Sam Bergman
@violanorth.bsky.social
musician, arts administrator, stress baker, Granite Stater; he/him
"A curmudgeonly joy" — @doodlyroses.com
"Fancy with an element of surprise" — @dalanie.bsky.social
"A curmudgeonly joy" — @doodlyroses.com
"Fancy with an element of surprise" — @dalanie.bsky.social
Pinned
Sam Bergman
@violanorth.bsky.social
· Jan 2
When I was 11 years old, I became a Quaker and a hockey fan in the same year, and I feel like that went a long way towards making me comfortable with the way the world is often full of contradiction.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
It’s wild that there are multiple ICE kidnappings happening every hour in the Twin Cities. But also so amazing that when these fascists get together to stage a raid there’s more of us than them.
ICE is out in large numbers in Saint Paul and Minneapolis today following the recent surge in federal agents being deployed to the Twin Cities. Please be careful, support your neighbors, and contact the MONARCA hotline (612.441.2881) with any verified ICE sightings.
January 6, 2026 at 3:58 PM
It’s wild that there are multiple ICE kidnappings happening every hour in the Twin Cities. But also so amazing that when these fascists get together to stage a raid there’s more of us than them.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
This is bleak stuff.
From an email to one of our faculty members....
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
January 7, 2026 at 2:25 AM
This is bleak stuff.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
This sucks but I think non-Americans being justifiably angry at Americans for what the American government is doing and threatening to do, and Americans experiencing that anger and frustration personally in ways that are unpleasant, is probably an important part of any path back to stability
January 7, 2026 at 1:15 AM
This sucks but I think non-Americans being justifiably angry at Americans for what the American government is doing and threatening to do, and Americans experiencing that anger and frustration personally in ways that are unpleasant, is probably an important part of any path back to stability
We're doing a li'l Great British Bake-Off thing at my workplace starting this week and not gonna lie, I am sweating my choices.
January 7, 2026 at 2:08 AM
We're doing a li'l Great British Bake-Off thing at my workplace starting this week and not gonna lie, I am sweating my choices.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
I was born the following year and the thing that is so damn frustrating is how so many people still talk about the GOP like it was still in the Eisenhower years or something. It’s bananas! They’ve been doing this shit for a minimum half a century now!
I was born a couple years after Nixon resigned the presidency, and in my lifetime, the GOP has never taken a single moderating step. It's been a continuous acceleration of extremist violence and hate backed by utter disdain for the law and a determination to never apologize for anything.
January 7, 2026 at 1:30 AM
I was born the following year and the thing that is so damn frustrating is how so many people still talk about the GOP like it was still in the Eisenhower years or something. It’s bananas! They’ve been doing this shit for a minimum half a century now!
Reposted by Sam Bergman
I have always enjoyed expressive nostrils on a dude
January 7, 2026 at 1:26 AM
I have always enjoyed expressive nostrils on a dude
Once John Yoo wrote the torture memo for George W. Bush and no one involved faced any consequence whatsoever, it was a foregone conclusion that the GOP would use the Justice Department as its in-house battering ram every time they controlled the executive going forward.
Least surprising news of the venture so far in an administration that seems to have made willingness to violate rules of professional ethics a hiring qualification for its legal staff.
Justice Dept. Memo Approved Military Incursion Into Venezuela as Lawful
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Once John Yoo wrote the torture memo for George W. Bush and no one involved faced any consequence whatsoever, it was a foregone conclusion that the GOP would use the Justice Department as its in-house battering ram every time they controlled the executive going forward.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
Oh, probably this.
January 7, 2026 at 12:51 AM
Oh, probably this.
I can tell you guys don't believe me, but I learned a LOT that season. From a network sitcom!
January 7, 2026 at 12:33 AM
I can tell you guys don't believe me, but I learned a LOT that season. From a network sitcom!
Reposted by Sam Bergman
The technical term, in international law for this is "a smash and grab"
January 7, 2026 at 12:17 AM
The technical term, in international law for this is "a smash and grab"
I know I should say something cool like The Americans or Six Feet Under, but honestly? It was this:
January 7, 2026 at 12:11 AM
I know I should say something cool like The Americans or Six Feet Under, but honestly? It was this:
Reposted by Sam Bergman
These guys got everything they thought they wanted & they're still frustrated & still sad. So they're going to keep pushing the limits of antisociality out of habit & boredom. Gooner politics
January 6, 2026 at 9:34 PM
These guys got everything they thought they wanted & they're still frustrated & still sad. So they're going to keep pushing the limits of antisociality out of habit & boredom. Gooner politics
Reposted by Sam Bergman
Might as well ask all your hinge matches where they were 5 years ago today.
January 6, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Might as well ask all your hinge matches where they were 5 years ago today.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
A note on the Venezuela attack.
When I began thinking about joining the military, in the lead up to Iraq in 2003, I thought that even in the worse case scenario, Iraq would be better off without a dictator.
When I began thinking about joining the military, in the lead up to Iraq in 2003, I thought that even in the worse case scenario, Iraq would be better off without a dictator.
January 6, 2026 at 4:45 PM
A note on the Venezuela attack.
When I began thinking about joining the military, in the lead up to Iraq in 2003, I thought that even in the worse case scenario, Iraq would be better off without a dictator.
When I began thinking about joining the military, in the lead up to Iraq in 2003, I thought that even in the worse case scenario, Iraq would be better off without a dictator.
I mean, this does seem pretty perfectly aligned with how the current US government thinks a country should be run.
Armed militias deployed in Venezuela as regime attempts to impose authority
Paramilitary groups known as colectivos rove streets with assault rifles, stop and search cars and people’s phones US politics live – latest updates
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 8:39 PM
I mean, this does seem pretty perfectly aligned with how the current US government thinks a country should be run.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
Icelandic babies sleep outside and that is so fascinating to me.
(1/2)
(1/2)
January 6, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Icelandic babies sleep outside and that is so fascinating to me.
(1/2)
(1/2)
Reposted by Sam Bergman
Inglewood always up to no good
Snoop Dogg commentating over Steve Kerr getting ejected is pure comedy 😂
(🎥: NBA on NBC)
(🎥: NBA on NBC)
January 6, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Inglewood always up to no good
New England (with the possible exception of southwest Connecticut) should be on Atlantic Time, not Eastern, and we're far enough north that it makes sense to keep daylight saving time intact.
This place needs some Innocuous Discourse pronto. Quote this with a take that’s not political or aggressive
January 6, 2026 at 5:17 PM
New England (with the possible exception of southwest Connecticut) should be on Atlantic Time, not Eastern, and we're far enough north that it makes sense to keep daylight saving time intact.
Reposted by Sam Bergman
The U.S. is a rogue state which should be sanctioned and condemned by the international community for our flagrant violations of international law and the peace of the world. We won't be, because imperialists tend to stick together.
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
The US Is a Rogue State That Deserves to Be Sanctioned
Where is the international outrage over the US assault on Venezuela and kidnapping of Maduro?
www.thenation.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:02 PM
The U.S. is a rogue state which should be sanctioned and condemned by the international community for our flagrant violations of international law and the peace of the world. We won't be, because imperialists tend to stick together.
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
Reposted by Sam Bergman
No disrespect to Scott (and read his story) but there's a mismatch here. The facts of Jan. 6 aren't contested by most people. They are contested by Republicans/Trump, who run the place, and have decided to enforce a line that one in five Americans agree with. www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-an...
January 6, 2026 at 3:06 PM
No disrespect to Scott (and read his story) but there's a mismatch here. The facts of Jan. 6 aren't contested by most people. They are contested by Republicans/Trump, who run the place, and have decided to enforce a line that one in five Americans agree with. www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-an...
Reposted by Sam Bergman
A very online coworker brought the situation up in the lunchroom yesterday, and out of maybe 8 folks present, only one other had really heard about it.
January 6, 2026 at 3:13 PM
A very online coworker brought the situation up in the lunchroom yesterday, and out of maybe 8 folks present, only one other had really heard about it.