Warren Porter
@warpreality.bsky.social
Contractor improving the quality of microwave calibrarions for NASA GSFC. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth/hydrology/projects/524
Reposted by Warren Porter
Remember April 2009 when about 250,000 people took to America’s streets in Tea Party rallies and the media was like “oh man, the Dems are in trouble?” Approximately 28X as many people took to the streets to protest Trump yesterday. Didn’t even make the NYT front page.
In April of 2009 I observed the Tea Party rally in Salem. As this front page story says, there were a couple hundred people there. This past weekend in Salem there were roughly 2-3000 people at the Hands Off rally. Yet the Tea Party coverage seemed to take that event far more seriously.
October 19, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Remember April 2009 when about 250,000 people took to America’s streets in Tea Party rallies and the media was like “oh man, the Dems are in trouble?” Approximately 28X as many people took to the streets to protest Trump yesterday. Didn’t even make the NYT front page.
Reposted by Warren Porter
They can be 27 year-old “kids“ or they can be political operatives, but the idea that they get to play contact sports but everyone else has to play flag football with them is transparent horseshit.
October 15, 2025 at 5:58 PM
They can be 27 year-old “kids“ or they can be political operatives, but the idea that they get to play contact sports but everyone else has to play flag football with them is transparent horseshit.
Reposted by Warren Porter
It's hard to help Americans left behind because so much of US identity is rooted in individualism. The average American conservative holds all three positions at once:
— Virtue signals about supporting US manufacturing
— Against raising the minimum wage
— Buys foreign imports because they're cheap
— Virtue signals about supporting US manufacturing
— Against raising the minimum wage
— Buys foreign imports because they're cheap
October 12, 2025 at 9:38 PM
It's hard to help Americans left behind because so much of US identity is rooted in individualism. The average American conservative holds all three positions at once:
— Virtue signals about supporting US manufacturing
— Against raising the minimum wage
— Buys foreign imports because they're cheap
— Virtue signals about supporting US manufacturing
— Against raising the minimum wage
— Buys foreign imports because they're cheap
Why isn't Congress authorizing the State Department to award permanent residency to people like Ms. Perez?
“I don’t want to be here anymore… What am I supposed to do?”
Trump wants them to self deport. They want to self deport. But many Venezuelans cannot leave … like this woman who told me she now plans to try to turn herself into ICE to get out of USA.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Trump wants them to self deport. They want to self deport. But many Venezuelans cannot leave … like this woman who told me she now plans to try to turn herself into ICE to get out of USA.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
“I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore”: They Tried to Self-Deport, Then Got Stranded in Trump’s America
Venezuelan immigrants signed up for a Trump-promoted app called CBP Home, which promised a safe and easy way to leave the country, and prepared to leave on their given departure dates. Those dates hav...
www.propublica.org
October 10, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Why isn't Congress authorizing the State Department to award permanent residency to people like Ms. Perez?
Reposted by Warren Porter
This is a fantastic essay that speaks directly to the moment. Highly recommended! Bravo @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social.
"Common decency stigmatizes people that do not participate in it—removes them from voluntary association. We indeed have to live with one another, but terms and conditions apply."
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
How Can We Live Together? - Boston Review
Ezra Klein is wrong: shame is essential.
www.bostonreview.net
September 24, 2025 at 12:52 PM
This is a fantastic essay that speaks directly to the moment. Highly recommended! Bravo @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social.
Reposted by Warren Porter
Reposted by Warren Porter
The irony is that all this will do is reduce the “deserving” diversity they pretend to support (naturally gifted children who didn’t grow up with a lot of advantages) in favor of the “undeserving” diversity they pretend to dislike (kids of upper middle class minorities who have done test prep).
i have said this before but when “getting rid of race in admissions” for the administration means “you can’t even try to reach out to underrepresented communities and encourage them to apply and if you do it is illegal discrimination against white people” then the actual goal here is segregation
Harvard Ends Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program as Trump Targets Race in Admissions | News | The Harvard Crimson
By ending the minority recruitment program in May, Harvard shuttered a more than 50-year-old initiative to encourage minority high school students to apply.
www.thecrimson.com
September 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM
The irony is that all this will do is reduce the “deserving” diversity they pretend to support (naturally gifted children who didn’t grow up with a lot of advantages) in favor of the “undeserving” diversity they pretend to dislike (kids of upper middle class minorities who have done test prep).
Reposted by Warren Porter
The problem for an aspiring despot with a social contract built around enabling goons to be their worst selves is that it’s hard for the leader to calibrate the exact level of awfulness in any given situation. The US model of authoritarianism is a lynch mob, not a regimented stormtrooper squad.
SO sorry about the treatment your specialists and engineers received at the hands of our secret police goon squad. That's normally something we reserve for a different race of people who we like even less, hope you understand. Please come back
September 15, 2025 at 2:40 PM
The problem for an aspiring despot with a social contract built around enabling goons to be their worst selves is that it’s hard for the leader to calibrate the exact level of awfulness in any given situation. The US model of authoritarianism is a lynch mob, not a regimented stormtrooper squad.
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect." --Frank Wilhoit
There is a tacit understanding in America that the right-wing establishment and those who represent and advance its interests have a monopoly on cruelty, indecency and calls to violence. They are entitled to it whereaas it is a heinous crime for anyone else. It's effectively a caste system.
September 11, 2025 at 2:22 PM
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect." --Frank Wilhoit
Reposted by Warren Porter
Today’s act of political violence in Utah against Charlie Kirk is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable.
We don’t have to agree on everything, but we should all agree on this: political violence is wrong, and has no place in our democracy
We don’t have to agree on everything, but we should all agree on this: political violence is wrong, and has no place in our democracy
September 10, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Today’s act of political violence in Utah against Charlie Kirk is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable.
We don’t have to agree on everything, but we should all agree on this: political violence is wrong, and has no place in our democracy
We don’t have to agree on everything, but we should all agree on this: political violence is wrong, and has no place in our democracy
Reposted by Warren Porter
I used to joke about it by saying The Writers(™) took charge of reality when Trump was on the scene, but what it really is is that Trump—broadway queen that he is—is one of the few American politicians with any sense of DRAMA. Of NARRATIVE. Of what makes a good STORY.
September 8, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I used to joke about it by saying The Writers(™) took charge of reality when Trump was on the scene, but what it really is is that Trump—broadway queen that he is—is one of the few American politicians with any sense of DRAMA. Of NARRATIVE. Of what makes a good STORY.
Reposted by Warren Porter
NEW: Trump has targeted political foes — including Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook — for claiming more than one primary residence on their loan papers.
But ProPublica found that at least three of the president’s Cabinet members have done the same thing.
But ProPublica found that at least three of the president’s Cabinet members have done the same thing.
Trump Is Accusing Foes With Multiple Mortgages of Fraud. Records Show 3 of His Cabinet Members Have Them.
The White House has targeted opponents, including a Fed governor, for having more than one primary residence on their loan papers. ProPublica found that, in one case, a Trump cabinet secretary got two...
www.propublica.org
September 4, 2025 at 7:18 PM
NEW: Trump has targeted political foes — including Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook — for claiming more than one primary residence on their loan papers.
But ProPublica found that at least three of the president’s Cabinet members have done the same thing.
But ProPublica found that at least three of the president’s Cabinet members have done the same thing.
Reposted by Warren Porter
it sure as fuck is.
The federal takeover of DC law enforcement is a powerful argument for statehood.
August 25, 2025 at 2:03 AM
it sure as fuck is.
Reposted by Warren Porter
Seriously can someone explain this like I’m five
Question for my lawyer friends: how does Intel escape a shareholder derivative suit alleging that the board and CEO breached their fiduciary duty when, in Trump’s words, Tan “walked in wanting to keep his job, and [] ended up giving us $10 billion”?
August 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Seriously can someone explain this like I’m five
I'm in favor of spending 3 years trying to nominate a far-left wing nominee.
July 18, 2025 at 9:22 PM
I'm in favor of spending 3 years trying to nominate a far-left wing nominee.
I'll try my hardest to keep the Blue Fascist from winning the nomination.
July 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
I'll try my hardest to keep the Blue Fascist from winning the nomination.
I'm advocating that we block the outright fascist from winning the election
July 18, 2025 at 3:39 AM
I'm advocating that we block the outright fascist from winning the election
Right-wing parties will nominate more moderate candidates if they are convinced they cannot win with an extreme candidate.
July 18, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Right-wing parties will nominate more moderate candidates if they are convinced they cannot win with an extreme candidate.
Fair enough. But when we get to November 7, 2028, it will be too late to move the Democratic Party any further to the left. At that point, left-wing voters need to decide whether they vote for a shitty triangulating accommodationistor an outright fascist.
July 18, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Fair enough. But when we get to November 7, 2028, it will be too late to move the Democratic Party any further to the left. At that point, left-wing voters need to decide whether they vote for a shitty triangulating accommodationistor an outright fascist.
What the Democratic and Labour Parties should do is a separate question from what individual voters should do.
July 17, 2025 at 6:12 PM
What the Democratic and Labour Parties should do is a separate question from what individual voters should do.
I agree that center-left parties should not adopt restrictive positions on immigration.
July 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I agree that center-left parties should not adopt restrictive positions on immigration.
The Left taught the Republicans that it is easier to win an election with Trump as the nominee than with Romney as the nominee.
July 17, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The Left taught the Republicans that it is easier to win an election with Trump as the nominee than with Romney as the nominee.
Righ-wing parties will nominate better candidates if they cannot win elections with their preferred candidate.
July 17, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Righ-wing parties will nominate better candidates if they cannot win elections with their preferred candidate.
I don't vote for a triangulating shitbag with any conditions with any hope of reforming said triangulating shitbag. I vote for them with the hope of reforming the other party's candidate.
July 17, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I don't vote for a triangulating shitbag with any conditions with any hope of reforming said triangulating shitbag. I vote for them with the hope of reforming the other party's candidate.
Reposted by Warren Porter
I wrote a 2,500-word post of the kind of fact-checking people who claim to be journalists should do if they want to disseminate Trump's tweets. Here's just a fraction of what it looks like.
www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/16/a...
www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/16/a...
July 16, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I wrote a 2,500-word post of the kind of fact-checking people who claim to be journalists should do if they want to disseminate Trump's tweets. Here's just a fraction of what it looks like.
www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/16/a...
www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/16/a...