Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
@alagai.bsky.social
Burkburnett to the Bronx to Buffalo.
Preserve democracy.
Patriot. Retired microelectronics engineer. Grandmother. USAF Brat.
Preserve democracy.
Patriot. Retired microelectronics engineer. Grandmother. USAF Brat.
Pinned
Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
@alagai.bsky.social
· Nov 12
If you're unhappy and unsettled by Trump's election, don't quit. That's just what they want you to do.
But that doesn't mean you have to do everything the same. Your media and social media habits, for example.
Here's what I'm doing to stay sane, and set myself up to handle what's to come.
But that doesn't mean you have to do everything the same. Your media and social media habits, for example.
Here's what I'm doing to stay sane, and set myself up to handle what's to come.
Authoritarians Want You To Quit
Don't withdraw entirely, but it's OK to partially disengage. The future will be tough, and you're in better position to fight if you stay sane. Here's how I'm adjusting.
www.arcdigital.media
This is simply excellent. It's close to my take, and plans.
I will find ways to help those hurt by the incoming regime, and to help 2026 midterms.
No performative stuff like the Women's March.
Fwiw I plan to exit Twitter in January just before the inauguration. Earlier if circumstances demand.
I will find ways to help those hurt by the incoming regime, and to help 2026 midterms.
No performative stuff like the Women's March.
Fwiw I plan to exit Twitter in January just before the inauguration. Earlier if circumstances demand.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Crazy-making conspiracizing, but in a different way.
(Big hat tip to @leeleewhy.bsky.social for the image)
(Big hat tip to @leeleewhy.bsky.social for the image)
November 14, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Crazy-making conspiracizing, but in a different way.
(Big hat tip to @leeleewhy.bsky.social for the image)
(Big hat tip to @leeleewhy.bsky.social for the image)
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Completely agree. Saying "all drone strikes are the same" confuses form for substance, is a disservice to people who carefully follow the rules, and lets the people who don't off the hook.
Comparing the Caribbean Extrajudicial Killing Spree to Afghanistan is a smear against people who upheld their obligations to the Constitution and the LOAC in Afghanistan.
Deep below the US Capitol, in a secure room meant to protect discussions of American secrets, a wave of sarcastic laughter spread among lawmakers and staff members who were assembled to receive a briefing in late October from senior Pentagon officials. https://cnn.it/47Y1ZNt
November 14, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Completely agree. Saying "all drone strikes are the same" confuses form for substance, is a disservice to people who carefully follow the rules, and lets the people who don't off the hook.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Fifty-year mortgage is a desperate and misguided effort to get more people into homeownership without addressing the actual shortage of homes.
www.slowboring.com/p/the-dubiou...
www.slowboring.com/p/the-dubiou...
The dubious case for a 50-year mortgage
Plus “affordability” & abundance, unions & construction costs, and Democrats & schools
www.slowboring.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Fifty-year mortgage is a desperate and misguided effort to get more people into homeownership without addressing the actual shortage of homes.
www.slowboring.com/p/the-dubiou...
www.slowboring.com/p/the-dubiou...
The dog is wagging
BREAKING: US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announces start of military operation “Operation Southern Spear” day after Trump is implicated multiple times with Epstein.
November 14, 2025 at 5:03 AM
The dog is wagging
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
George Perkovich:
"A House of Dynamite shows us why everyone on earth must question the wisdom of granting a handful of leaders with nuclear buttons the power to kill everyone and every living thing on the planet—in less time than it takes to watch the film."
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
"A House of Dynamite shows us why everyone on earth must question the wisdom of granting a handful of leaders with nuclear buttons the power to kill everyone and every living thing on the planet—in less time than it takes to watch the film."
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
“A House of Dynamite” Shows Why No Leader Should Have a Nuclear Trigger
I’m a nuclear expert. The film’s illustration of powerlessness and choice was harrowing.
carnegieendowment.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:25 AM
George Perkovich:
"A House of Dynamite shows us why everyone on earth must question the wisdom of granting a handful of leaders with nuclear buttons the power to kill everyone and every living thing on the planet—in less time than it takes to watch the film."
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
"A House of Dynamite shows us why everyone on earth must question the wisdom of granting a handful of leaders with nuclear buttons the power to kill everyone and every living thing on the planet—in less time than it takes to watch the film."
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
!! 👇🏼
Nothing to see here (literally!). Just the US State Department secretly deleting 15 pages of declassified official documents published in 2021 in the Foreign Relations of the United States series about a 1983 NATO nuclear weapons exercise that unexpectedly increased the risk of a nuclear war.
Analysis | State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war
Key historical records about the incident during the Reagan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
wapo.st
November 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
!! 👇🏼
An obvious rationalization (not rationale) for them doing what they want to do
America’s current policy is to spike energy use under the assumption that building more and more data centers will make machine superintelligence emerge, at which point the digital genie will solve problems the tech industry didn’t bother trying to address, or even opposed addressing.
November 12, 2025 at 1:46 PM
An obvious rationalization (not rationale) for them doing what they want to do
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
In an unforgettable Veterans Day moment, former President Barack Obama surprised dozens of Korean and Vietnam War veterans as their Honor Flight landed in Washington, D.C. The veterans, fresh off their flight from Madison, Wisconsin, were greeted by President Obama himself.
November 11, 2025 at 5:09 PM
In an unforgettable Veterans Day moment, former President Barack Obama surprised dozens of Korean and Vietnam War veterans as their Honor Flight landed in Washington, D.C. The veterans, fresh off their flight from Madison, Wisconsin, were greeted by President Obama himself.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
A real president does this.
Thank you to every veteran who’s worn the uniform and carried the weight for the rest of us — just respect 🇺🇸
Thank you to every veteran who’s worn the uniform and carried the weight for the rest of us — just respect 🇺🇸
November 11, 2025 at 7:26 PM
A real president does this.
Thank you to every veteran who’s worn the uniform and carried the weight for the rest of us — just respect 🇺🇸
Thank you to every veteran who’s worn the uniform and carried the weight for the rest of us — just respect 🇺🇸
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
This Veterans Day, @markhertling.bsky.social shares a wonderful reflection on the character of soldiers. Be sure to check it out @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/who-we-cho...
Who We Choose to Be: A Reflection on the Character of Veterans
A shared culture of service.
www.thebulwark.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:11 PM
This Veterans Day, @markhertling.bsky.social shares a wonderful reflection on the character of soldiers. Be sure to check it out @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/who-we-cho...
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
To all those who bravely served our country, thank you to you and your family for your extraordinary service. The sacrifices that all of you have made to protect our country will be honored, today and every day.
November 11, 2025 at 1:08 PM
To all those who bravely served our country, thank you to you and your family for your extraordinary service. The sacrifices that all of you have made to protect our country will be honored, today and every day.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in DC.
November 11, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in DC.
This Veteran's Day I honor the service of my father - Korea, Vietnam, and Cold War veteran.
Here he is on the left, with B-47 and crew.
Here he is on the left, with B-47 and crew.
November 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
This Veteran's Day I honor the service of my father - Korea, Vietnam, and Cold War veteran.
Here he is on the left, with B-47 and crew.
Here he is on the left, with B-47 and crew.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
The Trump regime is ruining America’s most valuable alliances and international partnerships.
The level of trust needed to do high level intelligence sharing is rare, and Five Eyes cooperation has been a major asset.
The US chose to throw it away, harming its own power and security. And for what?
The level of trust needed to do high level intelligence sharing is rare, and Five Eyes cooperation has been a major asset.
The US chose to throw it away, harming its own power and security. And for what?
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
www.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The Trump regime is ruining America’s most valuable alliances and international partnerships.
The level of trust needed to do high level intelligence sharing is rare, and Five Eyes cooperation has been a major asset.
The US chose to throw it away, harming its own power and security. And for what?
The level of trust needed to do high level intelligence sharing is rare, and Five Eyes cooperation has been a major asset.
The US chose to throw it away, harming its own power and security. And for what?
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Seems like a big deal.
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Seems like a big deal.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Another fantastic piece from
@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social.
“That appeasement [Dems caving and reopening govt] displays a dangerous misunderstanding of the moment, as if America still has a healthy rule-of-law democracy.”
@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social.
“That appeasement [Dems caving and reopening govt] displays a dangerous misunderstanding of the moment, as if America still has a healthy rule-of-law democracy.”
I wrote about the "Appeasement Eight" Senate Democrats getting the party to fold to Trump in the government shutdown, and why it shows that pro-democracy Americans badly need a real opposition party, full of leaders who recognize the United States isn't a normal rule of law democracy anymore.
Democrats Have to Get Out of a Normal Democracy Mindset
By folding in the government shutdown in exchange for virtually nothing, eight Democratic senators aid Trump's authoritarian takeover rather than oppose it
www.arcdigital.media
November 10, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Another fantastic piece from
@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social.
“That appeasement [Dems caving and reopening govt] displays a dangerous misunderstanding of the moment, as if America still has a healthy rule-of-law democracy.”
@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social.
“That appeasement [Dems caving and reopening govt] displays a dangerous misunderstanding of the moment, as if America still has a healthy rule-of-law democracy.”
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
The only political issue in America today is whether the President should be allowed to rule as a dictator. Everything else is secondary.
November 10, 2025 at 9:37 PM
The only political issue in America today is whether the President should be allowed to rule as a dictator. Everything else is secondary.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
6. So each side has this point of leverage going into a stand-off: the President's side has greater unity than the opposition, but is more likely to take the blame as things get worse. This is the basic political dynamic of a government shutdown, and failure to understand it properly -> defeat.
November 10, 2025 at 1:15 PM
6. So each side has this point of leverage going into a stand-off: the President's side has greater unity than the opposition, but is more likely to take the blame as things get worse. This is the basic political dynamic of a government shutdown, and failure to understand it properly -> defeat.
Thread
1. One of the reasons I believe I have some insight into the political dynamics of government shutdowns is that I had a front-row seat as the head staffer for internal communications and legislative analysis for the House GOP during the first government shutdowns in 1995. I sat at all the meetings.
November 10, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Thread
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Harm to SNAP recipients, federal workers, and others is real. In a normal democracy it’d make sense to prioritize reducing that harm in the short term.
In a rapidly backsliding democracy, harm is happening no matter what. Preventing authoritarian consolidation is the most harm-reducing move.
In a rapidly backsliding democracy, harm is happening no matter what. Preventing authoritarian consolidation is the most harm-reducing move.
two contradictory ideas that i hold in my head at the same time: 1) i think the threat to both SNAP recipients and federal workers is significant enough now that even bad deals are worth making to prevent further harm, and, 2) everyone who caves now should retire in shame
November 10, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Harm to SNAP recipients, federal workers, and others is real. In a normal democracy it’d make sense to prioritize reducing that harm in the short term.
In a rapidly backsliding democracy, harm is happening no matter what. Preventing authoritarian consolidation is the most harm-reducing move.
In a rapidly backsliding democracy, harm is happening no matter what. Preventing authoritarian consolidation is the most harm-reducing move.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
It’s not left v. center or progressive v. liberal or anything like that. It’s fight v. don’t fight.
November 10, 2025 at 4:21 AM
It’s not left v. center or progressive v. liberal or anything like that. It’s fight v. don’t fight.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
Last night, the Trump Administration sent a letter suggesting Wisconsin should return our FoodShare payments.
My response ⬇️
My response ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Last night, the Trump Administration sent a letter suggesting Wisconsin should return our FoodShare payments.
My response ⬇️
My response ⬇️
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
A challenge to anyone who thinks the median Americans’ material conditions are historically bad: Which affordable time should we return to?
For example, we could aim for the 1990s when fewer had health insurance or the 1950s when women couldn’t have bank accounts. But I don’t think that’d be better.
For example, we could aim for the 1990s when fewer had health insurance or the 1950s when women couldn’t have bank accounts. But I don’t think that’d be better.
There is no “affordability crisis.”
There is the real problem of many Americans not being able to afford good things that some others can afford. Except that’s always been true, and is less true now regarding basic needs and regular wants than before, in particular compared to the 20th century.
There is the real problem of many Americans not being able to afford good things that some others can afford. Except that’s always been true, and is less true now regarding basic needs and regular wants than before, in particular compared to the 20th century.
Affordability is, in fact, not a real thing. It's a buzzword designed to respond to an invented crisis. It's the Dem equivalent of the GOP saying it'll secure our border - the public got really upset about something that mostly didn't exist, and now you'll solve it. It's anti-Glonzo sloganeering.
November 9, 2025 at 2:51 PM
A challenge to anyone who thinks the median Americans’ material conditions are historically bad: Which affordable time should we return to?
For example, we could aim for the 1990s when fewer had health insurance or the 1950s when women couldn’t have bank accounts. But I don’t think that’d be better.
For example, we could aim for the 1990s when fewer had health insurance or the 1950s when women couldn’t have bank accounts. But I don’t think that’d be better.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
The housing bubble and financial crisis was driven by multiple interconnected industries, and tons of voluntary participants at various levels.
The AI industry is centered on a handful of companies, with a few prominent very rich leaders who openly meddle in politics.
A backlash could be severe.
The AI industry is centered on a handful of companies, with a few prominent very rich leaders who openly meddle in politics.
A backlash could be severe.
I do really think these folks are underestimating how bad the AI backlash can get if the industry needs a bailout
people are still furious about the 2008 bailout and that was almost two decades ago
people are still furious about the 2008 bailout and that was almost two decades ago
Tech guys six months ago: haha yes we’re cutting all this WASTEFUL spending by eliminating medical research and USAID
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
November 9, 2025 at 1:24 AM
The housing bubble and financial crisis was driven by multiple interconnected industries, and tons of voluntary participants at various levels.
The AI industry is centered on a handful of companies, with a few prominent very rich leaders who openly meddle in politics.
A backlash could be severe.
The AI industry is centered on a handful of companies, with a few prominent very rich leaders who openly meddle in politics.
A backlash could be severe.
Reposted by Alagai 🇺🇲🇺🇦
A democracy fighting against an authoritarian movement.
So to be far, Tom, what would you call this current form of government we are living under?
November 9, 2025 at 12:47 AM
A democracy fighting against an authoritarian movement.