randy r. potts
@thephatic.bsky.social
Okie anti fascist journo + editor; Hromadske, New Yorker, Baffler, et al 🏳️🌈🌹🍉
Tulsa / Baltimore / mieszkam w Warszawie
Signal: thephatic.39
Tulsa / Baltimore / mieszkam w Warszawie
Signal: thephatic.39
Pinned
when I look at a picture of this I sometimes imagine the sounds you would hear, once a place like this is full of human beings
spirit of David Graeber is strong in Powderhorn Park
Anarchism is definitely having a moment in Minnesota. The anarchy is real, productive, and amazing here these days.
message from MN
February 12, 2026 at 4:03 PM
spirit of David Graeber is strong in Powderhorn Park
Reposted by randy r. potts
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
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...
Reposted by randy r. potts
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
February 11, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Europe needs its own Federalist Papers:
"The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security.”
"The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security.”
The EU's national leaders have just started arriving at the former Teutonic Order castle of Alden Biesen, with 2 rival visions for how to save Europe:
🇩🇪🇪🇸#Merzoni are coming with a deregulation pact calling for less EU
🇫🇷🇪🇸#Manchez are calling for more EU with eurobonds & "made in Europe" preference
🇩🇪🇪🇸#Merzoni are coming with a deregulation pact calling for less EU
🇫🇷🇪🇸#Manchez are calling for more EU with eurobonds & "made in Europe" preference
The Merzoni plan would take Europe backwards, not forwards
EU leaders will gather for a castle retreat with Mario Draghi, who will call for Europe to federate. But the German and Italian leaders are coming to the castle with a pact to weaken the EU.
davekeating.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Europe needs its own Federalist Papers:
"The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security.”
"The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security.”
the way mass media has largely ignored this makes you wonder about resistance in other eras, other countries, that we just don't have much reporting about
I don't know if it's really clear, outside of coverage of Mpls and pockets of organizing elsewhere, that hundreds of thousands of people are actively and at every level of society fighting our government as it abducts and imprisons and torments our neighbors.
February 12, 2026 at 6:14 AM
the way mass media has largely ignored this makes you wonder about resistance in other eras, other countries, that we just don't have much reporting about
yet another reason Princess Mononoke counts as a western
Ecomodernist masterpiece. Lady Eboshi represents the modernist thesis and Princess Mononoke represents the ecoprimitivist antithesis. At the end of the film the characters come to a new synthesis that endeavors to secure prosperity for people that does not come at the expense of the natural world.
Honestly also the moment she says she will show us how to kill a God and, like, I saw why those angels followed Satan
February 12, 2026 at 6:09 AM
yet another reason Princess Mononoke counts as a western
Reposted by randy r. potts
Labor Department just held its 3rd monthly worship service. They invited a MAGA preacher who told employees they should be working for God & Trump. Oh, & he also expects his rabbit to work.
publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/at-labor-d...
publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/at-labor-d...
At Labor Department Prayer Service, MAGA Preacher Says Employees are Working for God and Trump
During the third monthly Christian worship service held inside the U.S. Department of Labor’s office building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, a Trumpian pastor baptized the work of the federal agen...
publicwitness.wordandway.org
February 11, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Labor Department just held its 3rd monthly worship service. They invited a MAGA preacher who told employees they should be working for God & Trump. Oh, & he also expects his rabbit to work.
publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/at-labor-d...
publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/at-labor-d...
anyone who loves someone in Minnesota is really learning to detest this worthless man
When people are afraid to go to work, afraid to shop, or afraid to gather in their community, it hurts families, neighborhoods, and our entire economy.
If you can, show up for a small business and let’s continue to show the nation what it means to respond with care and decency.
If you can, show up for a small business and let’s continue to show the nation what it means to respond with care and decency.
February 11, 2026 at 7:50 PM
anyone who loves someone in Minnesota is really learning to detest this worthless man
"when you look at the network of planned facilities we already know about, what we’re witnessing is the express repetition of a project on the scale of the larger concentration camp systems in history—Soviet Gulag, Nazi concentration camps, & Chinese labor camps in the People’s Republic of China."
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
Building the camps
The warehouseification of detention and initial thoughts on stopping it.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:16 PM
"when you look at the network of planned facilities we already know about, what we’re witnessing is the express repetition of a project on the scale of the larger concentration camp systems in history—Soviet Gulag, Nazi concentration camps, & Chinese labor camps in the People’s Republic of China."
Reposted by randy r. potts
New from @immcouncil.org : How ICE Went Rogue.
We took flashpoints in ICE/CBP tactics and laid out how the admin is exploiting or undermining the law with policy & practice.
To build something better, we need to know how this one failed.
www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/i...
We took flashpoints in ICE/CBP tactics and laid out how the admin is exploiting or undermining the law with policy & practice.
To build something better, we need to know how this one failed.
www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/i...
How ICE Went Rogue: Analysis of the Legal Authorities Governing ICE - American Immigration Council
A detailed analysis of how ICE and CBP have expanded their powers through unlawful traffic stops, pedestrian sweeps, home raids, and warrantless arrests — and how Trump‑era policies are undermining le...
www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org
February 11, 2026 at 5:28 PM
New from @immcouncil.org : How ICE Went Rogue.
We took flashpoints in ICE/CBP tactics and laid out how the admin is exploiting or undermining the law with policy & practice.
To build something better, we need to know how this one failed.
www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/i...
We took flashpoints in ICE/CBP tactics and laid out how the admin is exploiting or undermining the law with policy & practice.
To build something better, we need to know how this one failed.
www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/i...
they are building warehouses for people!
February 11, 2026 at 1:38 PM
they are building warehouses for people!
shouldn't suprise us that this is what the American concentration camp will look like
February 11, 2026 at 1:37 PM
shouldn't suprise us that this is what the American concentration camp will look like
this is especially rich coming from a Cherokee Nation citizen like Mullin - if the memorials dedicated to the Trail of Tears teach us anything it's that mass deportation is always a violent, evil process
Markwayne Mullin defends "show me your papers": "If you're here legally, there's nothing to hide. Most people already are walking around with a government-issued ID, meaning your Real ID or your driver's license. If you go board a train here, you gotta show your ID."
February 11, 2026 at 1:34 PM
this is especially rich coming from a Cherokee Nation citizen like Mullin - if the memorials dedicated to the Trail of Tears teach us anything it's that mass deportation is always a violent, evil process
today was one of those days when I made the mistake of opening instagram with my morning coffee; 90% of my feed was minnesotans, crying out for help; ICE, out there wilding; human warehouses - the size of many football fields! - springing up like mushrooms all across my country
February 11, 2026 at 1:28 PM
today was one of those days when I made the mistake of opening instagram with my morning coffee; 90% of my feed was minnesotans, crying out for help; ICE, out there wilding; human warehouses - the size of many football fields! - springing up like mushrooms all across my country
what a beautiful thing to read - "Into the oven went clothes, shoes, cut-up rubber tires that we had foraged from God knows where, and lastly my books."
February 11, 2026 at 1:24 PM
what a beautiful thing to read - "Into the oven went clothes, shoes, cut-up rubber tires that we had foraged from God knows where, and lastly my books."
Reposted by randy r. potts
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
Building the camps
The warehouseification of detention and initial thoughts on stopping it.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:24 AM
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
Reposted by randy r. potts
This is the way forward. Palantir is a hostile agent.
"Switzerland’s military has terminated its contract with Palantir… following a security audit… concluded that U.S. intelligence agencies could potentially access sensitive Swiss defense data… significant reputational warning for the data analytics firm"
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw...
#R4Today
Palantir's Swiss Exit Highlights Global Data Sovereignty Challenge | NewsCase
Switzerland's military has terminated its contract with Palantir Technologies Inc. following a security audit. The review concluded that U.S. intelligence ag
www.newscase.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:59 AM
This is the way forward. Palantir is a hostile agent.
second time in recent weeks that Oklahoma's GOP Gov Kevin Stitt has taken a stand against Trump:
“Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event."
“Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event."
Annual governors' gathering with White House unraveling after Trump excludes Democrats
The National Governors Association annual conference is unraveling after President Donald Trump did not invite some Democrats to events.
apnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:40 PM
second time in recent weeks that Oklahoma's GOP Gov Kevin Stitt has taken a stand against Trump:
“Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event."
“Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event."
it's truly shocking that most of the opposition party is not lifting a finger to help Minnesota, both at the state and national level
Living in Minnesota right now feels like being in the emergency room. Literally everyone is suffering in different ways, even if it's "just" a badly twisted ankle rather than a kidney stone or a full-on heart attack. The staff are working as hard as they can but energy and resources are dwindling.
February 10, 2026 at 8:44 PM
it's truly shocking that most of the opposition party is not lifting a finger to help Minnesota, both at the state and national level
Reposted by randy r. potts
One TV is showing a talking head lying about the economy; the other TV shows sports highlights. Everyone in the room is having their own private Worst Day and the outside world feels either confusingly distant or like it's actively trying to exacerbate the pain around you.
February 10, 2026 at 5:40 PM
One TV is showing a talking head lying about the economy; the other TV shows sports highlights. Everyone in the room is having their own private Worst Day and the outside world feels either confusingly distant or like it's actively trying to exacerbate the pain around you.
Reposted by randy r. potts
Living in Minnesota right now feels like being in the emergency room. Literally everyone is suffering in different ways, even if it's "just" a badly twisted ankle rather than a kidney stone or a full-on heart attack. The staff are working as hard as they can but energy and resources are dwindling.
February 10, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Living in Minnesota right now feels like being in the emergency room. Literally everyone is suffering in different ways, even if it's "just" a badly twisted ankle rather than a kidney stone or a full-on heart attack. The staff are working as hard as they can but energy and resources are dwindling.
Reposted by randy r. potts
Once upon a time I was taking a train from East Berlin to Budapest. It was crowded to start with, and I was sitting on the floor, but everything got worse in Dresden, when many rowdy young E. Germans got on. They spilled beer on my head. They tripped over me. It was 2am and I didn’t want a fight…
people born in america probably don’t realize how cool america used to be. the death of US soft power is going to have long term consequences we are only beginning to see
February 10, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Once upon a time I was taking a train from East Berlin to Budapest. It was crowded to start with, and I was sitting on the floor, but everything got worse in Dresden, when many rowdy young E. Germans got on. They spilled beer on my head. They tripped over me. It was 2am and I didn’t want a fight…
Reposted by randy r. potts
Friends, can I ask you to spread the word that we have a THREE-YEAR postdoc in American history at Cambridge up for grabs - ANY field, but applications are due March 1 so don't delay - apply, apply, apply! networks.h-net.org/jobs/69790/u...
February 10, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Friends, can I ask you to spread the word that we have a THREE-YEAR postdoc in American history at Cambridge up for grabs - ANY field, but applications are due March 1 so don't delay - apply, apply, apply! networks.h-net.org/jobs/69790/u...
Reposted by randy r. potts
Planned ICE Offices
"Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Corporate Tower"?
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
"Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Corporate Tower"?
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
Planned ICE Offices
A Flourish data visualization by Maddy Varner
public.flourish.studio
February 10, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Planned ICE Offices
"Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Corporate Tower"?
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
"Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Corporate Tower"?
public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...
Reposted by randy r. potts
"If you 'know what time it is,' you understand the hour is late and you’re prepared to do whatever it takes. It gives carte blanche for total ruthlessness in politics because you understand the stakes." @lkatfield.bsky.social talks to @inthesetimes.com about her brilliant new book, Furious Minds.
"Carte Blanche for Ruthlessness"
Author Laura Field on how Trump and the furious minds of the New Right are in a mutually reinforcing cycle of radicalization.
inthesetimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:08 PM
"If you 'know what time it is,' you understand the hour is late and you’re prepared to do whatever it takes. It gives carte blanche for total ruthlessness in politics because you understand the stakes." @lkatfield.bsky.social talks to @inthesetimes.com about her brilliant new book, Furious Minds.