Ben Barber
@ben-barber.bsky.social
PhD student in American Studies at UNC–Chapel Hill. Researching land, democracy, and justice in the rural South.
Contributor: @southernstudies.bsky.social
Contributor: @southernstudies.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Barber
Acton: I’m running against a guy, Vivek Ramaswamy, who has said that people are struggling in Ohio because they’re lazy, they’re mediocre, they’re not working hard enough. And I can absolutely tell you that is not the Ohioans I know or see. I think he’s completely out of touch.
November 15, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Acton: I’m running against a guy, Vivek Ramaswamy, who has said that people are struggling in Ohio because they’re lazy, they’re mediocre, they’re not working hard enough. And I can absolutely tell you that is not the Ohioans I know or see. I think he’s completely out of touch.
Reposted by Ben Barber
Starbucks’ CEO makes 6,666x what the average @sbworkersunited.org barista does. It would take less than one day of sales to finalize a fair contract.
Baristas at Starbucks corporate stores nationwide are on strike to fight this corporate greed and get the fair contract they deserve.
Baristas at Starbucks corporate stores nationwide are on strike to fight this corporate greed and get the fair contract they deserve.
November 14, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Starbucks’ CEO makes 6,666x what the average @sbworkersunited.org barista does. It would take less than one day of sales to finalize a fair contract.
Baristas at Starbucks corporate stores nationwide are on strike to fight this corporate greed and get the fair contract they deserve.
Baristas at Starbucks corporate stores nationwide are on strike to fight this corporate greed and get the fair contract they deserve.
Reposted by Ben Barber
Caving on a deal that doesn’t fix health care is, and always has been, a giant betrayal of the American people.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
November 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Caving on a deal that doesn’t fix health care is, and always has been, a giant betrayal of the American people.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
Reposted by Ben Barber
In the 2 weeks after Mamdani won in June, 10k ppl signed up with @runforsomething.net to consider a run for local office - our biggest surge *ever*. Like it or not (& I do!!) he's shaping the future of the Democratic Party.
If you want something different, get other people to run.
If you want something different, get other people to run.
November 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
In the 2 weeks after Mamdani won in June, 10k ppl signed up with @runforsomething.net to consider a run for local office - our biggest surge *ever*. Like it or not (& I do!!) he's shaping the future of the Democratic Party.
If you want something different, get other people to run.
If you want something different, get other people to run.
Reposted by Ben Barber
"The new billboards are designed to inform troops of legal resources … 'The [Southern Command] strikes … represent the most blatantly illegal act that this administration has had the military carry out.'"
taskandpurpose.com/news/vet-group-billboards-caribbean-strikes/
taskandpurpose.com/news/vet-group-billboards-caribbean-strikes/
Billboards outside US Southern Command urge troops not to 'break the law’ in Caribbean strikes
“Don’t let them make you break the law,” reads a billboard along the road to U.S. Southern Command, one of several set up by veterans.
taskandpurpose.com
November 1, 2025 at 12:43 PM
"The new billboards are designed to inform troops of legal resources … 'The [Southern Command] strikes … represent the most blatantly illegal act that this administration has had the military carry out.'"
taskandpurpose.com/news/vet-group-billboards-caribbean-strikes/
taskandpurpose.com/news/vet-group-billboards-caribbean-strikes/
Reposted by Ben Barber
Pritzker: "Imagine it. Children who woke up that morning, expectant with joy & excitement to put on their costumes & celebrate with their neighbors in what they thought was a safe place at their homes. Armed, masked agents, terrorizing innocent people, especially children, is unconscionable."
October 30, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Pritzker: "Imagine it. Children who woke up that morning, expectant with joy & excitement to put on their costumes & celebrate with their neighbors in what they thought was a safe place at their homes. Armed, masked agents, terrorizing innocent people, especially children, is unconscionable."
Reposted by Ben Barber
Wow. Based on the comments, a lot of people saw me on Maddow tonight!
To everyone asking me how they can help Democracy Docket fulfill its critical pro-democracy mission while receiving critical information ands analysis, it's easy. Sign-up now! hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
To everyone asking me how they can help Democracy Docket fulfill its critical pro-democracy mission while receiving critical information ands analysis, it's easy. Sign-up now! hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
October 28, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Wow. Based on the comments, a lot of people saw me on Maddow tonight!
To everyone asking me how they can help Democracy Docket fulfill its critical pro-democracy mission while receiving critical information ands analysis, it's easy. Sign-up now! hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
To everyone asking me how they can help Democracy Docket fulfill its critical pro-democracy mission while receiving critical information ands analysis, it's easy. Sign-up now! hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Reposted by Ben Barber
this is exactly what's happening
The Fred Trump treatment. Give him a fake job while Miller draws up missile strike plans on fishermen.
October 26, 2025 at 4:40 PM
this is exactly what's happening
Reposted by Ben Barber
Pastor David Black was shot in the head with pepper balls while attempting to pray for and comfort ICE detainees in Chicago.
I asked him why he feels called in this dark hour to stand up for immigrants.
Please listen to his response. Especially you, Speaker Johnson.
I asked him why he feels called in this dark hour to stand up for immigrants.
Please listen to his response. Especially you, Speaker Johnson.
October 24, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Pastor David Black was shot in the head with pepper balls while attempting to pray for and comfort ICE detainees in Chicago.
I asked him why he feels called in this dark hour to stand up for immigrants.
Please listen to his response. Especially you, Speaker Johnson.
I asked him why he feels called in this dark hour to stand up for immigrants.
Please listen to his response. Especially you, Speaker Johnson.
Reposted by Ben Barber
“We have a wretched history of racial discrimination in voting in this country,” which the Voting Rights Act was intended to rectify, says ACLU attorney Megan Keenan. But the Supreme Court now seems poised to gut the landmark law.
Voting Rights Act: SCOTUS Poised to Gut Law & Weaken Electoral Power of Black Americans
The Supreme Court appears ready to strike down Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, threatening the equal representation of Black voters, and potentially greenlighting Republican gerrymandering ah...
www.democracynow.org
October 19, 2025 at 2:01 AM
“We have a wretched history of racial discrimination in voting in this country,” which the Voting Rights Act was intended to rectify, says ACLU attorney Megan Keenan. But the Supreme Court now seems poised to gut the landmark law.
Reposted by Ben Barber
Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could gut the Voting Rights Act by barring states from considering race when drawing district lines — an outcome that stands to upend next year's midterms.
The Supreme Court has chipped away at the Voting Rights Act for years. Will this case be the final blow?
The case centers on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the key provision of the law that broadly prohibits discrimination in voting practices on the basis of race or creed.
www.politico.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could gut the Voting Rights Act by barring states from considering race when drawing district lines — an outcome that stands to upend next year's midterms.
Reposted by Ben Barber
Pope Leo XIV has blasted how wealthy people live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor suffer. In his first teaching document Thursday, Leo confirms that he is in perfect lockstep with Pope Francis on matters of social injustice.
Pope Leo blasts economy that marginalizes poor while wealthy live in bubble of luxury
Pope Leo XIV has blasted how wealthy people live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor suffer.
bit.ly
October 9, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Pope Leo XIV has blasted how wealthy people live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor suffer. In his first teaching document Thursday, Leo confirms that he is in perfect lockstep with Pope Francis on matters of social injustice.
Reposted by Ben Barber
i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...
Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.
apnews.com
October 8, 2025 at 2:59 PM
i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...
Reposted by Ben Barber
Still waiting for it to trickle down...
October 6, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Still waiting for it to trickle down...
Reposted by Ben Barber
One of the lessons I discuss in "On Tyranny":
Listen for dangerous words.
Listen for dangerous words.
October 5, 2025 at 2:48 PM
One of the lessons I discuss in "On Tyranny":
Listen for dangerous words.
Listen for dangerous words.
Reposted by Ben Barber
Keep taking videos of what ICE is doing. @govpritzker.illinois.gov is right, document what’s happening. This is why they hate journalists so much.
October 5, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Keep taking videos of what ICE is doing. @govpritzker.illinois.gov is right, document what’s happening. This is why they hate journalists so much.
Reposted by Ben Barber
🗳️Democracy is strongest when everyone has a voice.
Last month we released the Blueprint for a Stronger Democracy — a bold plan to defend and expand democracy in NC.
40+ bipartisan policies to protect voting rights & ensure every voice counts.
Learn more: www.southernstudies.org/2025Blueprint
Last month we released the Blueprint for a Stronger Democracy — a bold plan to defend and expand democracy in NC.
40+ bipartisan policies to protect voting rights & ensure every voice counts.
Learn more: www.southernstudies.org/2025Blueprint
October 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
🗳️Democracy is strongest when everyone has a voice.
Last month we released the Blueprint for a Stronger Democracy — a bold plan to defend and expand democracy in NC.
40+ bipartisan policies to protect voting rights & ensure every voice counts.
Learn more: www.southernstudies.org/2025Blueprint
Last month we released the Blueprint for a Stronger Democracy — a bold plan to defend and expand democracy in NC.
40+ bipartisan policies to protect voting rights & ensure every voice counts.
Learn more: www.southernstudies.org/2025Blueprint
Reposted by Ben Barber
I’m horrified by Trump’s order to send 300 National Guard troops to Chicago. We’re only nine months into a four year term and already the president is trying to invade an American city. If you’re in the Guard, you can and should refuse these orders.
October 5, 2025 at 2:29 PM
I’m horrified by Trump’s order to send 300 National Guard troops to Chicago. We’re only nine months into a four year term and already the president is trying to invade an American city. If you’re in the Guard, you can and should refuse these orders.
Reposted by Ben Barber
Who could ever have imagined when I played a fictional rebel who joined the Resistance to oppose a criminal Authoritarian & wannabe King, it would be happening in real-life?
#TwentyfiveFortyseven
#TwentyfiveFortyseven
October 4, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Who could ever have imagined when I played a fictional rebel who joined the Resistance to oppose a criminal Authoritarian & wannabe King, it would be happening in real-life?
#TwentyfiveFortyseven
#TwentyfiveFortyseven
Reposted by Ben Barber
the Trump admin just deported an award-winning journalist known for his reporting on ICE and got Apple to block ICE-spotter apps — all while churning out highly-produced social media content from violent ICE raids in Chicago. it’s their media or no media. www.techpolicy.press/amidst-viole...
Amidst Violent Immigration Raids, DHS Turns to Big Tech to Silence Dissent | TechPolicy.Press
Free Press advocacy director Jenna Ruddock says the Trump administration is targeting anyone monitoring its expanding immigration enforcement operations.
www.techpolicy.press
October 4, 2025 at 1:18 AM
the Trump admin just deported an award-winning journalist known for his reporting on ICE and got Apple to block ICE-spotter apps — all while churning out highly-produced social media content from violent ICE raids in Chicago. it’s their media or no media. www.techpolicy.press/amidst-viole...
Reposted by Ben Barber
One thing that comes through awfully clearly in these ICE videos is how many of these goons gravitated toward the job because being able to assault people with impunity is a big thrill for them.
October 3, 2025 at 9:44 PM
One thing that comes through awfully clearly in these ICE videos is how many of these goons gravitated toward the job because being able to assault people with impunity is a big thrill for them.
Reposted by Ben Barber
BREAKING: We're suing ICE for refusing to comply with our FOIA request for information about the agency's plans for expanding immigration detention in the D.C. region.
We have a right to know how our taxpayer dollars are being used to fund ICE's abusive detention machine.
We have a right to know how our taxpayer dollars are being used to fund ICE's abusive detention machine.
October 1, 2025 at 3:15 PM
BREAKING: We're suing ICE for refusing to comply with our FOIA request for information about the agency's plans for expanding immigration detention in the D.C. region.
We have a right to know how our taxpayer dollars are being used to fund ICE's abusive detention machine.
We have a right to know how our taxpayer dollars are being used to fund ICE's abusive detention machine.
Reposted by Ben Barber
My god.
“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”
“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.
chicago.suntimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:06 AM
My god.
“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”
“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”
Reposted by Ben Barber
"Trump wanted this shutdown. This isn’t speculation — it’s strategy... Russ Vought, has openly embraced using a shutdown to permanently fire tens if not hundreds of thousands of public servants". Read @joetrippi.bsky.social on why this shutdown is different: www.lincolnsquare.media/p/no-dollars...
No Dollars for Dictatorship
Americans must stand against Trump’s shutdown agenda.
www.lincolnsquare.media
October 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
"Trump wanted this shutdown. This isn’t speculation — it’s strategy... Russ Vought, has openly embraced using a shutdown to permanently fire tens if not hundreds of thousands of public servants". Read @joetrippi.bsky.social on why this shutdown is different: www.lincolnsquare.media/p/no-dollars...
Reposted by Ben Barber
Raskin: "It's not lost on anyone that shutting the government down allows them not swear in our new colleague, Ms Grijalva from Arizona, who would be the 218th signature to discharge the Epstein files and to put a vote on that on the House floor."
October 1, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Raskin: "It's not lost on anyone that shutting the government down allows them not swear in our new colleague, Ms Grijalva from Arizona, who would be the 218th signature to discharge the Epstein files and to put a vote on that on the House floor."