Nate Bowling
@natebowling.com
Teaching Political Science and World History in Abu Dhabi — Skeets mainly about the Seattle Sounders, the state of the world, and my generalized grumpiness
https://buttondown.com/natebowling
https://buttondown.com/natebowling
Pinned
Nate Bowling
@natebowling.com
· Nov 15
Nerd Farmer Podcast Guests
Join the conversation
go.bsky.app
If you're new to Bluesky, I made Starter Pack with past guests on my podcast, Nerd Farmer, that are on here. There's a heap of authors, journalists, academics & educators, and folks from the civic scene in the PNW.
go.bsky.app/L57tdFK
go.bsky.app/L57tdFK
This seems unusual
Airspace over El Paso, Texas, including El Paso International Airport closed for ten days due to "special security reasons" FAA says; airport says flights grounded
tfrweb
Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) Website.
tfr.faa.gov
February 11, 2026 at 8:20 AM
This seems unusual
Proposed by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas (R-21st):
"The Secretary of State... shall deny any immigration benefit, visa, immigration relief, or admission to the US to any alien who adheres to Sharia law."
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
"The Secretary of State... shall deny any immigration benefit, visa, immigration relief, or admission to the US to any alien who adheres to Sharia law."
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
www.congress.gov
February 11, 2026 at 5:14 AM
Proposed by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas (R-21st):
"The Secretary of State... shall deny any immigration benefit, visa, immigration relief, or admission to the US to any alien who adheres to Sharia law."
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
"The Secretary of State... shall deny any immigration benefit, visa, immigration relief, or admission to the US to any alien who adheres to Sharia law."
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
Reposted by Nate Bowling
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
February 10, 2026 at 10:09 AM
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
Starmer's premiership is in danger of ending because an ambassador he appointed was named in the Epstein files.
This stands in contrast to the US where the President is directly named in the files over 5000 times and suffering no real political consequence.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
This stands in contrast to the US where the President is directly named in the files over 5000 times and suffering no real political consequence.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
Starmer Faces Storm of Criticism Over Ex-Ambassador’s Ties to Epstein
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:37 AM
Starmer's premiership is in danger of ending because an ambassador he appointed was named in the Epstein files.
This stands in contrast to the US where the President is directly named in the files over 5000 times and suffering no real political consequence.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
This stands in contrast to the US where the President is directly named in the files over 5000 times and suffering no real political consequence.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...
Reposted by Nate Bowling
I keep being like why are people so willing to fight for their own demise but these are the same people who filled in pools rather than just let Black people have shared access to them so
February 10, 2026 at 12:40 AM
I keep being like why are people so willing to fight for their own demise but these are the same people who filled in pools rather than just let Black people have shared access to them so
Reposted by Nate Bowling
Free newsletter: I'm leaving Substack and moving to Ghost.
First delivery from the Ghost platform will come tomorrow!
open.substack.com/pub/tacticsf...
First delivery from the Ghost platform will come tomorrow!
open.substack.com/pub/tacticsf...
Giving up the ghost on Substack
TacticsFreeZone™ is moving to Ghost
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Free newsletter: I'm leaving Substack and moving to Ghost.
First delivery from the Ghost platform will come tomorrow!
open.substack.com/pub/tacticsf...
First delivery from the Ghost platform will come tomorrow!
open.substack.com/pub/tacticsf...
I truly don't understand the impulse to engage in self-surveillance with the help of Jeff Bezo's Amazon
So uh Ring just up and said they've got a huge centralized private surveillance network they can leverage all at once huh
February 9, 2026 at 2:38 AM
I truly don't understand the impulse to engage in self-surveillance with the help of Jeff Bezo's Amazon
Reposted by Nate Bowling
“The majority of violence perpetrated at protests is state violence against often peaceful demonstrators and language used by journalists describing ‘clashes with law enforcement’ or ‘protests turning violent‘ obscure the direction violence is delivered.”
ICE is State Violence at Scale
What we're seeing in Minneapolis was always the plan
buttondown.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:47 PM
“The majority of violence perpetrated at protests is state violence against often peaceful demonstrators and language used by journalists describing ‘clashes with law enforcement’ or ‘protests turning violent‘ obscure the direction violence is delivered.”
Congress allocated $170 billion dollars for immigration enforcement in July.
This puts the ICE/CBP budget within spitting distance of the Army.
ICE functionally has unlimited resources and its tactics have been tried out on Black communities for decades.
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
This puts the ICE/CBP budget within spitting distance of the Army.
ICE functionally has unlimited resources and its tactics have been tried out on Black communities for decades.
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
ICE is State Violence at Scale
What we're seeing in Minneapolis was always the plan
buttondown.com
February 8, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Congress allocated $170 billion dollars for immigration enforcement in July.
This puts the ICE/CBP budget within spitting distance of the Army.
ICE functionally has unlimited resources and its tactics have been tried out on Black communities for decades.
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
This puts the ICE/CBP budget within spitting distance of the Army.
ICE functionally has unlimited resources and its tactics have been tried out on Black communities for decades.
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
Reposted by Nate Bowling
MAGA: Teachers are such powerful influences on students they can turn them into political radicals by assigning an excerpt from Ta-Nehisi Coates or convince them to change their gender based on pronoun use -- but not when by praying right in front of them on school property during the school day.
New Education Department guidance allows teachers to pray with students
Teachers can say grace before lunch as long as they aren’t pressuring students to participate or favoring those that do, the Trump administration said.
www.k12dive.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:20 PM
MAGA: Teachers are such powerful influences on students they can turn them into political radicals by assigning an excerpt from Ta-Nehisi Coates or convince them to change their gender based on pronoun use -- but not when by praying right in front of them on school property during the school day.
Reposted by Nate Bowling
Notably, there was less anxiety on and around assessment days and more in-class conversations about actual learning, rather than scores, afterward. @natebowling.com growbeyondgrades.org/blog/taking-...
Taking Unneeded Anxiety Out of Assessment — Grow Beyond Grades
To counteract the anxiety caused by high-stakes assessments and grades, Nate Bowling invites students to focus on feedback and learning. Life is hard enough for students; assessment practices should n...
growbeyondgrades.org
February 7, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Notably, there was less anxiety on and around assessment days and more in-class conversations about actual learning, rather than scores, afterward. @natebowling.com growbeyondgrades.org/blog/taking-...
Reposted by Nate Bowling
The Trump Department of Homeland Security, still led by Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller, is at war with the American people
February 7, 2026 at 3:22 PM
The Trump Department of Homeland Security, still led by Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller, is at war with the American people
Reposted by Nate Bowling
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.
February 6, 2026 at 10:23 PM
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.
Reposted by Nate Bowling
most recent email i have received is a guy who told me i should be lynched. looked him up and he is a 68/69-year-old retiree in phoenix who doesn't appear to be married or have children. his facebook page is nothing but reposted memes and AI slop and he used to post a lot on gun forums
February 6, 2026 at 11:22 PM
most recent email i have received is a guy who told me i should be lynched. looked him up and he is a 68/69-year-old retiree in phoenix who doesn't appear to be married or have children. his facebook page is nothing but reposted memes and AI slop and he used to post a lot on gun forums
1. This "DHS likely broke the law" nonsense from the judge is dumb.You're a judge, did they break the law or not?!
2. I don't understand why Congress doesn't pass a law that says "for oversight purposes, members are guaranteed no notice access to all non-classified federal facilities."
2. I don't understand why Congress doesn't pass a law that says "for oversight purposes, members are guaranteed no notice access to all non-classified federal facilities."
The Department of Homeland Security again denied two members of Congress access to the Whipple Federal Building. A federal judge ruled this week that Homeland Security likely broke the law when it stopped members from visiting detention facilities without a week’s notice.
DHS again denies Minnesota members of Congress access to Whipple building • Minnesota Reformer
A federal judge ruled this week that Homeland Security likely broke the law when it stopped members from visiting detention facilities without a week’s notice.
minnesotareformer.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:05 AM
1. This "DHS likely broke the law" nonsense from the judge is dumb.You're a judge, did they break the law or not?!
2. I don't understand why Congress doesn't pass a law that says "for oversight purposes, members are guaranteed no notice access to all non-classified federal facilities."
2. I don't understand why Congress doesn't pass a law that says "for oversight purposes, members are guaranteed no notice access to all non-classified federal facilities."
"Democracy doesn't work when half your population is functionally illiterate."
- A random Egyptian guy today and he wasn't taking about Egypt.
- A random Egyptian guy today and he wasn't taking about Egypt.
February 6, 2026 at 6:23 PM
"Democracy doesn't work when half your population is functionally illiterate."
- A random Egyptian guy today and he wasn't taking about Egypt.
- A random Egyptian guy today and he wasn't taking about Egypt.
Back in July this really awesome newsletter said retail demand for Bitcoin had dried up and that new "Bitcoin treasury companies" were a gambit to create demand where there is none.
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
It's Giving Subprime Vibes
I'm going to do something different this week and give away the ending and let you decide if you want to stick around: If you're skeptical of Bitcoin, you're...
buttondown.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Back in July this really awesome newsletter said retail demand for Bitcoin had dried up and that new "Bitcoin treasury companies" were a gambit to create demand where there is none.
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
buttondown.com/natebowling/...
Sometimes I'm reading history and catch myself being like "oh snap, that's us!"
The fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire hits home.
Due to terrible leadership, Vienna went from being the global center of culture & commerce to getting ran through by Nazi Germany in like 25 years.
The fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire hits home.
Due to terrible leadership, Vienna went from being the global center of culture & commerce to getting ran through by Nazi Germany in like 25 years.
February 5, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Sometimes I'm reading history and catch myself being like "oh snap, that's us!"
The fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire hits home.
Due to terrible leadership, Vienna went from being the global center of culture & commerce to getting ran through by Nazi Germany in like 25 years.
The fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire hits home.
Due to terrible leadership, Vienna went from being the global center of culture & commerce to getting ran through by Nazi Germany in like 25 years.
Reposted by Nate Bowling
I think the Olympian of my childhood had a full time staff 3x as big as the Seattle Times of today
February 5, 2026 at 4:43 AM
I think the Olympian of my childhood had a full time staff 3x as big as the Seattle Times of today
The WAPO cuts are bad. But it's been a dead man walking since Bezos bent the knee to Trump in 2024.
But I'd trade the whole Post in a heartbeat for a return to robust local newsrooms.
There's more people paid to clean my current school than covering news in my hometown.
But I'd trade the whole Post in a heartbeat for a return to robust local newsrooms.
There's more people paid to clean my current school than covering news in my hometown.
February 5, 2026 at 2:22 AM
The WAPO cuts are bad. But it's been a dead man walking since Bezos bent the knee to Trump in 2024.
But I'd trade the whole Post in a heartbeat for a return to robust local newsrooms.
There's more people paid to clean my current school than covering news in my hometown.
But I'd trade the whole Post in a heartbeat for a return to robust local newsrooms.
There's more people paid to clean my current school than covering news in my hometown.
Black Deported Veterans of America, BDVA.us, is an organization advocating for green card holders who were promised a pathway to citizenship after military service.
In too many cases the promises made by recruiters never materialized, leaving the veterans subject to immigration enforcement.
In too many cases the promises made by recruiters never materialized, leaving the veterans subject to immigration enforcement.
Black Deported Veterans of America -
Black Deported Veterans of America -
BDVA.us
February 4, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Black Deported Veterans of America, BDVA.us, is an organization advocating for green card holders who were promised a pathway to citizenship after military service.
In too many cases the promises made by recruiters never materialized, leaving the veterans subject to immigration enforcement.
In too many cases the promises made by recruiters never materialized, leaving the veterans subject to immigration enforcement.
Reposted by Nate Bowling
“Who is going to pay for it?” are the 7 stupidest words to poison American minds.
February 4, 2026 at 7:19 AM
“Who is going to pay for it?” are the 7 stupidest words to poison American minds.