Benj
@splatterthought.bsky.social
We are contumacious diodes with mercurial biases, and we are transfixed by our borealis.
Reposted by Benj
With a Bitcoin crash wiping out a trillion dollars of value in the past few weeks, the industry is counting on friendly regulators in Washington to give it a boost.
This Commission That Regulates Crypto Could Be Just One Guy: An Industry Lawyer
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is a crypto regulator, and its sole member could be Trump nominee Mike Selig, a former crypto industry lawyer.
interc.pt
November 28, 2025 at 10:31 PM
With a Bitcoin crash wiping out a trillion dollars of value in the past few weeks, the industry is counting on friendly regulators in Washington to give it a boost.
Reposted by Benj
Each July 4th Americans celebrate a successful war of anti-colonial liberation.
Each Thanksgiving Americans celebrate the colonists who occupied North America against the will of the original inhabitants.
The rest of the year is spent not thinking about the tense relationship between those 2 things.
Each Thanksgiving Americans celebrate the colonists who occupied North America against the will of the original inhabitants.
The rest of the year is spent not thinking about the tense relationship between those 2 things.
November 28, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Each July 4th Americans celebrate a successful war of anti-colonial liberation.
Each Thanksgiving Americans celebrate the colonists who occupied North America against the will of the original inhabitants.
The rest of the year is spent not thinking about the tense relationship between those 2 things.
Each Thanksgiving Americans celebrate the colonists who occupied North America against the will of the original inhabitants.
The rest of the year is spent not thinking about the tense relationship between those 2 things.
Reposted by Benj
Weird how all of Trump’s political allies need pardons to avoid long prison sentences, maybe our media should ever talk about that
November 28, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Weird how all of Trump’s political allies need pardons to avoid long prison sentences, maybe our media should ever talk about that
Reposted by Benj
DOJ press release from 2024:
Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms Offenses
Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms Offenses
Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms Offenses
The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, 55, also known as JOH, was sentenced today to 540 months in prison and 60 months of supervised release for cocaine importation and related weapons offenses. The former two-term president was in office until weeks before his extradition to the United States in April 2022. Hernández was convicted on March 8 following a
www.justice.gov
November 28, 2025 at 9:21 PM
DOJ press release from 2024:
Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms Offenses
Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute More Than 400 Tons of Cocaine and Related Firearms Offenses
Reposted by Benj
America has gone full Nazi and it’s time to call out those accountable: Democrats not getting on board purging around a dozen trans athletes from the NCAA
—Tomorrow in The NY Times from some tedious twat
—Tomorrow in The NY Times from some tedious twat
November 28, 2025 at 6:54 PM
America has gone full Nazi and it’s time to call out those accountable: Democrats not getting on board purging around a dozen trans athletes from the NCAA
—Tomorrow in The NY Times from some tedious twat
—Tomorrow in The NY Times from some tedious twat
Reposted by Benj
Police didn’t believe a 12-year-old who said she'd been raped. Then she hit record.
Police didn’t believe a 12-year-old who said she'd been raped. Then she hit record.
“If I didn’t find the evidence for them, I wasn’t too sure they would find it.”
www.motherjones.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Police didn’t believe a 12-year-old who said she'd been raped. Then she hit record.
Reposted by Benj
Police raided the wrong home, killed an innocent woman, then planted marijuana in her basement to cover up their mistake.
Episode One: Dirty Business
The Atlanta narcotics unit’s deadly raid on 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.
interc.pt
November 28, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Police raided the wrong home, killed an innocent woman, then planted marijuana in her basement to cover up their mistake.
Reposted by Benj
Each day we gain a better perspective on how misguided, distortionary, driven-by-racism and twisted policy theologies (American exceptionalism) was the decision to respond after 9/11 with a "war on terror" and then to make that for decades a central framework for US national security policy.
November 28, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Each day we gain a better perspective on how misguided, distortionary, driven-by-racism and twisted policy theologies (American exceptionalism) was the decision to respond after 9/11 with a "war on terror" and then to make that for decades a central framework for US national security policy.
Reposted by Benj
It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
November 28, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
Reposted by Benj
Oh nothing. Just a major conservative activist, former staffer for Chuck Grassley and a former clerk for Justice Neil Gorsuch calling me a "retarded pussy." Fun stuff on X, the everything site.
November 28, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Oh nothing. Just a major conservative activist, former staffer for Chuck Grassley and a former clerk for Justice Neil Gorsuch calling me a "retarded pussy." Fun stuff on X, the everything site.
Reposted by Benj
A reminder that the current SECDEF caught the eye of the president by championing the pardoning of American war criminals — men whose own units testified against them, and who were convicted by military juries
He should never have been nominated for, let alone confirmed in, this job
He should never have been nominated for, let alone confirmed in, this job
November 28, 2025 at 7:28 PM
A reminder that the current SECDEF caught the eye of the president by championing the pardoning of American war criminals — men whose own units testified against them, and who were convicted by military juries
He should never have been nominated for, let alone confirmed in, this job
He should never have been nominated for, let alone confirmed in, this job
Reposted by Benj
Look forward to Bari Weiss asking "has identity politics gone too far?" while studiously ignoring the most virulent identity politics driving American government
A reminder for those who are not aware: "remigration" is the process of deporting all non-white people from a country. It includes citizens and is, by definition, ethnic cleansing.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
November 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Look forward to Bari Weiss asking "has identity politics gone too far?" while studiously ignoring the most virulent identity politics driving American government
Reposted by Benj
Broke: Department of Defense
Woke: Department of War
Bespoke: Department of War Crimes
Woke: Department of War
Bespoke: Department of War Crimes
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Broke: Department of Defense
Woke: Department of War
Bespoke: Department of War Crimes
Woke: Department of War
Bespoke: Department of War Crimes
Reposted by Benj
6/ 🚨 Per CURRENT and former US officials, there are strong reasons to believe some people on board the Sept 2 boat were people being trafficked.
(That is consistent with prior NYT reporting)
(That is consistent with prior NYT reporting)
November 28, 2025 at 6:32 PM
6/ 🚨 Per CURRENT and former US officials, there are strong reasons to believe some people on board the Sept 2 boat were people being trafficked.
(That is consistent with prior NYT reporting)
(That is consistent with prior NYT reporting)
Reposted by Benj
4/ Hiding the evidence from the American public:
"Later in the day, President Donald Trump released a redacted 29-second surveillance drone video showing the attack. The video does not include any footage of the subsequent strike on the survivors."
And to Congress? ...
"Later in the day, President Donald Trump released a redacted 29-second surveillance drone video showing the attack. The video does not include any footage of the subsequent strike on the survivors."
And to Congress? ...
November 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
4/ Hiding the evidence from the American public:
"Later in the day, President Donald Trump released a redacted 29-second surveillance drone video showing the attack. The video does not include any footage of the subsequent strike on the survivors."
And to Congress? ...
"Later in the day, President Donald Trump released a redacted 29-second surveillance drone video showing the attack. The video does not include any footage of the subsequent strike on the survivors."
And to Congress? ...
Reposted by Benj
3/ "Even if the U.S. were at war with the traffickers, an order to kill all the boat’s occupants if they were no longer able to fight 'would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime,' said Huntley, now director of the national security law program at Georgetown Law."
November 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
3/ "Even if the U.S. were at war with the traffickers, an order to kill all the boat’s occupants if they were no longer able to fight 'would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime,' said Huntley, now director of the national security law program at Georgetown Law."
Reposted by Benj
2/ "Because there is no legitimate war between the two sides, killing any of the men in the boats 'amounts to murder,' said Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces for seven years at the height of the U.S. counterterrorism campaign."
November 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
2/ "Because there is no legitimate war between the two sides, killing any of the men in the boats 'amounts to murder,' said Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces for seven years at the height of the U.S. counterterrorism campaign."
Reposted by Benj
Unsettling how much "the president wants to exploit this act of violence, it's not the type he actively encourages" determines the level of public attention.
Political violence Trump treats as good, media mostly shrugs. Political violence he can use for his own ends, tons of media/discourse focus.
Political violence Trump treats as good, media mostly shrugs. Political violence he can use for his own ends, tons of media/discourse focus.
November 28, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Unsettling how much "the president wants to exploit this act of violence, it's not the type he actively encourages" determines the level of public attention.
Political violence Trump treats as good, media mostly shrugs. Political violence he can use for his own ends, tons of media/discourse focus.
Political violence Trump treats as good, media mostly shrugs. Political violence he can use for his own ends, tons of media/discourse focus.
Reposted by Benj
"There are costs to performatively deploying members of the military—one of which is the risk of endangering them"
From @juliettekayyem.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
From @juliettekayyem.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
A Terrible and Avoidable Tragedy in D.C.
Trump was warned that members of the military could be attacked.
www.theatlantic.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:55 PM
"There are costs to performatively deploying members of the military—one of which is the risk of endangering them"
From @juliettekayyem.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
From @juliettekayyem.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Benj
It was not a plan but a capitulation document. It did not come together. It was a Russian document presented by some Americans as American. Be clear in your headlines. Help
people see the simple awfulness of things.
people see the simple awfulness of things.
President Trump's proposal to end the war in Ukraine heavily favored Russia in its initial form and included demand that Kyiv has consistently rejected. Here's how the plan came together.
Listen to "The Daily."
Listen to "The Daily."
The Ukrainian Peace Plan Written by … Russia?
President Trump’s proposal to end the war in Ukraine heavily favored Moscow in its initial form and included demands that Kyiv has consistently rejected.
nyti.ms
November 28, 2025 at 3:57 PM
It was not a plan but a capitulation document. It did not come together. It was a Russian document presented by some Americans as American. Be clear in your headlines. Help
people see the simple awfulness of things.
people see the simple awfulness of things.
Reposted by Benj
This is all John Roberts’ fault
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
www.motherjones.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:01 PM
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Reposted by Benj
Insulting to have to point this out, but if you have spent even 30 minutes reading US history, you realize that every decade has been dominated by racist hysteria that the "new" people won't ever fit in.
This exact prejudice would have been applied to Miller's forebears, when they fled pogroms.
This exact prejudice would have been applied to Miller's forebears, when they fled pogroms.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Insulting to have to point this out, but if you have spent even 30 minutes reading US history, you realize that every decade has been dominated by racist hysteria that the "new" people won't ever fit in.
This exact prejudice would have been applied to Miller's forebears, when they fled pogroms.
This exact prejudice would have been applied to Miller's forebears, when they fled pogroms.
Reposted by Benj
New: @theins.press saw the Witkoff-Dmitriev plan six months ago in draft form—except it was all Dmitriev. Bloomberg reports now Dmitriev told Ushakov he’d pass along a Russian plan and the Americans “can present it as their own”: theins.press/en/politics/...
Made in Moscow: The “U.S. peace plan” for Ukraine was substantially formulated months ago by Kremlin operative Kirill Dmitriev
Since it was first published on Nov. 20, the much-discussed 28-point plan for ending the war in Ukraine has borne all the signs of a Kremlin information operation. In fact, many of its most controvers...
theins.press
November 26, 2025 at 1:19 PM
New: @theins.press saw the Witkoff-Dmitriev plan six months ago in draft form—except it was all Dmitriev. Bloomberg reports now Dmitriev told Ushakov he’d pass along a Russian plan and the Americans “can present it as their own”: theins.press/en/politics/...
Reposted by Benj
So denaturalize and deport Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, both of whom are public charges and security risks who undermine domestic tranquility and routinely promote radical foreign ideologies incompatible with America's pluralistic, scholarly, and secular traditions.
Trump: “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries … denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.“
November 28, 2025 at 2:23 PM
So denaturalize and deport Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, both of whom are public charges and security risks who undermine domestic tranquility and routinely promote radical foreign ideologies incompatible with America's pluralistic, scholarly, and secular traditions.
Reposted by Benj
In addition to being vile, he does not understand the roots or nature of American greatness. Nor the story of essentially all of human history. Our differences are the illusion.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
In addition to being vile, he does not understand the roots or nature of American greatness. Nor the story of essentially all of human history. Our differences are the illusion.