Jeff
@themiddlewest.bsky.social
NE -> East Coast. Progressive politics and college football. Nebraska forever.
Reposted by Jeff
There are many tactics Republicans can & may employ to try to depress voter turnout and intimidate voters. That said, voter turnout can also be depressed by people preemptively declaring the election is rigged. It takes effort to get to the polls, it doesn't help to tell people it's not worth it.
January 15, 2026 at 7:18 PM
There are many tactics Republicans can & may employ to try to depress voter turnout and intimidate voters. That said, voter turnout can also be depressed by people preemptively declaring the election is rigged. It takes effort to get to the polls, it doesn't help to tell people it's not worth it.
Reposted by Jeff
gotta say, the extremely bad sexual behavior by a number of women in positions of power recently is making me feel somewhat better about the thesis that power is the problem, not masculinity
January 15, 2026 at 6:32 PM
gotta say, the extremely bad sexual behavior by a number of women in positions of power recently is making me feel somewhat better about the thesis that power is the problem, not masculinity
Reposted by Jeff
bookmark this bc if your normie friends/family are anything like mine you're gonna be needing to remind them of this a LOT
the question to ask about this is, okay, he wants to cancel the midterms. how does he get the VA state board of elections to cancel the midterms? how does he get the georgia board of elections to do it? how does he convince republican house members to quit their jobs and give up their paychecks?
Trump says a lot of deranged shit, but, per this Reuters article — and the threats of invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota this morning — he is very clearly exploring how to cancel the midterms.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
January 15, 2026 at 6:50 PM
bookmark this bc if your normie friends/family are anything like mine you're gonna be needing to remind them of this a LOT
Reposted by Jeff
yeah man, what would i, a black guy from the south, know about thugs intimidating people out of voting? what possible experiences in my family, which has been here since slavery, could ever inform my perspective?
January 15, 2026 at 6:54 PM
yeah man, what would i, a black guy from the south, know about thugs intimidating people out of voting? what possible experiences in my family, which has been here since slavery, could ever inform my perspective?
Reposted by Jeff
the sort of liminal space american politics exists in rn — a fed govt that *wants to be* fascist and *is* doing a ton of violence/damage but is also very clearly outnumbered and losing battles left and right in elections, courts, the streets — is i think hard for a lot of us to get our heads around
ICE can't even deal with irate middle-aged midwesterners. how does he occupy hundreds, if not thousands, of polling cites and precincts? trump v. illinois clarified that he has no legal authority to unilaterally commandeer national guards, how does he move forward from there?
January 15, 2026 at 6:07 PM
the sort of liminal space american politics exists in rn — a fed govt that *wants to be* fascist and *is* doing a ton of violence/damage but is also very clearly outnumbered and losing battles left and right in elections, courts, the streets — is i think hard for a lot of us to get our heads around
Reposted by Jeff
Fuck off with your posturing doomerism. Go live in the woods if you don’t think anything matters.
January 15, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Fuck off with your posturing doomerism. Go live in the woods if you don’t think anything matters.
Reposted by Jeff
This is the dynamic across most of America: Liberal cities generate revenue, which state governments then transfer to benefit conservative rural areas, whose residents despite city-dwellers and consistently vote to harm them. But politicians endlessly pander to rural voters and demonize cities.
Another critical piece of missing context in this story: tax dollars flow from the MSP metro to rural Minnesota. People in the city subsidize the lifestyles of people living in the country minnesotareformer.com/2023/12/04/t...
January 15, 2026 at 3:48 PM
This is the dynamic across most of America: Liberal cities generate revenue, which state governments then transfer to benefit conservative rural areas, whose residents despite city-dwellers and consistently vote to harm them. But politicians endlessly pander to rural voters and demonize cities.
Reposted by Jeff
And let's be super clear, it's the rural gentry and corporations in particular that are being empowered by this
The deck is stacked in about 10 different ways to give extra power and money to rural areas, but it's never enough. Right wing propaganda continues to tell them they are out upon victims powerless against the mighty cities.
Stage 5 pundit-brain is watching an innocent woman being killed by agents of the state and going, "hmm this says a lot about the urban-rural divide in America."
January 15, 2026 at 3:22 PM
And let's be super clear, it's the rural gentry and corporations in particular that are being empowered by this
Reposted by Jeff
Big congrats to ICE and the Trump Admin for radicalizing the massive, titanic political bloc known as “Dudes who just want some god damn peace and quiet (and to win their fantasy football league)”
🚨"This is nuts! What the f*ck is going on, this is insane! ICE is just trying to scare people; they tell you it's only immigrants—it's f*cking anybody!" -furious Minneapolis resident tells our @zdroberts.bsky.social after ICE shot a man in the leg tonight. LIVE NOW ⬇️
January 15, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Big congrats to ICE and the Trump Admin for radicalizing the massive, titanic political bloc known as “Dudes who just want some god damn peace and quiet (and to win their fantasy football league)”
Reposted by Jeff
Good story from @asanderford.bsky.social about Gov. Jim Pillen giving a $2.5M no-bid contract to a consultant and lobbyist for....something.
Auditor Mike Foley said the state received no apparent benefit in fed dollars. But make sure you read to the end. nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/15/a...
Auditor Mike Foley said the state received no apparent benefit in fed dollars. But make sure you read to the end. nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/15/a...
Auditor flags possible Pillen ‘favoritism’ in $2.5M no-bid bioeconomy contract with lobbyist • Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen, while pressing the Nebraska Department of Economic Development in 2024 to tighten its belt, steered the state agency to award a $2.5 million no-bid emergency contract to a b...
nebraskaexaminer.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Good story from @asanderford.bsky.social about Gov. Jim Pillen giving a $2.5M no-bid contract to a consultant and lobbyist for....something.
Auditor Mike Foley said the state received no apparent benefit in fed dollars. But make sure you read to the end. nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/15/a...
Auditor Mike Foley said the state received no apparent benefit in fed dollars. But make sure you read to the end. nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/15/a...
Reposted by Jeff
It's absolutely INFURIATING to see the same people in the press who did their armchair neurology routine diagnosing Joe Biden with dementia and questioning his basic motor functions b/c he wore orthopedic shoes have absolutely NOTHING to say about this.
January 15, 2026 at 2:11 PM
It's absolutely INFURIATING to see the same people in the press who did their armchair neurology routine diagnosing Joe Biden with dementia and questioning his basic motor functions b/c he wore orthopedic shoes have absolutely NOTHING to say about this.
Reposted by Jeff
In general my rule is to not type anything into a phone or computer that I couldn't live with the feds reading. You can't encrypt your way out of user error, malicious or accidental.
Signal’s encryption is good. That encryption does not prevent people who aren’t friendly from listening to you when you don’t know who you’re talking to. Use common sense and don’t say anything to 1000 strangers you wouldn’t want read out loud by a right wing rag or in a court of law
January 15, 2026 at 1:30 PM
In general my rule is to not type anything into a phone or computer that I couldn't live with the feds reading. You can't encrypt your way out of user error, malicious or accidental.
What we want: transit connected walkable neighborhoods
What we’ll get: 8 lane highway to 300th and Dodge St
What we’ll get: 8 lane highway to 300th and Dodge St
How could Omaha be better? City asks for help charting 20-year plan
How could Omaha be better? City asks for help charting 20-year plan
What would make Omaha better? A survey for the city's new master plan is inviting 5,000 randomly selected residents to share their thoughts. But it's also open to everyone else.
omaha.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:15 PM
What we want: transit connected walkable neighborhoods
What we’ll get: 8 lane highway to 300th and Dodge St
What we’ll get: 8 lane highway to 300th and Dodge St
Reposted by Jeff
Bill! Fucking! Kristol!
Hey, @amyklobuchar.com and @smith.senate.gov: I'm not a senator, but if ICE thugs were rampaging through the major city in my state, I might try to impede Senate business as usual and try to bring everything to a halt until I could get answers or force some votes.
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
Democrats Appear Ready to Duck a Key Fight on ICE
Top Senate Democrats are focused on other priorities in the government funding fight.
open.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:34 AM
Bill! Fucking! Kristol!
Reposted by Jeff
Absolutely howling at these dipshits leaving two cars full of operational materials at the scene, just absolute buffoonery lmaoooo
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win
January 15, 2026 at 5:49 AM
Absolutely howling at these dipshits leaving two cars full of operational materials at the scene, just absolute buffoonery lmaoooo
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win
Reposted by Jeff
They have fucking assault rifles and we have whistles and they’re scared shitless, because they know we’d rather be righteous and dead than ever be them.
January 15, 2026 at 3:56 AM
They have fucking assault rifles and we have whistles and they’re scared shitless, because they know we’d rather be righteous and dead than ever be them.
Reposted by Jeff
big ups to cortisol, the *it* hormone of the moment. congrats queen.
January 15, 2026 at 7:25 AM
big ups to cortisol, the *it* hormone of the moment. congrats queen.
Reposted by Jeff
they did it they earned the fucking Black and Tans/IRA comp bsky.app/profile/ashe...
🎵Come out La Migra goons
In your stumbling platoons
Tell your wives how you ate shit on ice for quotas
Tell her how despite your guns
all you ever did was run
from the cold and frozen streets of Minnesota!🎵
In your stumbling platoons
Tell your wives how you ate shit on ice for quotas
Tell her how despite your guns
all you ever did was run
from the cold and frozen streets of Minnesota!🎵
(now brainstorming 'Come Out ICE and CBP' after my wife played Black & Tans driving into town)
January 15, 2026 at 2:51 AM
they did it they earned the fucking Black and Tans/IRA comp bsky.app/profile/ashe...
Reposted by Jeff
Folks, Trump has brought the full force of ICE to bear on a mid-sized city and he can't even stop the demonstrations there. He's not going to be able to cancel the midterm elections by fiat or station his goons outside more than a handful of polling places.
January 14, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Folks, Trump has brought the full force of ICE to bear on a mid-sized city and he can't even stop the demonstrations there. He's not going to be able to cancel the midterm elections by fiat or station his goons outside more than a handful of polling places.
Reposted by Jeff
“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula said. “And today I think I did that.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Trump makes obscene gesture, mouths expletive at Detroit factory heckler
A cellphone video captured Trump twice mouthing “f--- you” and raising his middle finger toward a line worker shouting at him inside the Ford factory.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:37 AM
“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula said. “And today I think I did that.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
I have a 2015 Honda Fit and all I want is a 2026 Honda Fit
I don’t want a humvee, I want a 2020 Honda fit
January 14, 2026 at 8:30 PM
I have a 2015 Honda Fit and all I want is a 2026 Honda Fit
Reposted by Jeff
The Fit is pound for pound the best car made in the last 20 years. There are cheaper cars, there are nicer cars, & there are more efficient cars, but as a cheap & cheerful hatchback that depends on low weight to delight, few cars compare, & none are as practical & fun
You guys have no idea how good this car is for what we’re doing. You can lurk in alleys or behind parked SUVs. It drives like a go-cart. You’re three feet off the ground with exceptional visibility so I can pull snap u-turns or cut behind convoys
January 14, 2026 at 6:36 PM
The Fit is pound for pound the best car made in the last 20 years. There are cheaper cars, there are nicer cars, & there are more efficient cars, but as a cheap & cheerful hatchback that depends on low weight to delight, few cars compare, & none are as practical & fun
Reposted by Jeff
I implore my fellow Dems not to overthink this. You can just say - I’m against the government shooting people in the face for no good reason. This is not hard. Same with the ludicrous invasion of Greenland. Democrats are anti-invasion of Greenland bc it’s the dumbest thing ever. Be ruthlessly blunt.
New CNN polling:
Most Americans see an immigration officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Good as an inappropriate use of force. Roughly half view it as a sign of broader issues with the way ICE is operating, w/under 1/3 saying that ICE operations have made cities safer.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/p...
Most Americans see an immigration officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Good as an inappropriate use of force. Roughly half view it as a sign of broader issues with the way ICE is operating, w/under 1/3 saying that ICE operations have made cities safer.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/p...
January 14, 2026 at 6:55 PM
I implore my fellow Dems not to overthink this. You can just say - I’m against the government shooting people in the face for no good reason. This is not hard. Same with the ludicrous invasion of Greenland. Democrats are anti-invasion of Greenland bc it’s the dumbest thing ever. Be ruthlessly blunt.
Reposted by Jeff
How did Bari Weiss let this story run with only one, unsourced side of the story? Surely, she would have delayed the report until they saw the actual medical records
BREAKING: The ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good last week in Minneapolis, Jonathan Ross, suffered internal bleeding to the torso following the incident, according to two U.S. officials briefed on his medical condition.
ICE agent who shot Renee Good suffered internal bleeding, officials say
Jonathan Ross, who shot Renee Good in Minneapolis last week, suffered internal bleeding after the incident, two officials said, though it's not clear how extensive the bleeding was.
cbsn.ws
January 14, 2026 at 6:07 PM
How did Bari Weiss let this story run with only one, unsourced side of the story? Surely, she would have delayed the report until they saw the actual medical records
Reposted by Jeff
Nebraska Chancellor Rodney Bennett is receiving a $1 million exit package amid a budget deficit he argued necessitated cuts. For Bennett, it's the second time he's left a job early since 2022. Criticisms at Nebraska echo those at Southern Miss.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
Nebraska Chancellor’s Hasty Exit Raises Questions
University of Nebraska–Lincoln chancellor Rodney Bennett left six months before his contract ended, with a $1.1 million exit package, amid faculty outrage over program cuts.
www.insidehighered.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Nebraska Chancellor Rodney Bennett is receiving a $1 million exit package amid a budget deficit he argued necessitated cuts. For Bennett, it's the second time he's left a job early since 2022. Criticisms at Nebraska echo those at Southern Miss.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...