Dan Ponder
@d-ponder.bsky.social
Political Science Prof at Drury Univ, teaching American politics (esp. national institutions and politics in popular culture). Author of Good Advice, and Presidential Leverage. Disgruntled fan of St. Louis Cardinals and not-disgruntled fan of KC Chiefs.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Oh please. It’s not “kids” he thinks can make do with less—it’s GIRLS. Girls can scrape by with fewer toys, rights, opportunities, less healthcare. Girl needs? Clearly optional. It isn’t ignorance—it’s weaponized misogyny wrapped in a smug little soundbite. Sit down, manboy. Preferably in silence.
Trump: "I don't think a beautiful baby girl that's 11 years old needs to have 30 dolls. I think they can have three dolls or four dolls ... they don't need to have 250 pencils. They can have five."
May 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Oh please. It’s not “kids” he thinks can make do with less—it’s GIRLS. Girls can scrape by with fewer toys, rights, opportunities, less healthcare. Girl needs? Clearly optional. It isn’t ignorance—it’s weaponized misogyny wrapped in a smug little soundbite. Sit down, manboy. Preferably in silence.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Even if these deportees were violent criminals—but there’s been no due process, so who knows—the schadenfreude celebration of their deportation is childish, racist, and makes clear that the policy is not about security, it’s to stoke in-group enthusiasm for racial status hierarchy. It’s gross.
April 7, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Even if these deportees were violent criminals—but there’s been no due process, so who knows—the schadenfreude celebration of their deportation is childish, racist, and makes clear that the policy is not about security, it’s to stoke in-group enthusiasm for racial status hierarchy. It’s gross.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
WOW! The Economist’s cover:
“Donald Trump’s economic delusions are already hurting America."
“Donald Trump’s economic delusions are already hurting America."
March 8, 2025 at 11:57 AM
WOW! The Economist’s cover:
“Donald Trump’s economic delusions are already hurting America."
“Donald Trump’s economic delusions are already hurting America."
Reposted by Dan Ponder
a typical function of this type of address is to ask Congress for legislation. Trump hasn't asked Congress for much and has acted like executive orders are a substitute. They are not, and this behavior is very alarming.
March 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
a typical function of this type of address is to ask Congress for legislation. Trump hasn't asked Congress for much and has acted like executive orders are a substitute. They are not, and this behavior is very alarming.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
This speech is so divorced from reality that were a normal person to exhibit similar behavior they would be institutionalized.
March 5, 2025 at 2:40 AM
This speech is so divorced from reality that were a normal person to exhibit similar behavior they would be institutionalized.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
This current Social Security riff by Trump is completely debunked 100% total made-up BS. No president has EVER lied this baldly from the podium. And Vance, Johnson, and the whole GOP just nod and go along with it.
March 5, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This current Social Security riff by Trump is completely debunked 100% total made-up BS. No president has EVER lied this baldly from the podium. And Vance, Johnson, and the whole GOP just nod and go along with it.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
"The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over!"
But the days of rule by unelected plutocrats are just beginning.
But the days of rule by unelected plutocrats are just beginning.
March 5, 2025 at 2:55 AM
"The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over!"
But the days of rule by unelected plutocrats are just beginning.
But the days of rule by unelected plutocrats are just beginning.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Trump whining that Democrats wouldn't applaud him even if he cured a disease and then a second later bragging about withdrawing from the World Health Organization
March 5, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Trump whining that Democrats wouldn't applaud him even if he cured a disease and then a second later bragging about withdrawing from the World Health Organization
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Some of the surveillance overreach in the 1960s and 1970s was because LBJ and Nixon were positive that the anti-war movement just *had* to be driven by Soviet Communist operatives. It wasn't. (Reminder: this is when we thought the Soviet Union was bad.)
Trump thinks anyone protesting must be from another country when the right and will to protest our own government is a foundational American value.
March 4, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Some of the surveillance overreach in the 1960s and 1970s was because LBJ and Nixon were positive that the anti-war movement just *had* to be driven by Soviet Communist operatives. It wasn't. (Reminder: this is when we thought the Soviet Union was bad.)
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Free speech is under threat www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
-DEI funding ban
-School "gender ideology" ban
-Gulf of America renaming
-AP White House ban
-FCC Comcast DEI warning
-VA pride flag ban
-DOJ Rep. Garcia letter
-Des Moines Register lawsuit
-White House press pool control
-DEI funding ban
-School "gender ideology" ban
-Gulf of America renaming
-AP White House ban
-FCC Comcast DEI warning
-VA pride flag ban
-DOJ Rep. Garcia letter
-Des Moines Register lawsuit
-White House press pool control
Trump’s opponents see a sweeping crackdown on free speech
In an effort to stamp out “woke” racial and gender messages, critics say, the president is running afoul of the First Amendment.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 3, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Free speech is under threat www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
-DEI funding ban
-School "gender ideology" ban
-Gulf of America renaming
-AP White House ban
-FCC Comcast DEI warning
-VA pride flag ban
-DOJ Rep. Garcia letter
-Des Moines Register lawsuit
-White House press pool control
-DEI funding ban
-School "gender ideology" ban
-Gulf of America renaming
-AP White House ban
-FCC Comcast DEI warning
-VA pride flag ban
-DOJ Rep. Garcia letter
-Des Moines Register lawsuit
-White House press pool control
Reposted by Dan Ponder
WYOMING:
“Thank you, Madam chairman.”
“I prefer ‘Mister’ chairman.”
“Well you all voted preferred pronouns cannot be compelled speech.”
“Thank you, Madam chairman.”
“I prefer ‘Mister’ chairman.”
“Well you all voted preferred pronouns cannot be compelled speech.”
February 22, 2025 at 5:18 AM
WYOMING:
“Thank you, Madam chairman.”
“I prefer ‘Mister’ chairman.”
“Well you all voted preferred pronouns cannot be compelled speech.”
“Thank you, Madam chairman.”
“I prefer ‘Mister’ chairman.”
“Well you all voted preferred pronouns cannot be compelled speech.”
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Reposted by Dan Ponder
👇 This.
DOGE recommended firing workers at:
-FDA, which oversees Neuralink
-FAA, which oversees SpaceX
-USAID, which probed Starlink
-CFPB, which oversees Tesla's financing arm and a potential payment platform on X.
"Conflict of interest" is a severe understatement.
-FDA, which oversees Neuralink
-FAA, which oversees SpaceX
-USAID, which probed Starlink
-CFPB, which oversees Tesla's financing arm and a potential payment platform on X.
"Conflict of interest" is a severe understatement.
February 19, 2025 at 8:22 PM
👇 This.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Nothing to worry about, just an administration official suggesting that the DOJ may prosecute a member of Congress for advising people about their rights.
Happening right now. Right in front of us.
Happening right now. Right in front of us.
Homan on CNN suggests AOC is committing a crime by informing people about their constitutional rights
February 16, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Nothing to worry about, just an administration official suggesting that the DOJ may prosecute a member of Congress for advising people about their rights.
Happening right now. Right in front of us.
Happening right now. Right in front of us.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
One could use a variety of social science terms to describe what’s going on, but perhaps the simplest explanation is that the Trump White House is run by assholes. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
As federal workers and aid recipients reel, Trump’s team says: So what?
“They get the one starving kid in Sudan that isn’t going to have a USAID bottle and they make everything DOGE has done about the starving kid in Sudan,” a White House official said.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 15, 2025 at 12:08 PM
One could use a variety of social science terms to describe what’s going on, but perhaps the simplest explanation is that the Trump White House is run by assholes. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Why would a little boy say, “Shut the fuck up” if he wanted someone to be quiet? Was there someone in his life who maybe repeatedly said that to him? Also, where would he get the idea that Trump *isn’t* the President? Did someone also say that repeatedly to him?
February 13, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Why would a little boy say, “Shut the fuck up” if he wanted someone to be quiet? Was there someone in his life who maybe repeatedly said that to him? Also, where would he get the idea that Trump *isn’t* the President? Did someone also say that repeatedly to him?
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Oh wow who could have ever have predicted this would happen. www.wsj.com/business/dea...
For CEOs and Bankers, the Trump Euphoria Is Fading Fast
The deals market had its quietest January in a decade, curtailed by the uncertainty delivered in the president’s first weeks.
www.wsj.com
February 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Oh wow who could have ever have predicted this would happen. www.wsj.com/business/dea...
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Five Former Treasury Secretaries: Our Democracy Is Under Siege www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/o...
"Any hint of the selective suspension of congressionally authorized payments will be a breach of trust and ultimately, a form of default. And our credibility, once lost, will prove difficult to regain."
"Any hint of the selective suspension of congressionally authorized payments will be a breach of trust and ultimately, a form of default. And our credibility, once lost, will prove difficult to regain."
Opinion | Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner, Jacob Lew, Janet Yellen: DOGE Is a Threat to U.S. Democracy.
Former Secretaries Rubin, Summers, Geithner, Lew and Yellen argue that DOGE is a threat to America.
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Five Former Treasury Secretaries: Our Democracy Is Under Siege www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/o...
"Any hint of the selective suspension of congressionally authorized payments will be a breach of trust and ultimately, a form of default. And our credibility, once lost, will prove difficult to regain."
"Any hint of the selective suspension of congressionally authorized payments will be a breach of trust and ultimately, a form of default. And our credibility, once lost, will prove difficult to regain."
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Many of the players in Sunday's Super Bowl will arrive at the stadium dressed to the nines. But one — Kansas City wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins — will be wearing something extra special.
This Kansas City Chiefs player's Super Bowl outfit carries special meaning
Many of the players in Sunday's Super Bowl will arrive at the stadium dressed to the nines. But one — Kansas City wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins — will be wearing something extra special.
www.npr.org
February 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Many of the players in Sunday's Super Bowl will arrive at the stadium dressed to the nines. But one — Kansas City wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins — will be wearing something extra special.
Jess Piper on Substack
…
substack.com
February 9, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by Dan Ponder
The report that the Archivist of the US has been fired was premature when ABC reported it yesterday. Tonight, unfortunately, it is accurate.
A petty, pathetic move - and not even correctly targeted. It won’t make people forget Mr Trump’s flagrant violations of the law - just the opposite.
A petty, pathetic move - and not even correctly targeted. It won’t make people forget Mr Trump’s flagrant violations of the law - just the opposite.
February 8, 2025 at 2:25 AM
The report that the Archivist of the US has been fired was premature when ABC reported it yesterday. Tonight, unfortunately, it is accurate.
A petty, pathetic move - and not even correctly targeted. It won’t make people forget Mr Trump’s flagrant violations of the law - just the opposite.
A petty, pathetic move - and not even correctly targeted. It won’t make people forget Mr Trump’s flagrant violations of the law - just the opposite.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
🧐Think of the federal government as a car...election like getting car serviced....when you come (back) the mechanics, who don’t look like mechanics, tell you they have taken the parts of your car that work and sold them and kept the money... that this was efficient... And you should thank them.
February 2, 2025 at 3:59 PM
🧐Think of the federal government as a car...election like getting car serviced....when you come (back) the mechanics, who don’t look like mechanics, tell you they have taken the parts of your car that work and sold them and kept the money... that this was efficient... And you should thank them.
Reposted by Dan Ponder
Approximately 20 members of Elon Musk’s staff have begun working within the Education Department. They have gained access to multiple sensitive internal systems, including a financial aid dataset containing the personal information of millions of students enrolled in the federal student aid program.
February 4, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Approximately 20 members of Elon Musk’s staff have begun working within the Education Department. They have gained access to multiple sensitive internal systems, including a financial aid dataset containing the personal information of millions of students enrolled in the federal student aid program.