Noel
@nsper.bsky.social
Dilettante historian, professional know-it-all.
Pinned
Noel
@nsper.bsky.social
· Jul 1
We live in an age of abject moral cowardice among our institutional leaders
Oh a letter with extreme concerns, that oughta show them
More than 60 members of the congressional Democratic Women’s Caucus Tuesday sent a letter to the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raising “extreme concerns” about the treatment of pregnant immigrants in detention ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/11/19/r...
Members of Democratic caucus press ICE for answers on detainment of pregnant women • Ohio Capital Journal
More than 60 members of the congressional Democratic Women’s Caucus Tuesday sent a letter to the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raising “extreme concerns” about the treatment of…
ohiocapitaljournal.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Oh a letter with extreme concerns, that oughta show them
Mike Pence may beg to differ
Q: Trump accused Democrats of seditious behavior punishable by death. Does the president want to execute members of Congress?
LEAVITT: No
LEAVITT: No
November 20, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Mike Pence may beg to differ
Reposted by Noel
conceding to far right ideas about the structure of society is conceding to a zero sum vision of the world, and more importantly giving voters a choice between two zero sum visions, where one is half hearted and the other is full throated. is it really a surprise then they choose the latter?
November 18, 2025 at 2:44 PM
conceding to far right ideas about the structure of society is conceding to a zero sum vision of the world, and more importantly giving voters a choice between two zero sum visions, where one is half hearted and the other is full throated. is it really a surprise then they choose the latter?
Reposted by Noel
it is almost as if accommodating and conceding to far right ideas legitimizes them and signals to voters that the far right is a legitimate choice for governance
The Danish Social Democrats are currently on course for their worst election result since at least the Second World War, despite their brand of far-right accommodationism being touted as a blueprint for other centre-left parties.
Oh
November 18, 2025 at 2:24 PM
it is almost as if accommodating and conceding to far right ideas legitimizes them and signals to voters that the far right is a legitimate choice for governance
Reposted by Noel
getting a bit sick of always being right
November 15, 2025 at 11:17 AM
getting a bit sick of always being right
Even Ezra "he did politics the right way" Klein gets FFS
"If I were in the Senate, I wouldn’t vote for this compromise. Shutdowns are an opportunity to make your arguments, and the country was just starting to pay attention... I worry that Democrats have just taught Trump that they will fold under pressure."
{ gift link } www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
{ gift link } www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
Opinion | What Were Democrats Thinking?
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Even Ezra "he did politics the right way" Klein gets FFS
Reposted by Noel
America’s chickenshit elites problem continues to be the biggest obstacle to fighting Trump www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
November 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM
America’s chickenshit elites problem continues to be the biggest obstacle to fighting Trump www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Lucy promised me in no uncertain terms that she would not move the football this time
Shaheen: "We've heard from a number of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that they're willing to come to the table, they're willing to work with us once the govt is open to get this done. We've heard the same thing from the White House. So now we'll see if they're really gonna work w/us"
November 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Lucy promised me in no uncertain terms that she would not move the football this time
Sure the Dems caved, but at least they got nothing to show for it
November 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Sure the Dems caved, but at least they got nothing to show for it
Did Ross Douthat Ruin the Workplace?
November 6, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Did Ross Douthat Ruin the Workplace?
Where is the cuomo cry-cast streaming?
November 5, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Where is the cuomo cry-cast streaming?
How can you lead the democratic caucus when you refuse to vote for a democrat in your home state
Q: It's election day in NYC. Did you vote for Mamdani or Cuomo?
Schumer: "Look, I voted, and I look forward to working with the next mayor to help NYC."
Schumer: "Look, I voted, and I look forward to working with the next mayor to help NYC."
November 4, 2025 at 9:30 PM
How can you lead the democratic caucus when you refuse to vote for a democrat in your home state
Hakeem jefferies has the strangest hand movements
💥 Hakeem Jeffries:
We will not allow Donald Trump and his Republican sycophants to undermine a free and fair map.
Democrats will fight every move to rig the map.
Free and fair elections aren’t up for debate.
We will not allow Donald Trump and his Republican sycophants to undermine a free and fair map.
Democrats will fight every move to rig the map.
Free and fair elections aren’t up for debate.
November 4, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Hakeem jefferies has the strangest hand movements
A mamdani victory is a serious political problem for those in the party who don't want to deal with voters actually expecting things from us
![Screenshot of article that reads: “A Mamdani victory is a serious political problem for those in the party who believe, as we do, that our primary focus must be on flipping red and purple seats blue, expanding the map for Democrats, and creating a path back to Congress and the White House,” Matt Bennett, executive vice president of center-left think tank Third Way, told MSNBC. “The [Democratic Socialists of America] platform — which Mamdani has not repudiated — hands a potent set of weapons to Republican ad makers eager to tie Mamdani-style politics to Democrats running in much tougher places than deep blue New York.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ozma3timm5c32fa7bimb4zaj/bafkreidedpbe5cweyx6x5pz66ypn74fumifyvinjjr4prysjpvopaqi4vi@jpeg)
November 4, 2025 at 4:54 PM
A mamdani victory is a serious political problem for those in the party who don't want to deal with voters actually expecting things from us
Reposted by Noel
My main takeaway on the “moderation” debate is that Democrats would be better served by other debates besides left-right positioning, like how to develop new valence issues (corruption!) as wedge issues, and how to get attention for their policy proposals in the first place
October 28, 2025 at 1:16 AM
My main takeaway on the “moderation” debate is that Democrats would be better served by other debates besides left-right positioning, like how to develop new valence issues (corruption!) as wedge issues, and how to get attention for their policy proposals in the first place
I also like to negotiate by threatening to shoot my own foot off
Transportation chief Sean Duffy threatened to ground all U.S. flights amid the ongoing shutdown, warning "we'll shut the whole airspace down."
Trump official threatens to ground all flights before Thanksgiving in shutdown standoff
Transportation chief Sean Duffy threatened to ground all U.S. flights amid the ongoing shutdown, warning "we'll shut the whole airspace down." As the stalemate drags into the second month, it's adding more potential risk to the aviation system and putting a further strain on air traffic control staf...
bit.ly
November 3, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I also like to negotiate by threatening to shoot my own foot off
Reposted by Noel
i don’t think you can maximin vote share with polls and spreadsheets, and i think it is a problem that the most prominent and influential political commentators right now are more devotees of data than experts in narrative
October 31, 2025 at 12:38 PM
i don’t think you can maximin vote share with polls and spreadsheets, and i think it is a problem that the most prominent and influential political commentators right now are more devotees of data than experts in narrative
Reposted by Noel
Centrists like to yell at me when I say that Dems let Republicans define them, but then the same centrists turn around and state against evidence that the problem is that candidates are talking too much about, say, climate and trans issues when every single campaign is talking about the economy.
2) Republicans use polls to shape strategy, not to shape their positions.
Public opinion is malleable. Most people don't have firm opinions. Republicans shape the river. Democrats chase the currents--and it hasn't worked.
@anatosaurus.bsky.social has written on this also
Public opinion is malleable. Most people don't have firm opinions. Republicans shape the river. Democrats chase the currents--and it hasn't worked.
@anatosaurus.bsky.social has written on this also
Bringing a Survey to a Gun Fight
“Pollingism” Has Failed Democrats and Voters. Here’s Why, and What to Do Instead.
www.weekendreading.net
October 28, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Centrists like to yell at me when I say that Dems let Republicans define them, but then the same centrists turn around and state against evidence that the problem is that candidates are talking too much about, say, climate and trans issues when every single campaign is talking about the economy.
Reposted by Noel
"If something evil is popular, is it still evil?" is basically the defining social question of our time.
October 26, 2025 at 10:33 PM
"If something evil is popular, is it still evil?" is basically the defining social question of our time.
Reposted by Noel
does it have something to do with the literal richest men in the history of the world waging a longterm propaganda campaign on behalf of the Republican Party in exchange for wealth and power beyond human comprehension
October 23, 2025 at 8:52 PM
does it have something to do with the literal richest men in the history of the world waging a longterm propaganda campaign on behalf of the Republican Party in exchange for wealth and power beyond human comprehension
Reposted by Noel
I’m telling you: ridicule works. These guys are supposed to intimidate the citizenry and it’s very hard to do that when a guy in a frog suit is just staring you down and daring you to do something that makes it look like you’re afraid of a cartoon
Portland never stops being Portland.
wizard frog is insane
October 5, 2025 at 10:55 PM
I’m telling you: ridicule works. These guys are supposed to intimidate the citizenry and it’s very hard to do that when a guy in a frog suit is just staring you down and daring you to do something that makes it look like you’re afraid of a cartoon
Reposted by Noel
a heartwarming story of how being an unethical and talentless hack is no barrier to success when you are willing to endlessly flatter the wretched views of rich dipshits
Bari Weiss is set to be named the editor in chief of CBS News, the New York Post reports
October 2, 2025 at 8:12 PM
a heartwarming story of how being an unethical and talentless hack is no barrier to success when you are willing to endlessly flatter the wretched views of rich dipshits
How many times u gotta say this Un-American till it maybe starts to kinda be American...
September 30, 2025 at 9:46 PM
How many times u gotta say this Un-American till it maybe starts to kinda be American...
Mitch Hedberg - Escalator can never brake joke
YouTube video by Wear Haha
youtu.be
September 25, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Noel
As a side note — if they do nuke it, Dems should, without reservation, fire every single Trump appointee
They rush when they want to rush and they slow walk when they want to slow walk and it’s an ideological decision always in either direction.
#BREAKING: Over dissents from Justices Sotomayor, Kagan & Jackson, #SCOTUS grants a stay in the Slaughter case (allowing President Trump to remove the last Dem member of the FTC), *and* grants certiorari "before judgment" to decide whether to formally overrule its 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor.
September 22, 2025 at 7:23 PM
As a side note — if they do nuke it, Dems should, without reservation, fire every single Trump appointee