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
I've already forgotten who I should credit for bringing this to my attention (sorry!): whomever it was, thank you for originally sharing it.
The Strong Will Suffer What They Must
Vaclav's Grocer and American Hubris
hegemon.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:22 PM
I've already forgotten who I should credit for bringing this to my attention (sorry!): whomever it was, thank you for originally sharing it.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
Trump has not ‘backed down’, ‘ruled out’, ‘stepped back’ or any other such euphemism. The only adjective that should ever be associated with a Trump utterance is ‘lied’, because he cannot be trusted to keep his word from one minute to the next.
January 21, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Trump has not ‘backed down’, ‘ruled out’, ‘stepped back’ or any other such euphemism. The only adjective that should ever be associated with a Trump utterance is ‘lied’, because he cannot be trusted to keep his word from one minute to the next.
Indeed, my default at this point is that there is no "American stance." It's all just random careening, banging off obstacles, and listening to him being shouty until Vance 25As him, Congress grows a spine and impeaches him, or Walter Reed fails to resuscitate him during his next "routine checkup".
We have switched sides in Ukraine approximately 187 times this past year. I refuse to dedicate any of my limited cognitive load on anything that has not been the American stance for at least two weeks.
If Europe found a way for him to save face and move on, great. But Carney's speech was still spoken and was still true. The bell has rung.
January 21, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Indeed, my default at this point is that there is no "American stance." It's all just random careening, banging off obstacles, and listening to him being shouty until Vance 25As him, Congress grows a spine and impeaches him, or Walter Reed fails to resuscitate him during his next "routine checkup".
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
Wife: AI is Ivermectin. Can't do what it promises to do and awful people sell you on it for other uses and at the end of the day you're still buying Ivermectin.
January 21, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Wife: AI is Ivermectin. Can't do what it promises to do and awful people sell you on it for other uses and at the end of the day you're still buying Ivermectin.
When a sexual predator claims he was "rubbed the wrong way", I really think we need a clarification. Not details. Oh, no. Absolutely not details. But a clarification, certainly.
President Trump says he decided to levy a 39% tariff on Swiss exports because Helene Budliger Artieda, director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, “just rubbed me the wrong way.”
January 21, 2026 at 5:06 PM
When a sexual predator claims he was "rubbed the wrong way", I really think we need a clarification. Not details. Oh, no. Absolutely not details. But a clarification, certainly.
Things are bad when you've reached the "Well at least Woodrow Wilson..." line.
The President of the US is a eugenicist white nationalist. It’s like having Woodrow Wilson back in the White House, only without any of the good parts.
Trump: "Certain places in Europe are not even recognizable, frankly, anymore. We can argue about it but there's no argument. Friends come back from different places and say, 'I don't recognize it.' And that's not in a positive way. That's in a very negative way."
January 21, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Things are bad when you've reached the "Well at least Woodrow Wilson..." line.
Sooo... anyone know how many days are left of Vance watching the clock to 25A Trump and get (he thinks) 10 years in the White House? Today's January 21st? Another whole year of this unless whatever they're shooting into Trump to keep him upright stops working? Feckin' hell, man.
January 21, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Sooo... anyone know how many days are left of Vance watching the clock to 25A Trump and get (he thinks) 10 years in the White House? Today's January 21st? Another whole year of this unless whatever they're shooting into Trump to keep him upright stops working? Feckin' hell, man.
Secret Service agents are blocking the plane from leaving and the President of the United States won't get off because Steven Miller said he's supposed to be at Davos.
Two big guys walked up front and started yelling at the pilot and the pilot screamed that they weren't going to Davos, they were going to Vienna, Virginia and that he had to get home to his family.
wow just woke up from a nap, i guess everyone else on Air Force One realized we aren't going to the right place
January 21, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Secret Service agents are blocking the plane from leaving and the President of the United States won't get off because Steven Miller said he's supposed to be at Davos.
It's never the plane you WANT to fly out over the middle of the ocean and mysteriously vanish that flies out over the middle of the ocean and mysteriously vanishes, just saying.
January 21, 2026 at 1:53 PM
It's never the plane you WANT to fly out over the middle of the ocean and mysteriously vanish that flies out over the middle of the ocean and mysteriously vanishes, just saying.
Reposted by R. Eric VanNewkirk
Poetry News is mailed free to all members of The Poetry Society and is the very best way to keep in touch with the world of poetry. Members can also access Poetry News digitally via the online Members’ Area.
January 21, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Poetry News is mailed free to all members of The Poetry Society and is the very best way to keep in touch with the world of poetry. Members can also access Poetry News digitally via the online Members’ Area.
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".