Erasmus Matta
@razmattazz.bsky.social
Pseudonym. Science. Board games. Too talkative at the bar.
"Nothing so charms the American people as personal bravery."
-John Brown
"Nothing so charms the American people as personal bravery."
-John Brown
Pinned
Erasmus Matta
@razmattazz.bsky.social
· Nov 15
James Watson was friendly with Jeffrey Epstein. At least that what it seems from the files released from the Epstein estate.
This isn't surprising given Watson's horrible views on, er, most people that weren't him.
But this is a bit odder than some exchanged messages. 🧵
This isn't surprising given Watson's horrible views on, er, most people that weren't him.
But this is a bit odder than some exchanged messages. 🧵
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
ARE SOME FARMERS WELFARE CHEATS?
Primp it up, but subsidies = welfare. People complain about low-income welfare recipients, but fraud among corporate and agricultural subsidy recipients is large.
www.cato.org/blog/fraud-f...
Fifteen egregious farm fraud cases: www.cato.org/news-release...
Primp it up, but subsidies = welfare. People complain about low-income welfare recipients, but fraud among corporate and agricultural subsidy recipients is large.
www.cato.org/blog/fraud-f...
Fifteen egregious farm fraud cases: www.cato.org/news-release...
Fraud in Farm Subsidy Programs
With more than $30 billion a year in benefits, farm subsidy programs are a rich target for crooks.
www.cato.org
January 27, 2026 at 12:26 PM
ARE SOME FARMERS WELFARE CHEATS?
Primp it up, but subsidies = welfare. People complain about low-income welfare recipients, but fraud among corporate and agricultural subsidy recipients is large.
www.cato.org/blog/fraud-f...
Fifteen egregious farm fraud cases: www.cato.org/news-release...
Primp it up, but subsidies = welfare. People complain about low-income welfare recipients, but fraud among corporate and agricultural subsidy recipients is large.
www.cato.org/blog/fraud-f...
Fifteen egregious farm fraud cases: www.cato.org/news-release...
Jesus, this is horrible. Farming is one of the most difficult, stressful, and asset heavy professions. These moronic tariffs have needlessly destroyed hundreds of farmer's lives in 2025 alone.
February 2, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Jesus, this is horrible. Farming is one of the most difficult, stressful, and asset heavy professions. These moronic tariffs have needlessly destroyed hundreds of farmer's lives in 2025 alone.
Some of the details in this piece can be proven by the inconsistent redaction of other documents. Paragraph 8 for instance: file EFTA01615976 and EFTA01621203 are the same message chain between Bannon and Epstein, but with the opposite person's name redacted in each file.
New documents reveal the breadth of Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit
Friday’s document release shows the late convicted sex offender’s vast influence network.
www.politico.com
January 31, 2026 at 2:56 AM
Some of the details in this piece can be proven by the inconsistent redaction of other documents. Paragraph 8 for instance: file EFTA01615976 and EFTA01621203 are the same message chain between Bannon and Epstein, but with the opposite person's name redacted in each file.
AI browsers and agents have a lot of promise for certain use cases, but in my limited experience they are flawed right out of the box and take so much time to optimize and validate. That time sink might be worth it eventually, but for smaller scale productions it might not be worth the investment.
January 30, 2026 at 7:20 PM
AI browsers and agents have a lot of promise for certain use cases, but in my limited experience they are flawed right out of the box and take so much time to optimize and validate. That time sink might be worth it eventually, but for smaller scale productions it might not be worth the investment.
Another great piece by @donmoyn.bsky.social
"...Medicare’s administrative costs (1-2%) are about half of Medicaid’s (3-4%) and an order of magnitude less than private insurance (15-30%). Simplification offers much less room for capture by for-profit government contractors."
"...Medicare’s administrative costs (1-2%) are about half of Medicaid’s (3-4%) and an order of magnitude less than private insurance (15-30%). Simplification offers much less room for capture by for-profit government contractors."
New at Can We Still Govern: Here is one thing I wish more people understood about government. There is a lot of rent-seeking by private vendors in our social safety net. Trump's policies will make this worse.
@lukef.bsky.social breaks it down. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-means-...
@lukef.bsky.social breaks it down. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-means-...
The Means-Testing Industrial Complex
The vendors getting rich from putting administrative burdens on the poor
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Another great piece by @donmoyn.bsky.social
"...Medicare’s administrative costs (1-2%) are about half of Medicaid’s (3-4%) and an order of magnitude less than private insurance (15-30%). Simplification offers much less room for capture by for-profit government contractors."
"...Medicare’s administrative costs (1-2%) are about half of Medicaid’s (3-4%) and an order of magnitude less than private insurance (15-30%). Simplification offers much less room for capture by for-profit government contractors."
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
When the president was calling all Somali immigrants "garbage" who "come from hell" and "contribute nothing" to America and therefore needed to go "back where they came from" did you ask him to "stop the rhetoric," Tom?
Homan: "I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March -- if the rhetoric doesn't stop, there is gonna be bloodshed. And there has been. I wish I wasn't right. I don't want to see anybody die."
January 29, 2026 at 2:07 PM
When the president was calling all Somali immigrants "garbage" who "come from hell" and "contribute nothing" to America and therefore needed to go "back where they came from" did you ask him to "stop the rhetoric," Tom?
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
If Bilbo had Chat GPT
January 27, 2026 at 4:24 PM
If Bilbo had Chat GPT
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
a skilled ER nurse with a deep sense of civic responsibility is exactly the kind of person you want carrying a firearm.
every ICE employee should be barred from touching anything deadlier than a butter knife for the rest of their natural lives.
every ICE employee should be barred from touching anything deadlier than a butter knife for the rest of their natural lives.
January 25, 2026 at 5:37 AM
a skilled ER nurse with a deep sense of civic responsibility is exactly the kind of person you want carrying a firearm.
every ICE employee should be barred from touching anything deadlier than a butter knife for the rest of their natural lives.
every ICE employee should be barred from touching anything deadlier than a butter knife for the rest of their natural lives.
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
Mortality rates:
Mifepristone: 0.65/100,000
Penicillin 2/100K
Viagra 4/100K
Pregnancy in the US: 22/100,000 (some states see rates >60/100K)
More people have died in ICE detention centers already in 2026 than will die from mifepristone all year. These politicians are extremely dangerous to women.
Mifepristone: 0.65/100,000
Penicillin 2/100K
Viagra 4/100K
Pregnancy in the US: 22/100,000 (some states see rates >60/100K)
More people have died in ICE detention centers already in 2026 than will die from mifepristone all year. These politicians are extremely dangerous to women.
Rep. Chris Smith: "The abortion pill -- mifepristone -- is baby poison ... we now know that the abortion bill -- we've long expected this -- is extremely dangerous to women" (this is a lie)
January 23, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Mortality rates:
Mifepristone: 0.65/100,000
Penicillin 2/100K
Viagra 4/100K
Pregnancy in the US: 22/100,000 (some states see rates >60/100K)
More people have died in ICE detention centers already in 2026 than will die from mifepristone all year. These politicians are extremely dangerous to women.
Mifepristone: 0.65/100,000
Penicillin 2/100K
Viagra 4/100K
Pregnancy in the US: 22/100,000 (some states see rates >60/100K)
More people have died in ICE detention centers already in 2026 than will die from mifepristone all year. These politicians are extremely dangerous to women.
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
some kid on my flight is reading shelby foote's civil war book and i want to tell him to throw that shit in the trash
January 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM
some kid on my flight is reading shelby foote's civil war book and i want to tell him to throw that shit in the trash
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
The incredible ability of people in power to disable their critical thinking skills remains unmatched.
“ICE isn’t the Gestapo. The Gestapo was…” (proceeds to describe qualities that apply to what ICE is currently doing)
January 20, 2026 at 10:00 PM
The incredible ability of people in power to disable their critical thinking skills remains unmatched.
A lot of media has flattened MLK Jr.'s ideology into his "I have a dream" speech. Here he is speaking in a way that goes against much of that simplistic characterization, and which galvanized so much hate against him.
RARE Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Video, Where He Explains The Foundation of US Systemic Racism
YouTube video by Rev. Christian Kumpost, AKA: Leaving La Mancha
www.youtube.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:16 AM
A lot of media has flattened MLK Jr.'s ideology into his "I have a dream" speech. Here he is speaking in a way that goes against much of that simplistic characterization, and which galvanized so much hate against him.
The 2020 movie "Greenland" is now in the top 10 streaming on HBOMax.
January 18, 2026 at 1:51 AM
The 2020 movie "Greenland" is now in the top 10 streaming on HBOMax.
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
To understand ICE's violence mandate, you have to understand Trump has for years claimed policing is too kind, stop-and-frisk was good and that police should have immunity from prosecution. For Trump, ICE is violent because, to him, *that is authentic policing*.
New video: youtu.be/JVa66a3PeIY?...
New video: youtu.be/JVa66a3PeIY?...
Here's Why ICE Is SO VIOLENT | Luke Thomas Gets Political
YouTube video by Luke Thomas Gets Political (LTGP)
youtu.be
January 15, 2026 at 6:50 PM
To understand ICE's violence mandate, you have to understand Trump has for years claimed policing is too kind, stop-and-frisk was good and that police should have immunity from prosecution. For Trump, ICE is violent because, to him, *that is authentic policing*.
New video: youtu.be/JVa66a3PeIY?...
New video: youtu.be/JVa66a3PeIY?...
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
over the course of 1871, congress held seven months of hearings on ku klux klan and other white vigilante violence in the south, they took detailed testimony from hundreds of black men and women attesting to klan terror. (1/?)
January 14, 2026 at 2:06 AM
over the course of 1871, congress held seven months of hearings on ku klux klan and other white vigilante violence in the south, they took detailed testimony from hundreds of black men and women attesting to klan terror. (1/?)
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
"hated Hulk Hogan" turning out to be a useful marker of allies in times of trouble
Ex-Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura: “We’re a 3rd world country now. I know. I’ve been to ‘em. I spent 17 months in SE Asia while the draft dodger was playing golf… that’s what happens in a dictatorship. In comes the military. That’s what’s happening here.” 🇺🇸
January 9, 2026 at 1:01 AM
"hated Hulk Hogan" turning out to be a useful marker of allies in times of trouble
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
Not looking forward to the 2044 controversy about whether a Dem president handled the withdrawal from Venezuela right
Veteran New York Times national security reporter David Sanger says what Trump is describing in Venezuela is an "American occupation."
January 3, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Not looking forward to the 2044 controversy about whether a Dem president handled the withdrawal from Venezuela right
I'm betting Denmark is getting significantly more nervous right now.
January 3, 2026 at 8:01 PM
I'm betting Denmark is getting significantly more nervous right now.
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
I too remember the good old days when these folks would try to convince us that they were the standard bearers of "objectivity" in reporting.
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump reut.rs/3YWbo3K
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump
Nicolas Maduro ruled Venezuela with a heavy hand for more than 12 years, presiding over deep economic and social crises and resisting pressure from domestic opponents and foreign governments for political change.
reut.rs
January 3, 2026 at 2:23 PM
I too remember the good old days when these folks would try to convince us that they were the standard bearers of "objectivity" in reporting.
Feckless. Just weak prose from a weak opposition.
January 3, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Feckless. Just weak prose from a weak opposition.
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
rubio pretty much believes in a reverse domino theory for latin america and since he is effectively running foreign policy in the region i would expect him to see cuba as his next target
And I don’t want to sound conspiratorial, but if they feel like they can do this in Venezuela without any serious consequences, they’re absolutely going to try it in Cuba too.
January 3, 2026 at 12:37 PM
rubio pretty much believes in a reverse domino theory for latin america and since he is effectively running foreign policy in the region i would expect him to see cuba as his next target
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
Oh. The pack of criminals did some insider trading along the way.
What a world.
What a world.
This person went on a buying spree over the past 24 hours. Fresh wallet. Only existed since Dec 27th and has only bet on Venezuela-related markets.
polymarket.com/@0x31a56e9E6...
polymarket.com/@0x31a56e9E6...
January 3, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Oh. The pack of criminals did some insider trading along the way.
What a world.
What a world.
What's old is new again, I guess. Just one horrific illegal action after another. Guess the current admin was a fan of all the past coups and regime changes.
Operation Condor - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 3, 2026 at 1:38 PM
What's old is new again, I guess. Just one horrific illegal action after another. Guess the current admin was a fan of all the past coups and regime changes.
Whenever you hear someone start to group "academics" and "elites" into the same pot, they are just going to do hold water for wealthy and conservative interests if not commit straight right-wing propaganda. Shameful fall for CBS news.
ah yes, the best way to explain and understand the world is by ignoring experts and practitioners and turning our attention to the “average American,” whatever that means
This isn't about democratizing the news. It's about elevating "vibes" and "feelings" to be on par with lived experience and subject-matter expertise.
January 3, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Whenever you hear someone start to group "academics" and "elites" into the same pot, they are just going to do hold water for wealthy and conservative interests if not commit straight right-wing propaganda. Shameful fall for CBS news.
Reposted by Erasmus Matta
part of the genius of his major campaign ideas is that they can be deployed fairly quickly as tangible deliverables. they can help him build trust with voters as someone who does what he says he will do. and trust goes a long way!
I think people are underestimating how much Mamdani, even more so than your average elected leftist, see it as his top priority to not be seen as a failed mayor. He is not going to be another Brandon Johnson, I’d wager
January 1, 2026 at 8:20 PM
part of the genius of his major campaign ideas is that they can be deployed fairly quickly as tangible deliverables. they can help him build trust with voters as someone who does what he says he will do. and trust goes a long way!