Kyle Kivett
@kkivett.bsky.social
Never sell joy to buy happiness. My joys include Jesus, my wife & family, education, philosophy, reading, travel, & black coffee.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.
There Is No Mary Problem in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
George’s vision of his wife without him is essential to the film, but critics continue to miss its true—and profound—meaning.
open.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 12:34 AM
This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.
He modeled what each of us can and should be.
Fred Rogers wrote every song for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and hundreds more. Kindness, creativity, and care in every note. A quiet giant of music and humanity.
December 20, 2025 at 8:23 PM
He modeled what each of us can and should be.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
Fred Rogers wrote every song for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and hundreds more. Kindness, creativity, and care in every note. A quiet giant of music and humanity.
December 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Fred Rogers wrote every song for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and hundreds more. Kindness, creativity, and care in every note. A quiet giant of music and humanity.
More research is necessary, but could music training help minimize the effects of ACEs?
“…research…has largely emphasized adverse experiences that [reduce the] possibility for…learning…. In contrast, our study investigated a positive environmental enrichment, such as instrumental training…”
“…research…has largely emphasized adverse experiences that [reduce the] possibility for…learning…. In contrast, our study investigated a positive environmental enrichment, such as instrumental training…”
Children with better musical skills may benefit from a prolonged window of brain plasticity
Children with better musical skills may benefit from a prolonged window of brain plasticity
Children who excel at keeping the beat may possess brains that mature more slowly, extending their capacity for learning. A new longitudinal twin study indicates that this prolonged development is shaped by both genetic predispositions and musical engagement.
www.psypost.org
December 6, 2025 at 8:44 PM
More research is necessary, but could music training help minimize the effects of ACEs?
“…research…has largely emphasized adverse experiences that [reduce the] possibility for…learning…. In contrast, our study investigated a positive environmental enrichment, such as instrumental training…”
“…research…has largely emphasized adverse experiences that [reduce the] possibility for…learning…. In contrast, our study investigated a positive environmental enrichment, such as instrumental training…”
This is not the America I want or ever thought possible. #Godsaveus
Unbelievable!
Today, San Diego witnessed a government-sanctioned kidnapping. ICE stormed Buona Forchetta in military gear ripping workers away, then unleashing tear gas and smoke on the terrified community. Full on police state, fascism now used on American citizens. Stay aware.
#OnYourSide
Today, San Diego witnessed a government-sanctioned kidnapping. ICE stormed Buona Forchetta in military gear ripping workers away, then unleashing tear gas and smoke on the terrified community. Full on police state, fascism now used on American citizens. Stay aware.
#OnYourSide
May 31, 2025 at 10:03 PM
This is not the America I want or ever thought possible. #Godsaveus
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND STORY: French caretakers take the sand from Omaha Beach in Normandy and scrub it into the letters to give them the brown/gold coloring.
They do this for all 9,386 soldiers who died.
France also gave us this land as American soil.
They do this for all 9,386 soldiers who died.
France also gave us this land as American soil.
French Caretakers Scrub Sand From Omaha Beach Into The Letters To Give Them The Brown Gold Look
YouTube video by War News Updates
youtu.be
May 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND STORY: French caretakers take the sand from Omaha Beach in Normandy and scrub it into the letters to give them the brown/gold coloring.
They do this for all 9,386 soldiers who died.
France also gave us this land as American soil.
They do this for all 9,386 soldiers who died.
France also gave us this land as American soil.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
That it is rapidly becoming normal for federal law enforcement to be masked and unidentifiable is terrifying. It is, frankly, the scandal here. It has no place in a free republic.
May 11, 2025 at 12:32 AM
That it is rapidly becoming normal for federal law enforcement to be masked and unidentifiable is terrifying. It is, frankly, the scandal here. It has no place in a free republic.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
This isn’t a good idea even if the plane was being donated to the U.S. government. But Trump GETS TO KEEP THE PLANE??? It’s simply a cash payment to Trump in exchange for favors. Just wildly illegal.
May 11, 2025 at 4:54 PM
This isn’t a good idea even if the plane was being donated to the U.S. government. But Trump GETS TO KEEP THE PLANE??? It’s simply a cash payment to Trump in exchange for favors. Just wildly illegal.
Tom Sawyer
What’s a recognizable song from the first few seconds?
April 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Tom Sawyer
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
Whether you believe Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, a prophet, a philosopher, or just a proto-Reform rabbi, there's one thing for which there's consensus within academic history scholarship: that he died by crucifixion for challenging the authority of the government.
Worth thinking about today.
Worth thinking about today.
April 18, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Whether you believe Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, a prophet, a philosopher, or just a proto-Reform rabbi, there's one thing for which there's consensus within academic history scholarship: that he died by crucifixion for challenging the authority of the government.
Worth thinking about today.
Worth thinking about today.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
Umberto Eco’s List of the 14 Common Features of Fascism
Umberto Eco’s List of the 14 Common Features of Fascism
Creative Commons image by Rob Bogaerts, via the National Archives in Holland
One of the key questions facing both journalists and loyal oppositions these days is how do we stay honest as euphemisms an...
www.openculture.com
April 17, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Umberto Eco’s List of the 14 Common Features of Fascism
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
57 years ago today, my father was taken from this world. The world lost a visionary, and my family lost a husband and father. I was just 10 years old, but even then, I understood the magnitude of his mission: to create a world of justice, freedom, and equality for all.
April 4, 2025 at 3:24 PM
57 years ago today, my father was taken from this world. The world lost a visionary, and my family lost a husband and father. I was just 10 years old, but even then, I understood the magnitude of his mission: to create a world of justice, freedom, and equality for all.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
I know this is extremely vulgar idealism, but I do think we should try to aggressively reassert the norm that lying is bad. Not in a "Four Pinnochios" fact-checking kind of way, but in a way that frames this kind of lying as moral degeneracy that is fundamentally corrosive to the human spirit.
Elon Musk says "10% of federal expenditures" are due to people having fake Social Security numbers, claiming it is "half a trillion dollars."
March 10, 2025 at 10:58 PM
I know this is extremely vulgar idealism, but I do think we should try to aggressively reassert the norm that lying is bad. Not in a "Four Pinnochios" fact-checking kind of way, but in a way that frames this kind of lying as moral degeneracy that is fundamentally corrosive to the human spirit.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
So Musk’s people, who misread $8 million as $8 billion, who counted the same contracts multiple times and counted as savings programs that ended last year, claim that their AI is finding lots of Social Security fraud.
Why should anyone worry?
Why should anyone worry?
March 2, 2025 at 7:09 PM
So Musk’s people, who misread $8 million as $8 billion, who counted the same contracts multiple times and counted as savings programs that ended last year, claim that their AI is finding lots of Social Security fraud.
Why should anyone worry?
Why should anyone worry?
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
The question I am really struggling with right now is:
What is "law & order" and the entire American constitutional order *for* if it isn't a Go Directly to Jail card for guys like Donald Trump and Elon Musk for doing *exactly* what they're doing right now?
What is "law & order" and the entire American constitutional order *for* if it isn't a Go Directly to Jail card for guys like Donald Trump and Elon Musk for doing *exactly* what they're doing right now?
February 26, 2025 at 3:49 AM
The question I am really struggling with right now is:
What is "law & order" and the entire American constitutional order *for* if it isn't a Go Directly to Jail card for guys like Donald Trump and Elon Musk for doing *exactly* what they're doing right now?
What is "law & order" and the entire American constitutional order *for* if it isn't a Go Directly to Jail card for guys like Donald Trump and Elon Musk for doing *exactly* what they're doing right now?
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
An example of how question wording matters in surveys: Democrats are more concerned than Republicans about "gun violence," while Republicans are more concerned than Democrats about "violent crime." (For context, ~80% of all US murders involve a gun.) www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
February 20, 2025 at 7:25 PM
An example of how question wording matters in surveys: Democrats are more concerned than Republicans about "gun violence," while Republicans are more concerned than Democrats about "violent crime." (For context, ~80% of all US murders involve a gun.) www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
“We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests.” -FDR, 1941
February 15, 2025 at 8:18 PM
“We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests.” -FDR, 1941
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
"I am the law."
Hitler, 1942
"There is no law but the law of the people & the people are me."
Gaddafi, 1975
"We have a constitution, but we must address the problems of the country first. The law is always behind when it comes to national survival."
Bashar Al-Assad, 2011
Trump, 2025:
Hitler, 1942
"There is no law but the law of the people & the people are me."
Gaddafi, 1975
"We have a constitution, but we must address the problems of the country first. The law is always behind when it comes to national survival."
Bashar Al-Assad, 2011
Trump, 2025:
February 15, 2025 at 10:29 PM
"I am the law."
Hitler, 1942
"There is no law but the law of the people & the people are me."
Gaddafi, 1975
"We have a constitution, but we must address the problems of the country first. The law is always behind when it comes to national survival."
Bashar Al-Assad, 2011
Trump, 2025:
Hitler, 1942
"There is no law but the law of the people & the people are me."
Gaddafi, 1975
"We have a constitution, but we must address the problems of the country first. The law is always behind when it comes to national survival."
Bashar Al-Assad, 2011
Trump, 2025:
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
In response to Trump’s assertion, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” we say:
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.
February 15, 2025 at 11:25 PM
In response to Trump’s assertion, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” we say:
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
I’ve concluded leaders who recommend, “staying in your lane,” are not worth following
February 9, 2025 at 9:40 PM
I’ve concluded leaders who recommend, “staying in your lane,” are not worth following
Reposted by Kyle Kivett
Here's what's maddening about this:
TRUMP GOT ELECTED ON A FICTION. And not on details, like "If you like your insurance you can keep it." He claimed to have one agenda, but then whipped out an incredibly radical secret agenda once sworn in. Nobody voted for this!
And yet crickets from the press.
TRUMP GOT ELECTED ON A FICTION. And not on details, like "If you like your insurance you can keep it." He claimed to have one agenda, but then whipped out an incredibly radical secret agenda once sworn in. Nobody voted for this!
And yet crickets from the press.
This Politico story from last October shows how easy it is to launder lies through the press. It claimed Trump would ban anyone tied to Project 2025 from a job in a second Trump administration.
“Clearly people working on Project 2025 are blacklisted,” said an unidentified Trump insider. 1/4🧵
“Clearly people working on Project 2025 are blacklisted,” said an unidentified Trump insider. 1/4🧵
Trump team preps list of banned staffers
The names include conservatives linked to Project 2025 and Republicans viewed as disloyal to the former president.
www.politico.com
February 8, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Here's what's maddening about this:
TRUMP GOT ELECTED ON A FICTION. And not on details, like "If you like your insurance you can keep it." He claimed to have one agenda, but then whipped out an incredibly radical secret agenda once sworn in. Nobody voted for this!
And yet crickets from the press.
TRUMP GOT ELECTED ON A FICTION. And not on details, like "If you like your insurance you can keep it." He claimed to have one agenda, but then whipped out an incredibly radical secret agenda once sworn in. Nobody voted for this!
And yet crickets from the press.