Ben Panko
@btpanko.bsky.social
Chicagoan. Writer. #RVA native, Pittsburgh expat. Politics and Star Wars nerd, leftist, crazy cat guy. Same username on 🧵 and the other site. He/him.
Reposted by Ben Panko
There are five hundred and ten (510) days until the next mayoral election in Chicago, set for Feb. 23, 2027.
Don't think anyone has noticed this yet, but an hour ago, #IL05 Congressman Mike Quigley updated his campaign finance page with the state of Illinois to show that he's running for Mayor of Chicago in 2027.
Could be soon officially joining a *VERY* crowded field
Could be soon officially joining a *VERY* crowded field
October 1, 2025 at 10:33 PM
There are five hundred and ten (510) days until the next mayoral election in Chicago, set for Feb. 23, 2027.
Reposted by Ben Panko
My fav quote in here is from Sen. Gallego:
October 2, 2025 at 7:27 PM
My fav quote in here is from Sen. Gallego:
Reposted by Ben Panko
Like gravity is a theory
Robert Morris, Texas megachurch pastor, pleads guilty to sexually abusing a child www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Robert Morris, Texas megachurch pastor, pleads guilty to sexually abusing a child
Under a negotiated plea agreement, he was given a ten year sentence, but he will only serve six months of that sentence.
www.nbcnews.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Like gravity is a theory
Reposted by Ben Panko
I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...
ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls
Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30, federal agents from different agencies raided an apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, pulling men, women and children — some of them allegedly naked — from ...
people.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...
Reposted by Ben Panko
so the US government just forced a tech company to delete an app it doesn’t like, which is totally normal stuff
www.404media.co/iceblock-own...
www.404media.co/iceblock-own...
ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’
Apple removed ICEBlock reportedly after direct pressure from Department of Justice officials. “I am incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions today. Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never t...
www.404media.co
October 3, 2025 at 2:38 AM
so the US government just forced a tech company to delete an app it doesn’t like, which is totally normal stuff
www.404media.co/iceblock-own...
www.404media.co/iceblock-own...
Close enough, welcome back Spiro Agnew
September 22, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Close enough, welcome back Spiro Agnew
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i genuinely do think a big part of triangulation discourse is people avoiding that inflation was the biggest pain point for swing voters
September 22, 2025 at 5:13 AM
i genuinely do think a big part of triangulation discourse is people avoiding that inflation was the biggest pain point for swing voters
Reposted by Ben Panko
i really have not seen yglesias et al reckon with the fact that kamala ran exactly the campaign they would have suggested and lost.
September 22, 2025 at 2:50 PM
i really have not seen yglesias et al reckon with the fact that kamala ran exactly the campaign they would have suggested and lost.
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it is remarkable how they apparently have been scared off blue city/blue state approach
WAPO SCOOP by my colleagues:
The Trump administration has drafted a proposal to activate 1,000 Louisiana National Guard troops to serve in a polarizing law enforcement mission focused on the state’s “urban centers,” according to Pentagon planning documents.
wapo.st/4mb1e8R
The Trump administration has drafted a proposal to activate 1,000 Louisiana National Guard troops to serve in a polarizing law enforcement mission focused on the state’s “urban centers,” according to Pentagon planning documents.
wapo.st/4mb1e8R
Pentagon plan envisions 1,000 troops for Louisiana policing mission
Documents reviewed by The Post illustrate the Trump administration’s evolving strategy for sending the military into cities with Democratic majorities.
wapo.st
September 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
it is remarkable how they apparently have been scared off blue city/blue state approach
Reposted by Ben Panko
Just you wait until Bari Weiss hears about this, she and the free speech absolutists at The Free Press are gonna be STEAMED
Cancel Culture Comes for Artists Who Posted About Charlie Kirk’s Death. A “South Park” episode was taken off air, a DC comic series was canceled, and several artists were fired in the aftermath of the shooting. www.wired.com/story/charli...
Cancel Culture Comes for Artists Who Posted About Charlie Kirk’s Death
A “South Park” episode was taken off air, a DC comic series was canceled, and several artists were fired in the aftermath of the shooting.
www.wired.com
September 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Just you wait until Bari Weiss hears about this, she and the free speech absolutists at The Free Press are gonna be STEAMED
Reposted by Ben Panko
Amazing headline.
September 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Amazing headline.
Reposted by Ben Panko
right now, the Supreme Court's approvals are upside-down without anyone attacking them.
September 8, 2025 at 5:39 PM
right now, the Supreme Court's approvals are upside-down without anyone attacking them.
Reposted by Ben Panko
The root problem with this piece is that the people tweeting Luigi memes not only don't vote for democrats, they don't vote.
read this article if you want to feel like what it's like to read punditry that is completely shadowboxing the author's fantasy
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The Abundance Delusion
I mean, what even is a Democrat at this point?
www.theatlantic.com
September 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The root problem with this piece is that the people tweeting Luigi memes not only don't vote for democrats, they don't vote.
Reposted by Ben Panko
it’s great too that when district courts follow the law as written, one of the chuds on the Supreme Court pops up to scold them for not treating trump like a very special boy
I mean what on earth are district court judges supposed to do at this point other than get the message from SCOTUS to let Trump do whatever he wants to no matter what the law says.
September 8, 2025 at 4:27 PM
it’s great too that when district courts follow the law as written, one of the chuds on the Supreme Court pops up to scold them for not treating trump like a very special boy
Reposted by Ben Panko
Three SCOTUS stories before lunch on a Monday when the court isn't even in session perfectly encapsulates how the increasing importance of the shadow docket has completely reoriented how the court operates and what captures the public's attention.
September 8, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Three SCOTUS stories before lunch on a Monday when the court isn't even in session perfectly encapsulates how the increasing importance of the shadow docket has completely reoriented how the court operates and what captures the public's attention.
Reposted by Ben Panko
"Half the population” of greater Los Angeles "now meet the government’s criteria for reasonable suspicion," in the wake of today's 6-3 SCOTUS ruling.
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
Supreme Court upholds 'roving patrols' for immigration arrests in Los Angeles
The Supreme Court says immigration agents may stop and question people they suspect are here illegally based on little more than working at a car wash, speaking Spanish or having brown skin.
www.latimes.com
September 8, 2025 at 5:02 PM
"Half the population” of greater Los Angeles "now meet the government’s criteria for reasonable suspicion," in the wake of today's 6-3 SCOTUS ruling.
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
www.latimes.com/politics/sto...
Reposted by Ben Panko
very easy to overindex vibes here and elsewhere but it really feels like the bottom is going to fall out towards the end of the year
September 8, 2025 at 12:28 AM
very easy to overindex vibes here and elsewhere but it really feels like the bottom is going to fall out towards the end of the year
Reposted by Ben Panko
It's not the most important part of the issue but Kavanaugh saying "well they should just sue if they're the victims of excessive force from ICE" when he himself has previously voted to bar lawsuits against federal officers for violations of the 4th Amendment in immigration cases takes chutzpah.
September 8, 2025 at 5:06 PM
It's not the most important part of the issue but Kavanaugh saying "well they should just sue if they're the victims of excessive force from ICE" when he himself has previously voted to bar lawsuits against federal officers for violations of the 4th Amendment in immigration cases takes chutzpah.
Reposted by Ben Panko
There's a increasingly wide gulf between what you might call "local abundance"—which largely consists of liberal and progressive activists and local electeds trying to do YIMBY-type things—and "DC abundance," which hosts conferences where Oren Cass is a speaker for some reason.
September 4, 2025 at 8:37 PM
There's a increasingly wide gulf between what you might call "local abundance"—which largely consists of liberal and progressive activists and local electeds trying to do YIMBY-type things—and "DC abundance," which hosts conferences where Oren Cass is a speaker for some reason.
Reposted by Ben Panko
going back to the founders it would have been recognized as an act of gratitude and patriotism to dedicate one's life to service of their adopted country, but Vance rejects the fundamental ideal of America in favor of crude blood-and-soil Nazism that he learned on the internet five years ago
Vance goes after NYC mayoral hopeful Mamdani: ‘He should show more gratitude to the United States’
Vance goes after NYC mayor hopeful Mamdani for not showing ‘gratitude’ to the US
www.independent.co.uk
August 30, 2025 at 2:04 PM
going back to the founders it would have been recognized as an act of gratitude and patriotism to dedicate one's life to service of their adopted country, but Vance rejects the fundamental ideal of America in favor of crude blood-and-soil Nazism that he learned on the internet five years ago
Reposted by Ben Panko
looking good, king!
August 30, 2025 at 3:48 PM
looking good, king!
Reposted by Ben Panko
Do I think he's dead? No way.
Do i think his health could have taken a sharp downward turn? It's possible. And if it did, the White House would furiously cover it up while decisions are made.
Anyway, he'll probably be golfing in the morning. But we can have a little fun before that.
Do i think his health could have taken a sharp downward turn? It's possible. And if it did, the White House would furiously cover it up while decisions are made.
Anyway, he'll probably be golfing in the morning. But we can have a little fun before that.
August 30, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Do I think he's dead? No way.
Do i think his health could have taken a sharp downward turn? It's possible. And if it did, the White House would furiously cover it up while decisions are made.
Anyway, he'll probably be golfing in the morning. But we can have a little fun before that.
Do i think his health could have taken a sharp downward turn? It's possible. And if it did, the White House would furiously cover it up while decisions are made.
Anyway, he'll probably be golfing in the morning. But we can have a little fun before that.
Reposted by Ben Panko
I just saw what he’s posted on here for the first time in a while and while it started off deliberately meant to be offensive now it’s just normal twitter reposts. The Vice fucking president lead a forum raid that failed and is now just a regular poster here lmao.
Hey @jd-vance-1.bsky.social they’re saying your boss is dead. They’re saying that you’re too much a GBS poster to prove that he’s not.
August 30, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I just saw what he’s posted on here for the first time in a while and while it started off deliberately meant to be offensive now it’s just normal twitter reposts. The Vice fucking president lead a forum raid that failed and is now just a regular poster here lmao.
Reposted by Ben Panko
A fun thing about Star Wars is that every background character not only has an expanded universe book written about them but since Disney declared stuff non-canon every background character now has two distinct histories (legends and new EU) and yes absolutely I need this for the werewolf in the bar
August 30, 2025 at 4:35 AM
A fun thing about Star Wars is that every background character not only has an expanded universe book written about them but since Disney declared stuff non-canon every background character now has two distinct histories (legends and new EU) and yes absolutely I need this for the werewolf in the bar
Reposted by Ben Panko
if you don't have at least 3 random beverages on your desk and 36+ open tabs with no memory of having opened them, are you even browsing?
August 29, 2025 at 7:48 PM
if you don't have at least 3 random beverages on your desk and 36+ open tabs with no memory of having opened them, are you even browsing?