R. Eric VanNewkirk
@sotsogm.bsky.social
Nerd. Neurotic. Retired public defender. I'm sure these three things have nary a thing to do with one another.
Pinned
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
When sexism is allowed to infiltrate academic discourse, it becomes harder to combat in the culture as a whole.
"Both of us posted multiple times about our essay. Only one of us, however, received a steady barrage of vitriolic criticism over the course of the day."
"Both of us posted multiple times about our essay. Only one of us, however, received a steady barrage of vitriolic criticism over the course of the day."
Today’s newsletter is about a natural experiment that happened on Bluesky yesterday. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/on-trump-a...
On Trump, Anarchy, and a Natural Experiment
My latest co-authored essay for Foreign Affairs.
danieldrezner.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:02 PM
When sexism is allowed to infiltrate academic discourse, it becomes harder to combat in the culture as a whole.
"Both of us posted multiple times about our essay. Only one of us, however, received a steady barrage of vitriolic criticism over the course of the day."
"Both of us posted multiple times about our essay. Only one of us, however, received a steady barrage of vitriolic criticism over the course of the day."
He's not going to say, "And boy, are my arms tired"? I do not understand stand up comedy these days AT ALL.
January 21, 2026 at 3:24 AM
He's not going to say, "And boy, are my arms tired"? I do not understand stand up comedy these days AT ALL.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
January 21, 2026 at 2:15 AM
Catching your breath following a rollicking good laugh about your supposed "choices" you find yourself now actually facing a critical decision your very survival hinges upon.
3. A chocolate chip scone.
4. A blueberry-lemon scone.
3. A chocolate chip scone.
4. A blueberry-lemon scone.
Choose your own adventure:
1. Go to work and earn money for someone else.
2. Stay home, eat a scone, and work on an erotic novel about moon ghosts.
1. Go to work and earn money for someone else.
2. Stay home, eat a scone, and work on an erotic novel about moon ghosts.
January 21, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Catching your breath following a rollicking good laugh about your supposed "choices" you find yourself now actually facing a critical decision your very survival hinges upon.
3. A chocolate chip scone.
4. A blueberry-lemon scone.
3. A chocolate chip scone.
4. A blueberry-lemon scone.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
i feel like the viral bus thread resonates because at every step of the way you're like "ok surely this will be resolved shortly, any second now," which seems like what all the passengers are also thinking. then the fact that the situation doesn't resolve and the bus just keeps going is an Allegory
January 20, 2026 at 5:02 PM
i feel like the viral bus thread resonates because at every step of the way you're like "ok surely this will be resolved shortly, any second now," which seems like what all the passengers are also thinking. then the fact that the situation doesn't resolve and the bus just keeps going is an Allegory
But when we showed the name and face of violent criminal Jonathan Ross, we were told not to dox him. So confusing. 🤔
Trump is clearly frustrated by DHS’s propaganda campaign in Minnesota and thinks he can do better
January 20, 2026 at 5:11 PM
But when we showed the name and face of violent criminal Jonathan Ross, we were told not to dox him. So confusing. 🤔
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
the idea that DHS can fix this through More Posting is very revealing
Trump is clearly frustrated by DHS’s propaganda campaign in Minnesota and thinks he can do better
January 20, 2026 at 4:39 PM
the idea that DHS can fix this through More Posting is very revealing
This is true because Mayor of New York City and Minority Leader of the US Senate are the same position, with the same responsibilities and powers, and identical constituencies, and we should rightly expect the exact same things from a city mayor as we do from the leader of the opposition party.
The pivot from "Mamdani is a political genius for focusing his message almost entirely on affordability" to "Schumer is a political moron for focusing his message almost entirely on affordability" is odd.
January 20, 2026 at 4:52 PM
This is true because Mayor of New York City and Minority Leader of the US Senate are the same position, with the same responsibilities and powers, and identical constituencies, and we should rightly expect the exact same things from a city mayor as we do from the leader of the opposition party.
The only time anyone in my entire family bought 5, 10, or 12 homes, they were small and green and it was immediately prior to upgrading them to little red hotels. I seriously can no longer tell whether these people are lying, delusional, or just like making flappy lip movements while expelling air.
Bessent: "Someone, maybe your parents for their retirement have bought 5, 10, 12 homes."
January 20, 2026 at 4:23 PM
The only time anyone in my entire family bought 5, 10, or 12 homes, they were small and green and it was immediately prior to upgrading them to little red hotels. I seriously can no longer tell whether these people are lying, delusional, or just like making flappy lip movements while expelling air.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
While the pasty incels who work the federal agencies continue to churn out feeble, bloodless AI pastiches of Axis propaganda, here’s how a living breathing artist powerfully invokes design history. This is by illustrator Emily K in South Philly, a free poster-sized download on her website: →
January 15, 2026 at 7:57 PM
While the pasty incels who work the federal agencies continue to churn out feeble, bloodless AI pastiches of Axis propaganda, here’s how a living breathing artist powerfully invokes design history. This is by illustrator Emily K in South Philly, a free poster-sized download on her website: →
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
Fantastic explanation of how ICE works, its relationship with CBP, and how everything is structured. I found this stuff impenetrable until reading this.
How fatally flawed are ICE and CBP? Here's a wild statistic: In rough terms, CBP officers and Border Patrol agents commit crimes at an equal or even *greater* rate PER CAPITA than the population of undocumented immigrants do in the United States. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-ho...
"ICE 101" — How Trump changed ICE and CBP into a fascist secret police
ICE and CBP are fatally flawed products of the post-9/11 War on Terror — now Trump has weaponized those very flaws to occupy America.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
January 20, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Fantastic explanation of how ICE works, its relationship with CBP, and how everything is structured. I found this stuff impenetrable until reading this.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
each day we’re forced to confront the craziest shit you could possibly imagine and each day we’re forced to wash the same spoon for the millionth time
January 20, 2026 at 11:31 AM
each day we’re forced to confront the craziest shit you could possibly imagine and each day we’re forced to wash the same spoon for the millionth time
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
This story is absolutely bonkers.
I just woke up from a nap and somehow while I was asleep, everyone on the bus has figured out we are not going to the right place
January 20, 2026 at 12:58 PM
This story is absolutely bonkers.
One of the bizarrely, ironically hopeful things in the midst of all of this is that a whole bunch of what the Admin has done over the last not-even-a-whole-year-yet is stuff they could have done *successfully* with patience and incremental steps, but they're too fuckwitted to do it "correctly".
in which case minnesota is almost a prototypical miller operation. maximally cruel and dangerous but also haphazard and self-defeating.
January 19, 2026 at 10:56 PM
One of the bizarrely, ironically hopeful things in the midst of all of this is that a whole bunch of what the Admin has done over the last not-even-a-whole-year-yet is stuff they could have done *successfully* with patience and incremental steps, but they're too fuckwitted to do it "correctly".
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
what they understand about authoritarianism they have gotten from movies and YA novels
How is it that so many people think that authoritarianism is a way to bypass completely public opinion?
January 19, 2026 at 8:15 PM
what they understand about authoritarianism they have gotten from movies and YA novels
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
I attended a Border Patrol recruitment event. By never saying “no,” I was corralled from standing near the recruitment table to having a completed application submitted on my behalf, and I received a tentative selection days later.
www.cltampa.com/news/at-st-p...
www.cltampa.com/news/at-st-p...
At St. Pete recruitment event, Border Patrol rep touts qualified immunity and early retirement
A DHS officer at The Hilton in St. Petersburg, Florida Jan. 13, 2026. Dubbed “The Green Monster” by some DHS officials, Border Patrol has a reputation as
www.cltampa.com
January 19, 2026 at 6:53 PM
I attended a Border Patrol recruitment event. By never saying “no,” I was corralled from standing near the recruitment table to having a completed application submitted on my behalf, and I received a tentative selection days later.
www.cltampa.com/news/at-st-p...
www.cltampa.com/news/at-st-p...
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
Here's your daily dose of weirdness for today!
October 8, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Here's your daily dose of weirdness for today!
TIL: crocodiles can read.
January 19, 2026 at 8:57 PM
TIL: crocodiles can read.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
I’ll never get tired of this ad at our local indie theater 😂
January 19, 2026 at 1:45 AM
I’ll never get tired of this ad at our local indie theater 😂
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
What the US has done to itself by electing this criminal pedophile traitor a second time is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a fucking nightmare.
January 19, 2026 at 7:47 PM
What the US has done to itself by electing this criminal pedophile traitor a second time is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a fucking nightmare.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
because from my vantage point, the white house does not have a win condition. like so many past occupiers, it seems to believe that a sufficient show of force will deter opposition. but like most occupations, the only thing you get with more force is greater resolve.
January 19, 2026 at 6:41 PM
because from my vantage point, the white house does not have a win condition. like so many past occupiers, it seems to believe that a sufficient show of force will deter opposition. but like most occupations, the only thing you get with more force is greater resolve.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
Every time Trump breaks the clear letter of the law, the NYT and WaPo write a story about how he’s “pushing boundaries” or “testing the limits of his authority”
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
January 19, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Every time Trump breaks the clear letter of the law, the NYT and WaPo write a story about how he’s “pushing boundaries” or “testing the limits of his authority”
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
He's not Chuck Yeager, guys. He's a crook.
If an unintended consequence of authoritarianism is the renaissance of Shakespearean invective... well, no, it won't have been worth it, but it'll be a silver lining, maybe.
They're hoping this scares people into never criticizing politicians but in fact it only encourages me to word my insults in whatever way I think will be funniest being read aloud by a semiliterate cop to my doorbell camera. "Um, ma'am? Did you post that 'Gavin Newsom gargles Nazi cum, winky face?'"
A woman left a comment on Facebook criticizing the Mayor of Miami Beach,.
The Mayor of Miami Beach then sent the cops to her home.
The Mayor of Miami Beach then sent the cops to her home.
January 19, 2026 at 6:59 PM
If an unintended consequence of authoritarianism is the renaissance of Shakespearean invective... well, no, it won't have been worth it, but it'll be a silver lining, maybe.
And if his heart has changed (I'm skeptical), part of growth is recognizing when you've earned the shit you're going to take and owning it. Hanania could say, "I deserved that," and demonstrate humility and repentance through his actions instead of hoping we'll ignore who he's been all his life.
I think it’s fine to say that someone who has served as a major conduit and creator of fascist propaganda and the wide end of a funnel into fascist thinking and action can never be trusted. If his heart has genuinely changed he should simply shut the fuck up. We owe Hanania nothing.
😚👌
January 19, 2026 at 6:54 PM
And if his heart has changed (I'm skeptical), part of growth is recognizing when you've earned the shit you're going to take and owning it. Hanania could say, "I deserved that," and demonstrate humility and repentance through his actions instead of hoping we'll ignore who he's been all his life.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
Gary Larson: In my cartoon I invented Cow Tools as a cautionary tale
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
January 19, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Gary Larson: In my cartoon I invented Cow Tools as a cautionary tale
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools