S. Joel Garver
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sjgarver.bsky.social
S. Joel Garver
@sjgarver.bsky.social
The unexamined life is unlivable for a human being. Philosophy prof. La Salle University (Philly USA). ΑΦΔ. La Salle AAUP. ENTJ. Always tired.
Pinned
I haven't deleted any other accounts and, for the time being, will cross post here and the formerly bird app.
Reposted by S. Joel Garver
Lent is the time of year Christians emulate Jesus who, in the desert, Christmogged Satan and showed us all how to holinessmax
February 19, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by S. Joel Garver
Guards at an ICE detention facility in Texas raided the dorms of immigrant families Tuesday, in order to destroy children’s letters that threatened to shed light on the horrific living conditions. trib.al/tDaTXGT
February 18, 2026 at 8:57 PM
I know who the author is, but won't ruin the surprise. It is unexpected!
February 18, 2026 at 8:14 PM
An Ash Wednesday gift from U2 - a whole EP of 6 six songs, reflecting the times: youtube.com/playlist?lis...
U2 - Days Of Ash EP - YouTube
youtube.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:21 PM
I guess I'm spoiled living in Philly, which is relatively inexpensive. I'm heading up toward Princeton tomorrow, and places to eat up that way (and I was scoping out a wide area) are so pricey. Handhelds at brewpubs that would be $12-16 in Philly are $18-24 up there.
February 18, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Cool. Which ones?
February 18, 2026 at 2:23 AM
This whole thread. Except for a slim group of committed MAGAs, Americans did not vote for the current immigration approach and certainly do not approve of what is being done.
Polling these last two weeks is very clear that Trump has not only lost the argument about ICE, he's also lost it on mass deportation. Country wants him to focus on the criminals and leave the rest of us alone. From new Yahoo/YouGov:

www.yahoo.com/news/politic...
February 14, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Haha. 16th-17th century German-Dutch political philosopher and jurist. Big shaper of federalism (in the historical sense). Influenced folks from John Locke to Otto von Bismarck to Martin Buber.
February 14, 2026 at 8:56 PM
"A tyrant...violating both word & oath, begins to shake the foundations & unloosen the bonds of the associated body of the commonwealth...thru avarice, pride, or perfidy cruelly overthrows & destroys the most important goods...such as peace, virtue, order, law, & nobility."

~ Althusius, Politica 38
February 14, 2026 at 7:32 PM
I don't think the regime realizes the depth of the backlash their oppressive tactics are generating.
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 7:26 PM
FDR knew this and explained it in various speeches, especially his "Four Freedoms" speech and "Second Bill of Rights" speech. As he said, "True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence."
AOC: "Extreme level of wealth inequality leads to social instability and drives authoritarianism, right-wing populism, and really dangerous domestic internal politics. That is a direct outcome of the failure of democracies over decades to deliver."
February 13, 2026 at 8:08 PM
I continue to be astonished how the ruling class has no interest in grammar, spelling, or punctuation in their emails. Or is this a Boomer thing?
When Trump was looking for replacements for Steve Mnuchin as treasury secretary, he turned to... Jeffrey Epstein
February 13, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Why would any boy listen to this weird little smirking self-loathing gremlin?
Fuentes, yesterday: “Our #1 political enemy is women because women constrain everything, every conversation, every man, everything. They have to be imprisoned. They are the ones that are hurting the fertility rate. They're the ones making us sympathetic to poor people, which are also brown people.”
Nick Fuentes: “The number one political enemy in America is women. … They have to be imprisoned.”
www.mediamatters.org
February 13, 2026 at 4:23 AM
Reposted by S. Joel Garver
From The Washington Post:
The concentration of wealth among the richest Americans is unlike anything in history — and so is billionaires’ influence in politics.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
“Tyranny is the contrary of just and upright administration. By it, the foundations and bonds of universal association are obstinately, persistently, and insanely destroyed and overthrown by the supreme magistrate against his pledged word and declared oath..."

- Johannes Althusius, Politica 38
February 12, 2026 at 9:30 PM
“If a government is under one man who seeks his own benefit and not the good of those subject to him, the ruler is called a tyrant.”

– Aquinas, On Kingship 2.11
February 12, 2026 at 3:55 AM
Reposted by S. Joel Garver
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 1:35 AM
This is a fucking outrage and absolutely a betrayal. There are Afghan refugee families already in the US with relatives separated from them and stuck in Qatar. They should be reunited not pushed to self-deport or shuffled off to yet another country. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
US pays Afghans stranded in Qatar to repatriate, plan labeled 'betrayal'
The U.S. State Department has begun paying Afghans to repatriate as it attempts to close a camp in Qatar where they have been stranded for years, the top State Department official for South and Centra...
www.reuters.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Oof. That's awful. I guess it was a good thing I'd left the front door unlocked.
February 11, 2026 at 10:01 PM
..."Is anyone home?" I hadn't answered the door (the utility workers apparently knocked, but I didn't hear it due to the jackhammers breaking up concrete out front), so the gas company called the police. With the front door unlocked, the cop invited himself in. Anyway, no gas leak in the basement.
February 11, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Today I learned my doorbell doesn't work and my landline ringers are off. There's a gas leak in the sidewalk out front of my house and the crew out there tried to get hold of us so they can check our basement for leaks. I became aware of all this when a cop standing in my living room called out...
February 11, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Last year @washingtonpost.com kept my subscription by offering me a deal too good to refuse when I threatened to cancel over Bezos's shenanigans. Never again. Not only has Bezos eviscerated the staff, but the paper is also rapidly devolving into a propaganda machine for the billionaire class.
February 11, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Pam Bondi really needs to be removed from her position.
February 11, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Judging by what I've seen on social media, I'm beginning to think I'm the only 56yo white dude who has had "Tití Me Preguntó" as his ringtone for the past three years.
February 11, 2026 at 4:12 AM