Mina
@rivermets.bsky.social
Best of luck everyone! Creator, writer, and host of Circuit Court Entertainment, still waiting for Alan and Jessie to meet (and Saga and Alex and...)
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Mina
@rivermets.bsky.social
· Nov 23
Circuit Court Entertainment
Where we examine all forms of entertainment through the lens of law and history. Twitter: @CCEPod, Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/circuitcourtentertainment Reddit: r/CCEPOD/ Art by @empresscirque on...
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Hello! My side gig is a podcast where I discuss how laws and history effect media. I've covered theme parks, dolls, movies, Ratings, newspapers, and a lot more. If you are looking for something new to listen to, please try it!
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Reposted by Mina
At some point Vance—the consummate amoral power seeker—is going to realize that his own further advancement is weighted down by Stephen Miller's historically unpopular agenda
It's now very clear that JD Vance is consciously taking on the role of putting a softer face on Stephen Miller's fascism. Vance is becoming chief propagandist for ICE's violent paramilitary warfare against Americans.
Some thoughts on that in this piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
Some thoughts on that in this piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
January 24, 2026 at 2:43 PM
At some point Vance—the consummate amoral power seeker—is going to realize that his own further advancement is weighted down by Stephen Miller's historically unpopular agenda
Reposted by Mina
headcanon that those are all Caseys own lunchboxes. you wont convince me otherwise. #AlanWake2 #fanart
November 30, 2025 at 9:39 PM
headcanon that those are all Caseys own lunchboxes. you wont convince me otherwise. #AlanWake2 #fanart
Reposted by Mina
Here's a time-lapse from yesterday as thousands of people marched through downtown Minneapolis to protest ICE.
📷️: Sydney Lewis/The Minnesota Star Tribune
📷️: Sydney Lewis/The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 24, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Here's a time-lapse from yesterday as thousands of people marched through downtown Minneapolis to protest ICE.
📷️: Sydney Lewis/The Minnesota Star Tribune
📷️: Sydney Lewis/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Reposted by Mina
This is why I - and so many longtime activists and organizers who are much more involved in social movement work than I am - find "doomerism" so frustrating - it's an understandable way to FEEL but anti-helpful to post.
A key part of the struggle against encroaching authoritarianism is to reject rather than perpetuate the Trumpist assertions of absolute power, to push back against the notion that resistance is futile – that MAGA is inevitably marching towards triumph.
January 24, 2026 at 2:31 PM
This is why I - and so many longtime activists and organizers who are much more involved in social movement work than I am - find "doomerism" so frustrating - it's an understandable way to FEEL but anti-helpful to post.
Reposted by Mina
So glad this is being used in schools and universities.
Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal
Guardian found OpenAI’s platform cited Grokipedia on topics including Iran and Holocaust deniers
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Mina
👩🏼"Ha! Mekka, we got you this time! This hasn't happened before! Federal Border Patrol agents, in military uniforms, driving around a US city, jumping out and snatching US citizens without reading their rights? Surely this is new?!"
👴🏿*Deep sigh* Let's look at footage from Portland, five years ago.
👴🏿*Deep sigh* Let's look at footage from Portland, five years ago.
January 24, 2026 at 2:48 PM
👩🏼"Ha! Mekka, we got you this time! This hasn't happened before! Federal Border Patrol agents, in military uniforms, driving around a US city, jumping out and snatching US citizens without reading their rights? Surely this is new?!"
👴🏿*Deep sigh* Let's look at footage from Portland, five years ago.
👴🏿*Deep sigh* Let's look at footage from Portland, five years ago.
Reposted by Mina
This pattern stands in contrast to the idea of Trumpism’s irresistible march towards consolidated authoritarian rule.
Being lawless, immoral, and violent does not make the Trumpists omnipotent.
Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
Being lawless, immoral, and violent does not make the Trumpists omnipotent.
Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
January 24, 2026 at 2:28 PM
This pattern stands in contrast to the idea of Trumpism’s irresistible march towards consolidated authoritarian rule.
Being lawless, immoral, and violent does not make the Trumpists omnipotent.
Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
Being lawless, immoral, and violent does not make the Trumpists omnipotent.
Obscuring that distinction is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
Reposted by Mina
It’s just not true. A key dynamic over the past twelve months: Several times the Trumpists seemed poised to vanquish the democratic opposition and break through whatever obstacles the constitutional order was still placing in their path – but then were unable to force that next step.
January 24, 2026 at 2:27 PM
It’s just not true. A key dynamic over the past twelve months: Several times the Trumpists seemed poised to vanquish the democratic opposition and break through whatever obstacles the constitutional order was still placing in their path – but then were unable to force that next step.
Reposted by Mina
A key part of the struggle against encroaching authoritarianism is to reject rather than perpetuate the Trumpist assertions of absolute power, to push back against the notion that resistance is futile – that MAGA is inevitably marching towards triumph.
January 24, 2026 at 2:25 PM
A key part of the struggle against encroaching authoritarianism is to reject rather than perpetuate the Trumpist assertions of absolute power, to push back against the notion that resistance is futile – that MAGA is inevitably marching towards triumph.
Reposted by Mina
They could, theoretically, ramp up oppression dramatically in the face of popular discontent. But the Trumpists do not have the apparatus to do that, not even close. And such a strategy also has inherent limits: The regime still needs millions to comply in order to keep the machine going.
January 24, 2026 at 2:24 PM
They could, theoretically, ramp up oppression dramatically in the face of popular discontent. But the Trumpists do not have the apparatus to do that, not even close. And such a strategy also has inherent limits: The regime still needs millions to comply in order to keep the machine going.
Reposted by Mina
America still has competitive elections. And more generally, in a complex modern society, the government – no matter the regime type – inevitably depends on millions of people following along to some degree. They depend on some measure of consent from institutions and individuals alike.
January 24, 2026 at 2:21 PM
America still has competitive elections. And more generally, in a complex modern society, the government – no matter the regime type – inevitably depends on millions of people following along to some degree. They depend on some measure of consent from institutions and individuals alike.
Reposted by Mina
What the regime is doing in Minneapolis is extremely unpopular. While Trump and the extremists around him may think they can ignore public opinion, they are mistaken. Even the most staunchly authoritarian regime will ultimately be affected by its public standing.
January 24, 2026 at 2:19 PM
What the regime is doing in Minneapolis is extremely unpopular. While Trump and the extremists around him may think they can ignore public opinion, they are mistaken. Even the most staunchly authoritarian regime will ultimately be affected by its public standing.
Reposted by Mina
ICE wants to terrify people into submission and compliance so that they can operate with impunity, unimpeded, in semi-secrecy. It is not working. In every urban center these masked goons descend upon, the local community is rallying in solidarity.
January 24, 2026 at 2:18 PM
ICE wants to terrify people into submission and compliance so that they can operate with impunity, unimpeded, in semi-secrecy. It is not working. In every urban center these masked goons descend upon, the local community is rallying in solidarity.
Reposted by Mina
That is immensely dangerous. But laying siege to an American city and producing a violent spectacle for the most extreme MAGA fans, with little popular support, is not an effective way to consolidate authoritarian control over a country that is roughly the size of continental Europe.
January 24, 2026 at 2:16 PM
That is immensely dangerous. But laying siege to an American city and producing a violent spectacle for the most extreme MAGA fans, with little popular support, is not an effective way to consolidate authoritarian control over a country that is roughly the size of continental Europe.
Reposted by Mina
The Trumpists have no coherent idea of how to consolidate autocratic rule other than to lash out wherever they can. Confronted with hardening resistance, the only option they are left with, within the narrow universe of pathways MAGA is willing to consider, is to escalate.
January 24, 2026 at 2:15 PM
The Trumpists have no coherent idea of how to consolidate autocratic rule other than to lash out wherever they can. Confronted with hardening resistance, the only option they are left with, within the narrow universe of pathways MAGA is willing to consider, is to escalate.
Reposted by Mina
I am not the person to tell you that there is no reason to be alarmed. The situation is acutely dangerous. With this regime, ideology and ineptitude constantly conspire to make escalation almost inevitable, as MAGA is ideologically and psycho-politically incapable of moderating.
January 24, 2026 at 2:14 PM
I am not the person to tell you that there is no reason to be alarmed. The situation is acutely dangerous. With this regime, ideology and ineptitude constantly conspire to make escalation almost inevitable, as MAGA is ideologically and psycho-politically incapable of moderating.
Reposted by Mina
The idea that protests and public opinion are meaningless in the face of the Trumpist assault, that authoritarian regimes are impervious to public pressure, is still widespread.
But it is wrong. And it perpetuates the regime's assertion of inevitability.
But it is wrong. And it perpetuates the regime's assertion of inevitability.
January 24, 2026 at 2:12 PM
The idea that protests and public opinion are meaningless in the face of the Trumpist assault, that authoritarian regimes are impervious to public pressure, is still widespread.
But it is wrong. And it perpetuates the regime's assertion of inevitability.
But it is wrong. And it perpetuates the regime's assertion of inevitability.
Reposted by Mina
I am taking down the paywall for this one, as I believe it remains relevant as a reflection on the limits of the authoritarian assault – and the need to push back against the idea that America is inevitably and irresistibly marching towards a Trump dictatorship.
This week’s piece:
This week’s piece:
The Limits of Violent Authoritarianism
Trump’s authoritarian desires are boundless. But the past year proves that his ability to impose them on America is not.
steady.page
January 24, 2026 at 2:10 PM
I am taking down the paywall for this one, as I believe it remains relevant as a reflection on the limits of the authoritarian assault – and the need to push back against the idea that America is inevitably and irresistibly marching towards a Trump dictatorship.
This week’s piece:
This week’s piece:
Reposted by Mina
People are missing a big thing about the saga of the detained 5-year-old. When Vance calls the father an "illegal alien" it seems to reflect a little-known Trump admin move that attempts to nullify asylum claims before they are even heard.
This policy is a horror:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
This policy is a horror:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
January 23, 2026 at 6:21 PM
People are missing a big thing about the saga of the detained 5-year-old. When Vance calls the father an "illegal alien" it seems to reflect a little-known Trump admin move that attempts to nullify asylum claims before they are even heard.
This policy is a horror:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
This policy is a horror:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
Reposted by Mina
I wish this was true. A tiny fraction the Nazis in any role were convicted and many had their sentences commuted. The lesson of the post-WW2 legal process is that it wasn't close to rigorous enough.
The Canadian parliament even applauded one recently.
The Canadian parliament even applauded one recently.
This is essentially what governments did in the late 1900s and early 2000s with respect to Nazis. Whether you were a lowly concentration camp guard or in Hitler's inner circle, if there was evidence you were a Nazi, it was straight to jail with your walker.
It worked.
It worked.
Maybe instead of identifying specific ICE agents who do particularly heinous things, we could just penalize everyone who was on payroll at the agency starting by a certain date.
January 24, 2026 at 2:03 PM
I wish this was true. A tiny fraction the Nazis in any role were convicted and many had their sentences commuted. The lesson of the post-WW2 legal process is that it wasn't close to rigorous enough.
The Canadian parliament even applauded one recently.
The Canadian parliament even applauded one recently.
Reposted by Mina
“.. Perhaps you shouldn’t have dismantled the Department of Education so quickly.”
@mediaite.com
www.mediaite.com/online/white...
@mediaite.com
www.mediaite.com/online/white...
January 24, 2026 at 3:01 AM
“.. Perhaps you shouldn’t have dismantled the Department of Education so quickly.”
@mediaite.com
www.mediaite.com/online/white...
@mediaite.com
www.mediaite.com/online/white...
Reposted by Mina
After agents left behind *death cards* - you can’t reform pre-printed death cards
ICE is investigating - and issued a rare condemnation - after a Colorado nonprofit said agents left behind branded “death cards” in vehicles abandoned after their owners were arrested in the state’s high country: www.denverpost.com/2026/01/23/c...
ICE investigates after Colorado group says agents left ‘death cards’ in arrested immigrants’ abandoned cars
Immigration agents operating near Vail left branded playing cards — similar to those used by U.S. forces in Vietnam — in cars abandoned by arrested immigrants earlier this week, an advo…
www.denverpost.com
January 24, 2026 at 2:08 PM
After agents left behind *death cards* - you can’t reform pre-printed death cards
Reposted by Mina
Woaahhhh! Weekend posting on bluesky from CPSC! Yeah, our social media management tool doesn't let us schedule bluesky posts so we have to pop in to remind everyone not to burn their houses down.
January 24, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Woaahhhh! Weekend posting on bluesky from CPSC! Yeah, our social media management tool doesn't let us schedule bluesky posts so we have to pop in to remind everyone not to burn their houses down.
Reposted by Mina
I just want people who are seeing the crowd pics to know, every single piece of Mpls infrastructure was strained to the limit today to get people there. I’m able bodied and prepared, was outside for 2 hours and still never made it bc our trains downtown were never meant to be packed like they were.
January 23, 2026 at 10:45 PM
I just want people who are seeing the crowd pics to know, every single piece of Mpls infrastructure was strained to the limit today to get people there. I’m able bodied and prepared, was outside for 2 hours and still never made it bc our trains downtown were never meant to be packed like they were.
Reposted by Mina
People wonder why I worry about Canada's future with shit like this.
Genuine question: why are Americans obsessed with protecting illegal immigrants? I’m really confused as a Canadian.
January 24, 2026 at 2:15 PM
People wonder why I worry about Canada's future with shit like this.