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soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Steve Livingston
@soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
94 followers 55 following 170 posts
Frighteningly serious about life and living, passionate and outspoken about politics and spirituality, endlessly grateful for the opportunities, adventures, and relationships that have led me to believe I'm the luckiest guy on the planet.
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soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
This scene of destruction was once the East Wing of the People's House in Washington, DC.

"It won't interfere with the current building. It won't be, it'll be, uh, uh, near it but not touching it. And pays total respect to the existing building which I'm the biggest fan of."

~Err Shitler
October 22, 2025 at 1:34 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Err Shitler: I will end the war in Ukraine on DAY ONE!

Feckless Trumpublicans: Hooray for Peace! Hooray for Shitler!

Reality dwellers: BULLSHIT!

Reality:
August 8, 2025 at 1:38 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
IT'S BIDEN'S FAULT!
May 1, 2025 at 1:04 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Ahem.
April 5, 2025 at 2:03 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Making China great(er) again.
April 4, 2025 at 12:08 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
In the worst of times, everyone can use a little Tucker Love.
April 3, 2025 at 4:20 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Oconee Bells.
March 19, 2025 at 3:28 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
JM: Well let's turn to another point, thank you very much, since you're now off the topic I was raising. Mr. [Nathan] Whitaker [nominee for ambassador to NATO], these five things that the President has done that are so favorable to Putin and so damaging to Ukraine and to our partnership with Europe — do you approve of them? NW: Well, Senator, thanks for that question. I'm just going to have to politely disagree with you on those five things and the way you've framed them. You know, the war in Ukraine would have never happened if President Trump was president in 2022. The war in Ukraine happened because of Joe Biden's weakness. JM: I don't think that was the question I asked, but maybe you could some other time go on television and express those points of view, but do you mind just answering the question I asked? Do you agree with the five things that President Trump has done, starting with him expressing Russian propaganda from the Oval Office? NW: Well, you know, again, as I mentioned to your colleague, I am not here to assign labels. We're in the middle of a very important peace negotiation. JM: Okay, thank you, thank you. I do hope that we have an administration that works to get the very best deal for Ukraine. But what a Russian asset would do would be to work to get the very best deal for Russia, and that appears to be exactly what Donald Trump is trying to accomplish.
March 11, 2025 at 2:38 AM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) schools Trump nominees on how to recognize a Russian asset. Click the picture to access a full transcript.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibfV...
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR) I wanted to ask you, Mr. Landau, is President Trump a Russian asset? DEPUTY SEC. OF STATE NOMINEE CHRISTOPHER LANDAU: Absolutely not, Senator. He's the President of the United States, duly elected by the American people. JM: Well, the reason I ask is that many people back home have been asking me this question. They say if he was an asset, we would see exactly what he's doing now. For example, he proceeded to forward or express from the Oval Office propaganda that has been Russian propaganda—that Ukraine started the war, that Zelensky is a dictator. JM: Second of all, he gave away key things on the negotiating table before the negotiations even started, ensuring the US would absolutely oppose any possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine. JM: Third, he's cut off the armed shipments to Ukraine, completely undermining their ability to resist a massive neighbor next door with short supply lines and huge resources. JM: Fourth, he's undermined the partnership with Europe, which has been essential to security over the last 80 years — a major goal of Putin's. JM: And then, he's done everything to discredit and demean Zelensky on the international stage, including a shameful press conference in which he teamed up with the Vice President to attack Zelensky. JM: I can't imagine that if he was a Russian asset, he could do anything more favorable than these five points. What else could a Russian asset actually possibly do that Trump hasn't yet done? CL: Senator, the President has made it absolutely clear that his top priority is to try to bring peace and end an absolutely savage war. I know you're familiar with the savagery; this is turning into World War I-style trench warfare now in eastern Ukraine. The President is an exceptionally gifted dealmaker. He is probably the only individual in the entire universe that could actually stop this. The President understands as part of his deal— see first comment for remainder of transcript.
March 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
March 5, 2025 at 1:26 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
KRISTEN WELKER: Do you commit to releasing your medical records?

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Sure, I do it all the time. I think I’ve released four of them.

KRISTEN WELKER: Not just a letter though. Your — your full medical report.

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah . . .

tinyurl.com/5afdv7zy
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, I would, and I think anybody should. But I — I mean, according to all the reports, I don’t want to — where’s wood? Is this a wood where I can knock on wood? But my reports are very good, very strong. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Sure, no problem with it. President-elect Donald Trump interviewed by "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker, 12/8/2024
February 28, 2025 at 12:08 AM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
On the left, we have the unelected, foreign-born de facto head of the US federal government lecturing all of the leaders of the executive branch agencies while on the right the figurehead who was installed by a mere plurality of voters demonstrates his level of power and control.
February 27, 2025 at 1:32 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
This will come as no surprise whatsoever: by far the strongest predictor of an agency being targeted by DOGE for layoffs is its perceived liberal ideological leaning. Adam Bonica, Stanford professor of political science (@adambonica.bsky.social) created this graphic from publicly available data.
February 21, 2025 at 1:46 AM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
And now, for something completely different: Mt. Hardy Falls, Middle Prong Wilderness Area, Haywood County NC USA. For now, protected land. Who knows what destructive powers will be unleashed on this precious and beautiful land tomorrow?
February 15, 2025 at 3:16 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
RJ Matson is the editorial cartoonist at Roll Call, a newspaper covering Congress and Capitol Hill, and his cartoons are widely syndicated by caglecartoons.com. RJ is the 2019 winner of the National Press Foundation’s Clifford K. and James T. Berryman Award for Editorial Cartooning.
February 14, 2025 at 2:49 AM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
On Jan 30, Trump's new FCC chief launched an "investigation" into our public radio and public television media, NPR and PBS. Less than two weeks later, PBS's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion staff were dismissed.

www.mediaite.com/news/pbs-cav...
February 11, 2025 at 2:14 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
I follow five thirty eight pretty regularly. Here is their graph of Trump's approval rating. Can you explain how this indicates that his approval rating is "sliding?"
February 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
February 7, 2025 at 2:57 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Harry Litman is former Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States under President Clinton, and teaches Constitutional Law and National Security Law at UCLA School of Law. He is host of the podcast "Talking Feds."

harrylitman.substack.com
January 31, 2025 at 6:37 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
In this artist's depiction of the Laniakea supercluster, the red dot represents our Milky Way galaxy, one among upwards of 100,000 in the supercluster. The average galaxy has more than a hundred million stars.
January 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
It's tempting to blame cultists and knuckledraggers for again awarding the White House to Trump and his cronies, but I blame the legacy media as well, for parroting his false claims until "undecided voters" believed them. Inflation was reduced to near-ideal levels 18 months before the election.
January 15, 2025 at 3:25 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
A graphic illustration of how tragically effective Trumpublican narratives have been.
January 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
I've heard it said that "Nero fiddled while Rome burned." I fear that now, our entire planet is burning, and the incoming "leaders of the Free World" will be doing something considerably more destructive than playing music.
January 11, 2025 at 4:54 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
The Infrastructure Act's subsidy for new EV charging stations will be modified by Executive Order to cover Tesla stations only. The tax credit for EV purchases will also be limited to Tesla only, crippling other brands' EV sales.

Elon Musk will soon become the world's first trillionaire. I predict.
December 19, 2024 at 2:38 PM
soilmaker-steve.bsky.social
Beachfront scene, Morgan City LA
December 12, 2024 at 2:54 PM