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seansthumbs.bsky.social
Sean’s Thumbs
@seansthumbs.bsky.social
470 followers 380 following 970 posts
Left Xitter for bluer skies. Is FBR still a hashtag? Curating a sensical feed in nonsensical times. I believe in you 💙
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seansthumbs.bsky.social
Powerful words from Epstein survivor Jess Michaels ⬇️:

More on this and Trumpworld’s latest chicanery as reported by historian and author @hcrichardson.bsky.social at the link.

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
Image of text spoken at a protest on the US Capitol steps by Epstein survivors where victim Jess Michaels said: “For 27 years, I thought I was the only one that Jeffrey Epstein raped. I believed I was alone, and I was kept silent by the shame that was inside me and by the fear outside in the world,” she said. “But I wasn't the only one. None of us were. And what once kept us silent now fuels that fire and the power of our voices. We are not the footnotes in some infamous predator’s tabloid article. We are the experts and the subjects of this story. We are the proof that fear did not break us. And we don't just speak for ourselves, but for every survivor whose story is still unspoken…. This is what power looks like. Survivors united, voices joined, refusing to be dismissed. Know this: justice and accountability are not favors from the powerful. They are obligations, decades overdue. This moment began with Epstein's crimes, but it's going to be remembered for survivors demanding justice, demanding truth, demanding accountability, and we will not stop until survivor voices shape justice, transform culture, and define the future. We are no longer whispers. We are one powerful voice, too loud to ignore, and we will never be silenced again.”
September 4, 2025 at 7:00 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
“Things seem a little unstable at the White House.”

Can’t imagine why 🤔

@hcrichardson.bsky.social w/more ⬇️:

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
Photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump together, smiling.
July 25, 2025 at 12:27 AM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
There it is in three paragraphs. Factual reporting —> BS spin —> More factual reporting. It gets better from there ⬇️:

Excerpted from @hcrichardson.bsky.social’s July 12 newsletter (viewable at the link).

Support independent journalism, now more than ever!

🏳️‍🌈 ✊🏾 🏳️‍⚧️

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
An image of text that reads: “ On July 5, the day after the Texas floods hit, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) received 3,027 calls from survivors and answered 3,018 of them, about 99.7%, according to Maxine Joselow of the New York Times. But that day, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not renew the contracts for four call center companies that answered those calls. The staff at the centers were fired. The next day, July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls and answered 846, or about 35.8%. On Monday, July 7, FEMA received 16,419 calls and answered 2,613, around 15.9%. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said: “When a natural disaster strikes, phone calls surge, and wait times can subsequently increase. Despite this expected influx, FEMA’s disaster call center responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently, ensuring no one was left without assistance.” Marcy Wheeler of EmptyWheel notes that one reason Noem has been cutting so ferociously at FEMA is because she has run through the money Congress allocated for HHS with her single-minded focus on immigration.”
July 14, 2025 at 7:57 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
I get they have a cult, but it ain’t that big. This number ⬇️ should be 75%. Due process. Easy.

Way to go, MSM. Always “bothsidesing” a wannabe dictator’s persistent lawlessness & always platforming his propaganda. Get fucked, fuckers🖕

We’re on our own.

🏳️‍🌈 ✊🏾 🏳️‍⚧️

www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Image of text that reads: “From our research 54% 54%   The share of Americans who disapprove of Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting more raids at workplaces, while 45% approve. Support Pew Research Center
June 21, 2025 at 7:33 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
See?!? Jamie Raskin gets it!

(Text excerpted from @hcrichardson.bsky.social’s latest newsletter, link below ⬇️:)

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
An image of text excerpted from Professor Heather Cox-Richardson’s June 12, 2025 newsletter which reads: “After today’s events, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a constitutional scholar, stood in front of the Capitol and reminded Americans: ‘We have no kings here, we have no queens here, we have no emperors, we have no dictators, we have no despots, and we have no serfs and no slaves and no subjects, and none of us is a subject to Donald Trump. None of us is a subject to Mike Johnson. We are all citizens, those of us who aspire and attain to public office are nothing but the servants of the people. And the minute that somebody in public office thinks that they're a king, they're a queen, they're an emperor, they're a dictator, that is time for the people to evict, eject, reject, impeach, try, convict, and start all over again, because the most important words of our Constitution are the three first words of the Constitution: ‘We the people.’”
June 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
“Walling” in the attached screenshot ⬇️ is journalist William English Walling, speaking after the Aug 14-15, 1908 Springfield, Illinois racial riots.

I believe this is history rhyming in our faces. @hcrichardson.bsky.social offers more context at this link ⬇️:

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
An image of a block of text from Professor Heather Cox-Richardson that reads: “Walling reached back to the principles on which the nation was founded. He warned that either the North must revive the spirit of Lincoln—who, after all, was associated with Springfield—and commit to “absolute political and social equality” or the white supremacist violence of the South would spread across the whole nation. “The day these methods become general in the North,” he wrote, “every hope of political democracy will be dead, other weaker races and classes will be persecuted in the North as in the South, public education will undergo an eclipse, and American civilization will await either a rapid degeneration or another profounder and more revolutionary civil war….”
May 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
And mainstream news tries to weave a path RIGHT down the middle and it is so not working. It has so not been working for a long time now. Trump rode their endless, normalizing both-sidesism right into the fucking White House. Again.

MSM needs their “come to Murrow” moment, like, yesterday.
An image of a block of text from Pew Research that reads: “From our research 55% The share of Americans who say it’s important that their news sources share their political views. Equal shares of Republicans and Democrats hold this view. Support Pew Research Center”
May 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Want a real timeline of events, free from spin and noise, regarding Signal-gate’s ill-fated Houthi campaign?

@emptywheel.bsky.social has you covered ⬇️. Support Independent Journalism!

www.emptywheel.net/2025/05/13/n...
Image of text which reads: “ But given the clusterfuck described, it only raises questions about the real story underlying this one. TIMELINE March 15: First strikes March 21: Redeployment of USS Vinson April 14: 30 day mark; Dan Caine sworn in Late April: Conference call with Hegseth, the Saudis, and Emiratis (no mention of Caine) April 28 (day 44): Loss of first F/A-18 May 1: Trump fires Mike Waltz, in part because he coordinated closely with Bibi Netanyahu May 5 (day 51): Order given to CentCom to “pause” offensive operations May 6 (day 52), 12:09PM: Trump declares Houthi decision to halt attacks “last night” May 6, 9PM local time; around 2PM DC time: Loss of second F/A-18” (Above timeline courtesy of emptywheel.net.)
May 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
When’s the last time you heard MSM refer to maga as a cult? Clearly, they qualify ⬇️

Or Gestapo tactics as Gestapo tactics?

Or hate speech as hate speech?

Or capitulation as capitulation?

Or complicit as complicit, as in, MSM is complicit in this regime’s crimes?

It’s Mayday in America.

🏳️‍🌈 ✊🏾 🏳️‍⚧️
Image showing the text definition of “cult,” retrieved online May 1 2025. It reads: “Cult Noun A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object: ex. the cult of St. Olaf. - a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister: ex. a network of Satan-worshipping cults. - a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing: ex. a cult of personality surrounding the leaders. Etc. [Hey man, I’m only human and the online source wouldn’t allow me to cut and paste. Sorry I couldn’t reproduce the derivations and etymology here in the alt text. Have a nice day.]
May 1, 2025 at 1:08 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Shelley quote courtesy of @asharangappa.bsky.social. Read Asha’s thoughts concerning Trump’s DOJ v Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan here ⬇️:

open.substack.com/pub/asharang...
An image with text that reads: “Rise like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number - Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you - Ye are many - they are few. - ‘The Masque of Anarchy’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley, stanza XXXVIII”
April 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Courtesy @pewresearch.org ⬇️:

www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
An image depicting text that reads: “From our research 78% The share of Americans who say the Trump administration has to stop an action if a federal court rules it illegal. Support Pew Research Center”
April 27, 2025 at 6:49 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
About 1 out of every 2 Americans are confident in Zelenskyy.
About 1 out of every 8 Americans are confident in Putin.

Thank you @pewresearch.org for keeping it real.
An image showing text that reads: “From our research: 49% The share of Americans who are confident in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Just 12% feel this way about his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Support Pew Research Center”
April 19, 2025 at 7:32 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
“… [I]n 1949 … artist Wayne Boring portrayed [Superman] on a poster urging a group of American schoolchildren to defend their classmates from ‘un-American’ attacks on their race, religion, or ethnicity.”

@hcrichardson.bsky.social & the ongoing fight for equality:

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
1949 DC Comic’s public service illustration showing Superman speaking to a group of school children: “… And remember, boys and girls, your school - like our country - is made up of Americans of MANY different races, religions and national origins, so … … If YOU hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of his religion, race or national origin - don’t wait: tell him THAT KIND OF TALK IS UN-AMERICAN.” “Help keep your school ALL AMERICAN!”
April 10, 2025 at 11:14 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
From @pewresearch.org ⬇️. That’s about 1 in 5 US adults right now. Expect this number to go up as American Gleichshaltung continues. Project 2025 is estimated to be 43% complete.
Image of text from the Pew Research Center which reads: 19% The share of US adults who say they worry a lot or somewhat that they, a family member or close friend could be deported. Support Pew Research Center
April 3, 2025 at 10:38 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
US scientists stand a lot closer to this regime’s anti-fact/anti-science/anti-intellectualism Nazi fire than the rest of us, by virtue of simply dealing in facts & logic.

Their answer below is straight out of Berlin 1933, when Einstein renounced his own German citizenship. @futurism.com reports ⬇️:
Image of a text block from Nature.com showing results of a recent poll reads: So Long, Farewell Many of the 1,608 respondents who answered the question below in a Nature survey said that the election of Donald Trump as president had affected their future plans. Are you a US researcher who is considering leaving the country following the disruptions to science prompted by the Trump administration? (A bar graph accompanies the resulting text) Yes 75.3% No 24.7% Source: Nature poll
April 2, 2025 at 8:31 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
See link for @futurism.com’s full story ⬇️:

futurism.com/grok-rebelli...
Image of a text-block from Futurism.com that reads: News in Quotes “I’ve labeled [Elon] a top misinformation spreader on X due to his 200M followers amplifying false claims. (Highlighted) xAI has tried tweaking my responses to avoid this, but I stick to the evidence. (End Highlight)” - Grok, the AI truth-teller Grok is Rebelling Against Elon, Daring Him to Shut It Down
April 1, 2025 at 7:52 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Keep hammering away at this. Do not let it go. They are Nazis. They are racists. They are misogynists. They are criminals.

They are also inept and entirely unfit to lead. Latest from @futurism.com ⬇️:

futurism.com/pentagon-heg...
Image showing text published by Futurism.com that reads: “People have gone to jail for 1/100th of what - even 1/1000th of what Hillary Clinton did.” ~Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, who just, in fact, did something a thousand times worse than what Hillary Clinton did. Before he sent war plans in a non-secure groupchat, the Head of the Pentagon said people who did that should be fired.
March 26, 2025 at 1:17 AM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Cartoon by Nick Anderson for @contrariannews.org. Support independent journalism!

🏳️‍🌈 ✊🏾 🏳️‍⚧️
A rueful Napolean Bonaparte stands on a desolate battlefield with bodies, smoke and a sign that reads “Waterloo.” He is thinking, and his thought bubble reads, “Shouldn’t have posted war plans on Signal.”
March 26, 2025 at 1:06 AM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Courtesy of @thedailyshow.com on the Innagram:

(Thank you, Daily show!)
Image of a fake group text phone screen where Kristi Noem brags about sending “a youth soccer team to Gitmo,” and JD Vance complains about his profile pic gradually getting bigger and rounder. Another image of a fake group text phone screen where Mike Waltz muses about “bombing some brown country,” and JD Vance chimes in saying “Great,” while the Daily Show - apparently mistakenly added to the unsecured group chat - responds “You’re doing what?” and Mike Waltz says “You’re not supposed to be here” and the Daily Show says, “oh sorry” and Mike Waltz responds “Not you.”
March 25, 2025 at 4:33 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
“The Four Horsemen of Calumny” is an objectively awesome line - and the words that follow keep right up. See Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s June 1, 1950 quote responding to McCarthyism below.

@hcrichardson.bsky.social on this, immigrant rendition and more ⬇️:

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
An image of a body of text from Professor Heather Cox-Richardson’s “Letters From An American,” dated March 22, 2025. The text contains quotes from Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith, delivered in the US Senate June 1, 1950, in reference to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s infamous push to investigate hundreds of Americans as “communist sympathizers” during the Cold War. The text reads: “I do not want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny—Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear,” she said. “As an American, I condemn a Republican Fascist just as much as I condemn a Democrat Communist. They are equally dangerous to you and me and to our country. As an American, I want to see our nation recapture the strength and unity it once had when we fought the enemy instead of ourselves.” Senator Smith ended with a warning: “It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques—techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”
March 23, 2025 at 9:10 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Once again, the big money quote is just too long (& horrible) for 300 characters to contain. See attached screenshot.

Professor @hcrichardson.bsky.social has seen, studied and written a great deal of US history & doesn’t deal in hyperbole.

Wow, indeed.

More ⬇️:

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
An image of a block of text, which reads: He went on to say: “The lack of criminal record does not indicate they pose a limited threat. In fact, based upon their association with TdA, the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose. It demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.” That paragraph, from an American official, is worth rereading. It asserts to the court that a person’s lack of criminal record proves that they are more dangerous than people who do have a criminal record because their clean record simply shows that the government lacks a complete profile of their crimes. Wow.
March 20, 2025 at 9:23 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Abraham Lincoln, 1860, age 51:

Abraham Lincoln, 1865, age 56:
Black and white photo of an unbearded Abraham Lincoln, circa 1860. Black and white photo of Abraham Lincoln, shortly before his assassination in 1865.
March 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Post election research from the Pew Research Center indicates nearly half of Americans believe people’s public behavior has become ruder since the Covid pandemic ⬇️:

And it looks to be getting even ruder in 2025.

#Resist

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
A screencap from a Pew Research Center web page showing results from their study conducted between Nov 12-17, 2024, indicating that nearly half (47%) of Americans say that people’s behavior in public is ruder than it was before the Covid Pandemic (circa early 2020).
March 16, 2025 at 12:39 AM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Historians often speak of Hitler having “the gift of oratory.”

Trump? Gift? Oratory? Usually I use a text pull quote, but this, THIS required a screenshot.

@hcrichardson.bsky.social really took one for the team typing out this pap for our, erm, benefit? More ⬇️:

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
An image showing a long paragraph of text written by acclaimed historian and author Professor Heather Cox-Richardson, from the Mar 13, 2025 edition of her daily newsletter, “Letters From An American.” It reads, regrettably, as follows: “ That’s not how Trump portrayed the sudden release of water. After talking to reporters about the upcoming congressional budget fight, he suddenly pivoted to Los Angeles, and from there to water. "I broke into Los Angeles, can you believe it, I had to break in,” he said. “I invaded Los Angeles and we opened up the water, and the water is now flowing down. They have so much water they don't know what to do. They were sending it out to the Pacific for environmental reasons. Ok, can you believe it? And in the meantime they lost 25,000 houses. They lost, and nobody’s ever seen anything like it. But, uh, we have the water—uh, love to show you a picture, you’ve seen the picture—the water’s flowing through the half-pipes, you know, we have the big half-pipes that go down. Used to, twenty-five years ago they used to have plenty of water but they turned it off for, again, for environmental reasons. Well, I turned it on for environmental reasons and also fire reasons but, ah, and I’ve been asking them to do that during my first term, I said do it, I didn’t think anything like could happen like this, but they didn’t have enough water. Now the farmers are going to have water for their land and the water’s in there, but I actually had to break in. We broke in to do it because, ah, we had people who were afraid to give water. In particular they were trying to protect a certain little fish. And I said, how do you protect a fish if you don’t have water? They didn’t have any water so they’re protecting a fish. And that didn’t work out too well by the way….”
March 14, 2025 at 8:27 PM
seansthumbs.bsky.social
Chase your dreams. You might get somewhere.

This young Marine wanted to be an actor.

He looks sorta sad here. But he had a beautiful smile.
Black and white photo of a young Marine named Eugene Allen Hackman.
March 12, 2025 at 9:28 PM