal rebuke, but the administration has continued jailing people indefinitely.
www.reuters.com
February 15, 2026 at 5:53 AM
Our court system is largely working, with the exception of the most important court
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
This is a huge glaring issue right now. Courts generally ARE doing fairly well, even including significant number of Trump appointees. The corruption is concentrated in scotus.
Our court system is largely working, with the exception of the most important court
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
February 15, 2026 at 2:18 PM
This is a huge glaring issue right now. Courts generally ARE doing fairly well, even including significant number of Trump appointees. The corruption is concentrated in scotus.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
"It is not so much an anti-democratic world — though it is certainly that — as an anti-civic world. It’s a world of private, one-off deals, mutual pledges of secrecy, often enforced by soft, mutual extortion, and above all, a rejection of democratic accountability." — @joshtpm.bsky.social
Thinking Clearly About the Global Authoritarian Movement
Day after day we’re seeing more signs of Donald Trump’s slipping grip...
talkingpointsmemo.com
February 15, 2026 at 5:41 PM
"It is not so much an anti-democratic world — though it is certainly that — as an anti-civic world. It’s a world of private, one-off deals, mutual pledges of secrecy, often enforced by soft, mutual extortion, and above all, a rejection of democratic accountability." — @joshtpm.bsky.social
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Bullshit.
Homan: "When they say 'stop racial profiling' -- that's just not occurring. ICE will briefly detain and question somebody based on reasonable suspicion. It has nothing to do with racial profiling."
February 15, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Bullshit.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Deleted all my X accounts a LONG time ago, natch. After deleting, I re-registered gregpak over there when it became available to fend off scammers/Nazis from taking it over. Set it to private and put this up as the user image. Never use X, friends. It's genuinely evil. Stinks of sulfur. Get off.
February 15, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Deleted all my X accounts a LONG time ago, natch. After deleting, I re-registered gregpak over there when it became available to fend off scammers/Nazis from taking it over. Set it to private and put this up as the user image. Never use X, friends. It's genuinely evil. Stinks of sulfur. Get off.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Cancelled my Home Depot account. Told them it was because of ICE. Lots of local hardware stores in Brooklyn, so 🤷
February 15, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Cancelled my Home Depot account. Told them it was because of ICE. Lots of local hardware stores in Brooklyn, so 🤷
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Cancelled Amazon Prime. I try to buy books via @bookshop.org or just order 'em from @communitybookstore.bsky.social in Brooklyn. Or, yeah, Barnes & Noble. Also the library is cool! Occasionally still buy stuff from Amazon I can't find elsewhere, but I try to avoid.
February 15, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Cancelled Amazon Prime. I try to buy books via @bookshop.org or just order 'em from @communitybookstore.bsky.social in Brooklyn. Or, yeah, Barnes & Noble. Also the library is cool! Occasionally still buy stuff from Amazon I can't find elsewhere, but I try to avoid.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
And if you just want a simple landing page website, here's a quick guide. You can do it!
gregpak.com/how-and-why-...
gregpak.com/how-and-why-...
How to (and why you should) make a personal website
Over the last couple of weeks, we've seen Meta push anti-LGBQT "moderation" policies and TikTok shut down after being banned by the US government -- further confirmation that no social media site will...
gregpak.com
February 15, 2026 at 12:27 AM
And if you just want a simple landing page website, here's a quick guide. You can do it!
gregpak.com/how-and-why-...
gregpak.com/how-and-why-...
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
For word processing, etc., I ditched Microsoft 365 because of all the forced "A.i." and the expense of the subscription and bought cheap stand-alone Microsoft Office 2021 installations for my computers. No "A.i." and I started saving money within a few months.
February 15, 2026 at 12:20 AM
For word processing, etc., I ditched Microsoft 365 because of all the forced "A.i." and the expense of the subscription and bought cheap stand-alone Microsoft Office 2021 installations for my computers. No "A.i." and I started saving money within a few months.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Dumb and evil are not mutually exclusive and Elon is not a genius, or even an above average thinker. I have dealt with enough of these people directly to see their stupidity in action, not just reading about it on this website.
I am once again begging liberals to understand the difference between dumb (which they are not) and evil (which they are).
Do people like Elizabeth truly not grasp this? You are *paid to observe people*!!! How much more do you need to see?
Do people like Elizabeth truly not grasp this? You are *paid to observe people*!!! How much more do you need to see?
Swear to god, so many of these uber rich guys who keep trying to intellectualize and sanitize white supremacy really are the dumbest motherfuckers alive. They constantly say word salad-y nonsense like this that would cause them to fail a fourth grade US history test.
February 15, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Dumb and evil are not mutually exclusive and Elon is not a genius, or even an above average thinker. I have dealt with enough of these people directly to see their stupidity in action, not just reading about it on this website.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
When Bereleh and Faygel Krugman emigrated from Belarus to New York, which was mostly Catholic and Jewish in 1920, I don't think they did for the Scots (with one t) Irish culture
February 15, 2026 at 7:33 PM
When Bereleh and Faygel Krugman emigrated from Belarus to New York, which was mostly Catholic and Jewish in 1920, I don't think they did for the Scots (with one t) Irish culture
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
“Stop, or I’ll yell stop another 4,400 times again” is not (only) a legal/judicial/Article III problem. It’s the total failure of Article I. The constitutional order is completely non-functional right now.
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
The decisions amount to a huge legal rebuke, but the administration has continued jailing people indefinitely.
www.reuters.com
February 15, 2026 at 7:29 AM
“Stop, or I’ll yell stop another 4,400 times again” is not (only) a legal/judicial/Article III problem. It’s the total failure of Article I. The constitutional order is completely non-functional right now.
Visite du Louvre (1)
February 14, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Visite du Louvre (1)
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
“The U.S. government is engaged in an active cover-up of the largest sex-trafficking & influence-peddling scandal in our history — & Donald Trump is right at the center of it.” - @Rep_Stansbury
We the people demand justice 4 survivors & consequences 4 perps.
We the people demand justice 4 survivors & consequences 4 perps.
February 10, 2026 at 8:12 PM
“The U.S. government is engaged in an active cover-up of the largest sex-trafficking & influence-peddling scandal in our history — & Donald Trump is right at the center of it.” - @Rep_Stansbury
We the people demand justice 4 survivors & consequences 4 perps.
We the people demand justice 4 survivors & consequences 4 perps.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Trump spent his entire, shameless public life using scandalous sensationalism, media manipulation and demonization of others to create "publicity" for himself and cash in on it.
Now HE is the worst scandal he could have ever imagine for any person he hated.
Now HE is the worst scandal he could have ever imagine for any person he hated.
February 11, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Trump spent his entire, shameless public life using scandalous sensationalism, media manipulation and demonization of others to create "publicity" for himself and cash in on it.
Now HE is the worst scandal he could have ever imagine for any person he hated.
Now HE is the worst scandal he could have ever imagine for any person he hated.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Younger veteran: "How old are you, man?"
Older veteran: “87.”
Younger veteran: “Out here getting arrested, raising hell at 87.”
Older veteran: “It’s just beginning.”
🦅 🦅 🦅 #ResistanceUnited 🔥 🔥 🔥
Older veteran: “87.”
Younger veteran: “Out here getting arrested, raising hell at 87.”
Older veteran: “It’s just beginning.”
🦅 🦅 🦅 #ResistanceUnited 🔥 🔥 🔥
February 14, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Sanders: The American people do not want this country to be an authoritarian society or an oligarchy. We have our differences, that’s what democracy is about—we argue it out. We don’t throw people who disagree in jail. We don’t intimidate the media. We don’t send ICE agents to shoot people.
February 13, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Sanders: The American people do not want this country to be an authoritarian society or an oligarchy. We have our differences, that’s what democracy is about—we argue it out. We don’t throw people who disagree in jail. We don’t intimidate the media. We don’t send ICE agents to shoot people.