John Saunders
@js-53.bsky.social
I've been around a while. Reader of The Reframe. PoP.
Sucker for pithy turns-of-phrase. Slowly finding all my peeps.
"The first lie of fascism is its own inevitability. " @jeffsharlet.bsky.social
NO KINGS NO NAZIS NO SLAVES NO VILLIANAIRES
Sucker for pithy turns-of-phrase. Slowly finding all my peeps.
"The first lie of fascism is its own inevitability. " @jeffsharlet.bsky.social
NO KINGS NO NAZIS NO SLAVES NO VILLIANAIRES
Reposted by John Saunders
In my old town the GOP had run basically without serious challenge for decades. A bunch of us "millennials" joined the local Dem party and basically asked to help.
We were running it in a year. Within 4 years we had a majority of town seats flipped Dem. A FAR more progressive Dem than old party
We were running it in a year. Within 4 years we had a majority of town seats flipped Dem. A FAR more progressive Dem than old party
“Rather than taking over the Democratic Party the same way the right took over the Republican Party, we should take the easier route and just start up a new party ourselves!”
I’m about to fill my pockets with stones and walk into the sea.
I’m about to fill my pockets with stones and walk into the sea.
November 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
In my old town the GOP had run basically without serious challenge for decades. A bunch of us "millennials" joined the local Dem party and basically asked to help.
We were running it in a year. Within 4 years we had a majority of town seats flipped Dem. A FAR more progressive Dem than old party
We were running it in a year. Within 4 years we had a majority of town seats flipped Dem. A FAR more progressive Dem than old party
Reposted by John Saunders
I waited a day to say this bc I respected everyone's right to vent some anger, but *remember to focus on what you can do*. Whether it's defending your community, taking action around what you've been venting about, whatever — but don't let all of your energy get captured in the social media space.
November 10, 2025 at 11:31 PM
I waited a day to say this bc I respected everyone's right to vent some anger, but *remember to focus on what you can do*. Whether it's defending your community, taking action around what you've been venting about, whatever — but don't let all of your energy get captured in the social media space.
Reposted by John Saunders
I’ve been watching this game for a long time. The American left is all fiery piss and vinegar when it comes to rhetoric, but completely inert when it comes to any kind of organized action. The Democratic party is the flagship operation of that failure, but our fleet is enormous. We haven’t …
November 11, 2025 at 2:59 AM
I’ve been watching this game for a long time. The American left is all fiery piss and vinegar when it comes to rhetoric, but completely inert when it comes to any kind of organized action. The Democratic party is the flagship operation of that failure, but our fleet is enormous. We haven’t …
Reposted by John Saunders
"save your anger for 2026" wait you think I'll run out in a year this is why I hate amateurs
November 10, 2025 at 1:56 PM
"save your anger for 2026" wait you think I'll run out in a year this is why I hate amateurs
Reposted by John Saunders
NEW — I'm suing DC Metro Police for the full body cam footage from the DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace back in March.
The public deserves to know why MPD chose to sell out the people they’re tasked with protecting in order to bend to Trump's will. I'm repped pro bono by @rcfp.org.
Details:
The public deserves to know why MPD chose to sell out the people they’re tasked with protecting in order to bend to Trump's will. I'm repped pro bono by @rcfp.org.
Details:
I'm suing DC Metro Police for body cam footage of US Institute of Peace raid
The Handbasket is represented pro bono by lawyers from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
www.thehandbasket.co
October 22, 2025 at 12:56 AM
NEW — I'm suing DC Metro Police for the full body cam footage from the DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace back in March.
The public deserves to know why MPD chose to sell out the people they’re tasked with protecting in order to bend to Trump's will. I'm repped pro bono by @rcfp.org.
Details:
The public deserves to know why MPD chose to sell out the people they’re tasked with protecting in order to bend to Trump's will. I'm repped pro bono by @rcfp.org.
Details:
Reposted by John Saunders
we band of why-bothers
November 11, 2025 at 3:04 AM
we band of why-bothers
Reposted by John Saunders
The decision to sacrifice Ukrainians as disposable, second-class people for the sake of "avoiding escalation" has been an act of strategic idiocy. The consequences are now clear: Russia is more battle-hardened,its drone production is in overdrive, and its desperation makes it more dangerous,not less
On the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, President Zelensky called NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg from a bunker in Kyiv, pleading for a no-fly zone to stop Russian airstrikes.
He cited NATO’s past interventions in Bosnia and Iraq, but
He cited NATO’s past interventions in Bosnia and Iraq, but
November 10, 2025 at 8:40 PM
The decision to sacrifice Ukrainians as disposable, second-class people for the sake of "avoiding escalation" has been an act of strategic idiocy. The consequences are now clear: Russia is more battle-hardened,its drone production is in overdrive, and its desperation makes it more dangerous,not less
Reposted by John Saunders
Also worth repeating: Mamdani's greatest power isn't something just anyone can learn or emulate. He's got an entire PHILOSOPHY and MORAL CORE based on care over punishment that informs everything he says and does. Without that, the charisma means nothing.
blacksky.community/profile/did:...
blacksky.community/profile/did:...
This is absolutely Mamdani's not-so-secret secret power: he knows who he is and what he believes and he wants to help ALL of us. So you can't trip him up with a trick question; you can't get a fake note out of him. BECAUSE HE HAS NOTHING TO HIDE AND HE'S DONE THE READING AND HE'S HERE FOR US.
100 percent. I think he benefits from what most great orators benefit from: he knows himself—and more importantly, he talks to (and understands) what moves people. And, as far as I can tell, he believes what he’s saying.
November 11, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Also worth repeating: Mamdani's greatest power isn't something just anyone can learn or emulate. He's got an entire PHILOSOPHY and MORAL CORE based on care over punishment that informs everything he says and does. Without that, the charisma means nothing.
blacksky.community/profile/did:...
blacksky.community/profile/did:...
Reposted by John Saunders
November 11, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by John Saunders
Normalizing shaming corporations who refuse to pay people a living wage so that their billionaire owners can get even richer.
Normalize shaming people who think we must “prove” our worth before we can eat or receive healthcare.
Stop shaming the sick, the poor & marginalized.
Normalize shaming people who think we must “prove” our worth before we can eat or receive healthcare.
Stop shaming the sick, the poor & marginalized.
November 11, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Normalizing shaming corporations who refuse to pay people a living wage so that their billionaire owners can get even richer.
Normalize shaming people who think we must “prove” our worth before we can eat or receive healthcare.
Stop shaming the sick, the poor & marginalized.
Normalize shaming people who think we must “prove” our worth before we can eat or receive healthcare.
Stop shaming the sick, the poor & marginalized.
Reposted by John Saunders
For the life of me I still cannot understand why anybody thinks these Republicans would have not watched the entire country burn before they’d concede. They keep telling everyone they don’t care who hurts, and they don’t think it will hurt them to keep hurting. So what possible leverage comes …
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM
For the life of me I still cannot understand why anybody thinks these Republicans would have not watched the entire country burn before they’d concede. They keep telling everyone they don’t care who hurts, and they don’t think it will hurt them to keep hurting. So what possible leverage comes …
Reposted by John Saunders
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Reposted by John Saunders
BREAKING: We won!
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
November 10, 2025 at 5:48 PM
BREAKING: We won!
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
Reposted by John Saunders
Anyway I think one reason I'm not that mad at these guys is we already knew they were the wrong people for this moment. A party trying to carry on with business as usual in the face of autocracy won't survive. They're sitting in a burning house and commissioning polls on how popular the fire is
If you think the president is a tyrant and you're running for office to oppose him the only platform you can have is "Give us enough votes to impeach and remove this menace." Otherwise what's the point of electing you?
November 10, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Anyway I think one reason I'm not that mad at these guys is we already knew they were the wrong people for this moment. A party trying to carry on with business as usual in the face of autocracy won't survive. They're sitting in a burning house and commissioning polls on how popular the fire is
Reposted by John Saunders
My wife and I pay for life insurance even though we have never died. I pay for fire insurance even though my house has never burned down. That's not because we want to throw money at insurance companies. It's because THAT'S HOW INSURANCE WORKS.
November 10, 2025 at 3:44 PM
My wife and I pay for life insurance even though we have never died. I pay for fire insurance even though my house has never burned down. That's not because we want to throw money at insurance companies. It's because THAT'S HOW INSURANCE WORKS.
Reposted by John Saunders
Right, the answer isn't to abandon the party to these weasels.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
November 10, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Right, the answer isn't to abandon the party to these weasels.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
Reposted by John Saunders
Nevermind the administration disappearing people off the streets or murdering Caribbean fishermen or shutting down agencies illegally or declaring war on trans people or openly accepting bribes, Dems picked a fight on health care and couldn't even find the spine for that," the NOAA employee said
😳
😳
'A Slap in the Face': Federal Employees Feel Betrayed by Democrats' Shutdown Cave
"I would rather be an actual pawn. At least pawn sacrifices are calculated and achieve something."
www.gravityisgone.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Nevermind the administration disappearing people off the streets or murdering Caribbean fishermen or shutting down agencies illegally or declaring war on trans people or openly accepting bribes, Dems picked a fight on health care and couldn't even find the spine for that," the NOAA employee said
😳
😳
Reposted by John Saunders
I am proud that my legal team and I are leading the fight in this case against the Republican Party’s effort to throw out lawful ballots. Everyone needs to recognize this as the next step in the GOP plan to ban mail-in voting entirely and to eventually target early voting as well.
🚨BREAKING: In a case with major implications for voting access, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether a mail-in ballot must be received by Election Day to count, or if it merely must be sent by then. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
SCOTUS to Hear GOP Lawsuit That Could Radically Restrict Mail Voting
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I am proud that my legal team and I are leading the fight in this case against the Republican Party’s effort to throw out lawful ballots. Everyone needs to recognize this as the next step in the GOP plan to ban mail-in voting entirely and to eventually target early voting as well.
Reposted by John Saunders
Kentucky Hemp Association is ripping McConnell for inserting language again in the CR that they say will devastate the hemp and CBD industries. They are siding with Sen. Rand Paul & other KY delegation on this issue. Background at link: www.lpm.org/news/2025-09...
November 10, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Kentucky Hemp Association is ripping McConnell for inserting language again in the CR that they say will devastate the hemp and CBD industries. They are siding with Sen. Rand Paul & other KY delegation on this issue. Background at link: www.lpm.org/news/2025-09...
Reposted by John Saunders
apple.news/Ay-78ac6JQIq...
#Fullerton,CA PO stopped to help a woman being held at gunpoint by a man in #SantaAna, the latter turned out to be an #ICE agent.
I’m surprised I’m not hearing of lots more similar incidents: they’re masked, in plainclothes, in unmarked vehicles & assaulting people.
#Fullerton,CA PO stopped to help a woman being held at gunpoint by a man in #SantaAna, the latter turned out to be an #ICE agent.
I’m surprised I’m not hearing of lots more similar incidents: they’re masked, in plainclothes, in unmarked vehicles & assaulting people.
Fullerton police stop man pointing gun at female driver, only to learn he is ICE agent — Los Angeles Times
A Fullerton police officer told the agent he couldn't help 'with someone following or recording him if no crime had occurred.' Under state law, local police cannot enforce federal immigration law.
apple.news
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 AM
apple.news/Ay-78ac6JQIq...
#Fullerton,CA PO stopped to help a woman being held at gunpoint by a man in #SantaAna, the latter turned out to be an #ICE agent.
I’m surprised I’m not hearing of lots more similar incidents: they’re masked, in plainclothes, in unmarked vehicles & assaulting people.
#Fullerton,CA PO stopped to help a woman being held at gunpoint by a man in #SantaAna, the latter turned out to be an #ICE agent.
I’m surprised I’m not hearing of lots more similar incidents: they’re masked, in plainclothes, in unmarked vehicles & assaulting people.
Reposted by John Saunders
That the virus was more dangerous than the vaccine was pretty clear 4.5 years ago, though an enormous propaganda machine led by our current medical establishment claimed otherwise.
sciencebasedmedicine.org/covid-19-and...
sciencebasedmedicine.org/covid-19-and...
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 AM
That the virus was more dangerous than the vaccine was pretty clear 4.5 years ago, though an enormous propaganda machine led by our current medical establishment claimed otherwise.
sciencebasedmedicine.org/covid-19-and...
sciencebasedmedicine.org/covid-19-and...
Reposted by John Saunders
This reminds me of the "punch, deny, counter-punch" tactics that Ian Haney López claims are central to the theater of dog-whistle racism.
Ppl do something racist. When called out on it, they deny it's racist. Then they accuse the person who correctly identified the racism as being the real racist.
Ppl do something racist. When called out on it, they deny it's racist. Then they accuse the person who correctly identified the racism as being the real racist.
This is so insightful:
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
This reminds me of the "punch, deny, counter-punch" tactics that Ian Haney López claims are central to the theater of dog-whistle racism.
Ppl do something racist. When called out on it, they deny it's racist. Then they accuse the person who correctly identified the racism as being the real racist.
Ppl do something racist. When called out on it, they deny it's racist. Then they accuse the person who correctly identified the racism as being the real racist.
Reposted by John Saunders
I know this is an obvious and old point, but it still shocks me how quickly the culture of the GOP has come to defined by the absurd personality type of the "toad-licking, ass kissing alpha." Amazing that they've built an audience that finds such deportment appealing, rather than disqualifying.
November 10, 2025 at 9:59 PM
I know this is an obvious and old point, but it still shocks me how quickly the culture of the GOP has come to defined by the absurd personality type of the "toad-licking, ass kissing alpha." Amazing that they've built an audience that finds such deportment appealing, rather than disqualifying.
Reposted by John Saunders
This is right.
The Dem base — the activist base, Indivisible leaders, the people who canvass and volunteer — saw that this shutdown was not mostly about healthcare, but about reining in Trump.
No wonder they are disappointed. The leader of the Senate should be able to rally the Dem base.
The Dem base — the activist base, Indivisible leaders, the people who canvass and volunteer — saw that this shutdown was not mostly about healthcare, but about reining in Trump.
No wonder they are disappointed. The leader of the Senate should be able to rally the Dem base.
And I get it - they are friends or whatever.
But the reason people are incandescently mad is because this was a proxy fight for reining in this administration. They chose to frame it as about Healthcare (which of COURSE is important!)
But folks perceived it as finally pushing back.
But the reason people are incandescently mad is because this was a proxy fight for reining in this administration. They chose to frame it as about Healthcare (which of COURSE is important!)
But folks perceived it as finally pushing back.
November 11, 2025 at 12:38 AM
This is right.
The Dem base — the activist base, Indivisible leaders, the people who canvass and volunteer — saw that this shutdown was not mostly about healthcare, but about reining in Trump.
No wonder they are disappointed. The leader of the Senate should be able to rally the Dem base.
The Dem base — the activist base, Indivisible leaders, the people who canvass and volunteer — saw that this shutdown was not mostly about healthcare, but about reining in Trump.
No wonder they are disappointed. The leader of the Senate should be able to rally the Dem base.
Reposted by John Saunders
One of the reasons Trump is such a successful Republican is because he operates in the same information space as the average Republican voter. He doesn't even realize he's lying here because he gets all his information about the world from the same TV stations as his voters.
Trump on Newsom: "He did something even worse than that. He's now taking a big section of Palisades or some area and he's gonna build low income income where they used to have luxury housing."
November 11, 2025 at 12:38 AM
One of the reasons Trump is such a successful Republican is because he operates in the same information space as the average Republican voter. He doesn't even realize he's lying here because he gets all his information about the world from the same TV stations as his voters.