Matthew Sheffield
@matthew.flux.community
🟦 Writer, researcher, podcaster, developer
🟦 As seen in @flux.community, NYT, WaPo, NBC, Variety ...
🟦 Post about politics, cognitive science, gender, media
New book: What Republicans Know https://flux.community/book/what-republicans-know
🟦 As seen in @flux.community, NYT, WaPo, NBC, Variety ...
🟦 Post about politics, cognitive science, gender, media
New book: What Republicans Know https://flux.community/book/what-republicans-know
Yes, they want your life to be miserable, so you do not have the time or ability to think clearly about who is doing this to you.
Their belief is that the worse they can make things, the better it is for them.
Their belief is that the worse they can make things, the better it is for them.
February 10, 2026 at 4:32 AM
Yes, they want your life to be miserable, so you do not have the time or ability to think clearly about who is doing this to you.
Their belief is that the worse they can make things, the better it is for them.
Their belief is that the worse they can make things, the better it is for them.
Republicans prey upon low-informed voters. They need stupidity and ignorance. This is part of why they attack education so much.
February 10, 2026 at 3:56 AM
Republicans prey upon low-informed voters. They need stupidity and ignorance. This is part of why they attack education so much.
Related vid from a fellow conservative wanting people to move on from Epstein accountability
February 8, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Related vid from a fellow conservative wanting people to move on from Epstein accountability
In a January 8, 2017 email, Jeffrey Epstein wrote of his situation with Donald Trump: "all good with trump lots of opportunity."
This was just days after a December 26, 2016 message to someone else in which he said he'd visit with "all the trump boys."
Links in next post.
This was just days after a December 26, 2016 message to someone else in which he said he'd visit with "all the trump boys."
Links in next post.
![From: jeffrey E. [mailto:jeevacation@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2017 1:07 PM
To: Richard Merkin 4
Subject: Re:
all good with trump lots of opportunity
On Sun, Jan 8, 2017 at 4:02 PM, Richard Merkin 1
Fair ..and you?<=p>
From: jeffrey E. [mailto:jeevacation@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 8, 2017 11:59 AM
To: Richard Merkin • Subject:
you well?](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:d3v6hjby4ks6xw27gbzkeihl/bafkreifcywws4txdvawghsyhp3kruqrdyqokxilkgecz5agfpdo4rvxwpa@jpeg)
February 5, 2026 at 7:50 PM
In a January 8, 2017 email, Jeffrey Epstein wrote of his situation with Donald Trump: "all good with trump lots of opportunity."
This was just days after a December 26, 2016 message to someone else in which he said he'd visit with "all the trump boys."
Links in next post.
This was just days after a December 26, 2016 message to someone else in which he said he'd visit with "all the trump boys."
Links in next post.
Elon Musk revealing a huge amount about his personal motivations here.
Reactionaries have destabilized the entire global order and made interpersonal relationships much worse for everyone. He and his puppets did this.
But instead of accepting that, he's blaming others, women this time.
Reactionaries have destabilized the entire global order and made interpersonal relationships much worse for everyone. He and his puppets did this.
But instead of accepting that, he's blaming others, women this time.
February 5, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Elon Musk revealing a huge amount about his personal motivations here.
Reactionaries have destabilized the entire global order and made interpersonal relationships much worse for everyone. He and his puppets did this.
But instead of accepting that, he's blaming others, women this time.
Reactionaries have destabilized the entire global order and made interpersonal relationships much worse for everyone. He and his puppets did this.
But instead of accepting that, he's blaming others, women this time.
Oligarch buying up mainstream media was never about making money.
Bezos running the Washington Post into the ground, Larry Ellison slicing up CBS, Soon-Shiong bleeding LAT is all about de-funding the few social institutions who could question power and report facts independently.
Bezos running the Washington Post into the ground, Larry Ellison slicing up CBS, Soon-Shiong bleeding LAT is all about de-funding the few social institutions who could question power and report facts independently.
February 5, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Oligarch buying up mainstream media was never about making money.
Bezos running the Washington Post into the ground, Larry Ellison slicing up CBS, Soon-Shiong bleeding LAT is all about de-funding the few social institutions who could question power and report facts independently.
Bezos running the Washington Post into the ground, Larry Ellison slicing up CBS, Soon-Shiong bleeding LAT is all about de-funding the few social institutions who could question power and report facts independently.
Reactionaries use this meme constantly. I'm sure you've seen it. The actual politicians' records show that it's a lie.
Here's the source link for you to paste in next time you see someone using the deceptive meme below. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
/end
Here's the source link for you to paste in next time you see someone using the deceptive meme below. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
/end
February 4, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Reactionaries use this meme constantly. I'm sure you've seen it. The actual politicians' records show that it's a lie.
Here's the source link for you to paste in next time you see someone using the deceptive meme below. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
/end
Here's the source link for you to paste in next time you see someone using the deceptive meme below. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
/end
In political science, there's a longstanding metric for this called DW-NOMINATE. It's been validated and used for decades.
It shows the opposite of the graph in the first post. And it matters a lot more.
It shows the opposite of the graph in the first post. And it matters a lot more.
February 4, 2026 at 8:26 PM
In political science, there's a longstanding metric for this called DW-NOMINATE. It's been validated and used for decades.
It shows the opposite of the graph in the first post. And it matters a lot more.
It shows the opposite of the graph in the first post. And it matters a lot more.
🧵 Reactionaries need conservatives to support them to gain power. And they do this principally by lying that the left "are the real extremists."
Below is a chart you might see often. It's worth considering. Besides the study's problematic questions, it's not measuring politicians. It should be.
Below is a chart you might see often. It's worth considering. Besides the study's problematic questions, it's not measuring politicians. It should be.
February 4, 2026 at 8:23 PM
🧵 Reactionaries need conservatives to support them to gain power. And they do this principally by lying that the left "are the real extremists."
Below is a chart you might see often. It's worth considering. Besides the study's problematic questions, it's not measuring politicians. It should be.
Below is a chart you might see often. It's worth considering. Besides the study's problematic questions, it's not measuring politicians. It should be.
Don't forget plotting the end of all nations as well.
![From: jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 201611:14 AM
To: Peter Thiel
Subject: Re:
return to tribalism . counter to globalization= amazing new alliances. you and I both agree= zero interest rates were
too high, and as i said in your office. =AO finding things on their way to collapse , was much easier than finding =he next
bargain
On Sun, Jun 26, 2016 at 7:04 AM, Peter Thiel apeter@thielcap4al.com <mailto:peter@thielcapital.com» wrote:
Of what?
From: jeffrey E. [mailto:jeevacation@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2016 3:17 AM
To: Peter Thiel <
Subject:
brexit, just the beginning](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:d3v6hjby4ks6xw27gbzkeihl/bafkreiewvqncmcd6pernhk7mlmybvqzorrat4t3v7dddwscpiychihft4q@jpeg)
February 4, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Don't forget plotting the end of all nations as well.
Behold the Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Ballroom and Casino!
February 3, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Behold the Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Ballroom and Casino!
The Republicans running the Epstein files website are distributing porn without any age verification, but they insist that private porn sites make people scan their drivers licenses.
Predictable hypocrisy, but still worth noting.
Predictable hypocrisy, but still worth noting.
February 3, 2026 at 6:15 PM
The Republicans running the Epstein files website are distributing porn without any age verification, but they insist that private porn sites make people scan their drivers licenses.
Predictable hypocrisy, but still worth noting.
Predictable hypocrisy, but still worth noting.
We're just about to leave Step #3 with Trump and Epstein
February 3, 2026 at 3:38 AM
We're just about to leave Step #3 with Trump and Epstein
The newest fad of the ultra-rich: Injected fat from cadavers
Yet another oligarch business idea taken from dystopian fiction, in this case "The Island." archive.is/joX2A
Yet another oligarch business idea taken from dystopian fiction, in this case "The Island." archive.is/joX2A
February 3, 2026 at 2:52 AM
The newest fad of the ultra-rich: Injected fat from cadavers
Yet another oligarch business idea taken from dystopian fiction, in this case "The Island." archive.is/joX2A
Yet another oligarch business idea taken from dystopian fiction, in this case "The Island." archive.is/joX2A
OK so we do agree on that point, it sounds like. Ultimately, they believe in authority rather than democracy. Goldberg explicitly says he wants "ordered liberty," which does put him in the same epistemic camp as reactionaries.
Perhaps our disagreement is over "centrism." I don't think it's real.
Perhaps our disagreement is over "centrism." I don't think it's real.
February 2, 2026 at 8:34 PM
OK so we do agree on that point, it sounds like. Ultimately, they believe in authority rather than democracy. Goldberg explicitly says he wants "ordered liberty," which does put him in the same epistemic camp as reactionaries.
Perhaps our disagreement is over "centrism." I don't think it's real.
Perhaps our disagreement is over "centrism." I don't think it's real.
Sohrab Amhari is a fascist. No one on the left should ever be collaborating with him.
He's not "interesting" or "heterodox," he's a fascist who hates capitalism and loves the murder of innocent American citizens.
He's not "interesting" or "heterodox," he's a fascist who hates capitalism and loves the murder of innocent American citizens.
February 2, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Sohrab Amhari is a fascist. No one on the left should ever be collaborating with him.
He's not "interesting" or "heterodox," he's a fascist who hates capitalism and loves the murder of innocent American citizens.
He's not "interesting" or "heterodox," he's a fascist who hates capitalism and loves the murder of innocent American citizens.
The far right's smartest people are deeply ignorant.
Here's Curtis Yarvin showing he knows nothing about the history of civil disobedience.
Henry David Thoreau invented the term in 1849, to describe practices that had existed long before that.
Here's Curtis Yarvin showing he knows nothing about the history of civil disobedience.
Henry David Thoreau invented the term in 1849, to describe practices that had existed long before that.
February 1, 2026 at 9:00 PM
The far right's smartest people are deeply ignorant.
Here's Curtis Yarvin showing he knows nothing about the history of civil disobedience.
Henry David Thoreau invented the term in 1849, to describe practices that had existed long before that.
Here's Curtis Yarvin showing he knows nothing about the history of civil disobedience.
Henry David Thoreau invented the term in 1849, to describe practices that had existed long before that.
None of us has direct access to reality. We're discrete entities limited by our size, placement, and longevity. You can be in the same room as someone else and they can remember what happened totally differently
There's no better illustration of this than The Dress, a 2015 meme.
There's no better illustration of this than The Dress, a 2015 meme.
January 31, 2026 at 10:06 PM
None of us has direct access to reality. We're discrete entities limited by our size, placement, and longevity. You can be in the same room as someone else and they can remember what happened totally differently
There's no better illustration of this than The Dress, a 2015 meme.
There's no better illustration of this than The Dress, a 2015 meme.
Right-wing people have very little knowledge of the center-to-left political ecosystem. They think anyone to the left of Joe Manchin is a "Marxist."
Here's Laura Ingraham claiming that @profgalloway.com loves Mao and Lenin.
Video via @mmfa.bsky.social: www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/mag...
Here's Laura Ingraham claiming that @profgalloway.com loves Mao and Lenin.
Video via @mmfa.bsky.social: www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/mag...
January 31, 2026 at 2:28 AM
Right-wing people have very little knowledge of the center-to-left political ecosystem. They think anyone to the left of Joe Manchin is a "Marxist."
Here's Laura Ingraham claiming that @profgalloway.com loves Mao and Lenin.
Video via @mmfa.bsky.social: www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/mag...
Here's Laura Ingraham claiming that @profgalloway.com loves Mao and Lenin.
Video via @mmfa.bsky.social: www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/mag...
And as for the actual positions of the candidates, Harris had majority support for almost everything she did. Trump didn't. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...
January 30, 2026 at 12:31 PM
And as for the actual positions of the candidates, Harris had majority support for almost everything she did. Trump didn't. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...
Steven Pinker gets a lot wrong, but as a political analyst, he's one of the most inaccurate.
Anyone can read poll crosstabs and see that Democratic voters are angry at the party for not fighting hard enough.
Dems are as disliked by their voters as Republicans were in 2015.
Anyone can read poll crosstabs and see that Democratic voters are angry at the party for not fighting hard enough.
Dems are as disliked by their voters as Republicans were in 2015.
January 30, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Steven Pinker gets a lot wrong, but as a political analyst, he's one of the most inaccurate.
Anyone can read poll crosstabs and see that Democratic voters are angry at the party for not fighting hard enough.
Dems are as disliked by their voters as Republicans were in 2015.
Anyone can read poll crosstabs and see that Democratic voters are angry at the party for not fighting hard enough.
Dems are as disliked by their voters as Republicans were in 2015.
🧵 Over the next while, I will be releasing memes of historic Americans whose words about fascism have new meaning in our present moment. Please share quotes if so inclined.
First featured: Langston Hughes who said the following at the Third U.S. Congress Against War and Fascism, January 3, 1936.
First featured: Langston Hughes who said the following at the Third U.S. Congress Against War and Fascism, January 3, 1936.
January 29, 2026 at 8:19 AM
🧵 Over the next while, I will be releasing memes of historic Americans whose words about fascism have new meaning in our present moment. Please share quotes if so inclined.
First featured: Langston Hughes who said the following at the Third U.S. Congress Against War and Fascism, January 3, 1936.
First featured: Langston Hughes who said the following at the Third U.S. Congress Against War and Fascism, January 3, 1936.
In which a Bezos Post conservative columnist urges a parody account to be more civil.
January 28, 2026 at 11:11 PM
In which a Bezos Post conservative columnist urges a parody account to be more civil.
Trump has been an extraordinarily effective advocate for American fascism because his vaudeville demeanor and marketing sense make him trustable to people who do not follow politics.
But some people, like Tim Pool, have deep sexual fetishes to be dominated. There are millions like him.
But some people, like Tim Pool, have deep sexual fetishes to be dominated. There are millions like him.
January 28, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Trump has been an extraordinarily effective advocate for American fascism because his vaudeville demeanor and marketing sense make him trustable to people who do not follow politics.
But some people, like Tim Pool, have deep sexual fetishes to be dominated. There are millions like him.
But some people, like Tim Pool, have deep sexual fetishes to be dominated. There are millions like him.
This meme never misses.
January 27, 2026 at 7:54 PM
This meme never misses.