Barbara 𓅄
@witterina.bsky.social
Incense and peppermints, the color of time
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
We're seeing a massive institutional deportation and state violence apparatus being built and it honestly feels like people dont grasp the sheer scale of it and what already is in place. For every horrific video of masked feds kidnapping people there are so many people pushing paper to help.
NEW: ICE is planning to build a shadow deportation network in Texas. A proposal outlines a 24/7 transport operation run by armed contractors—turning Texas into the logistical backbone of an industrialized deportation machine.
My latest @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
My latest @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
October 30, 2025 at 6:06 PM
We're seeing a massive institutional deportation and state violence apparatus being built and it honestly feels like people dont grasp the sheer scale of it and what already is in place. For every horrific video of masked feds kidnapping people there are so many people pushing paper to help.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
The first African author to win the Nobel in literature, Soyinka has been an outspoken critic of governments worldwide.
Trump administration strips Nigerian Nobel winner Wole Soyinka of US visa
The first African author to win the Nobel in literature, Soyinka has been an outspoken critic of governments worldwide.
bit.ly
October 28, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The first African author to win the Nobel in literature, Soyinka has been an outspoken critic of governments worldwide.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
And here I was, thinking it was just known as “breaking the law.”
You’re telling me there’s a *strategy* here? Golly, I’m such a rube.
You’re telling me there’s a *strategy* here? Golly, I’m such a rube.
By proceeding with the demolition of the White House East Wing before seeking approval from federal agencies for a new ballroom, President Donald Trump forced the issue. It's a strategy known as "stake-driving."
How Trump Demolished the White House East Wing
By putting the demolition of the East Wing before the necessary approvals for his ballroom, President Donald Trump borrowed a tactic known as “stake-driving” to force an outcome.
bloom.bg
October 26, 2025 at 2:05 PM
And here I was, thinking it was just known as “breaking the law.”
You’re telling me there’s a *strategy* here? Golly, I’m such a rube.
You’re telling me there’s a *strategy* here? Golly, I’m such a rube.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
rarely have I more acutely felt the dynamic by which Dems are held responsible for the rhetoric of every random left-leaning person on the internet and Republicans are not even asked to answer for their own personal words
September 11, 2025 at 1:25 AM
rarely have I more acutely felt the dynamic by which Dems are held responsible for the rhetoric of every random left-leaning person on the internet and Republicans are not even asked to answer for their own personal words
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
And now at the top of the hour, the least surprising news imaginable.
ICE prosecutor runs white supremacist social media account, report says
An account on Elon Musk’s X platform has been linked to an ICE employee spouting ‘blatantly racist and anti-immigrant views’
www.independent.co.uk
July 14, 2025 at 5:53 PM
And now at the top of the hour, the least surprising news imaginable.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Have you ever wondered why Trump & MAGA always lie so wildly about numbers without a care in the world? Watch Angela Lansbury explain the reason. It’s crucial to understanding Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone” tactic — and it’s a lesson you’ll never forget once you’ve seen it.
My favorite scene from The Manchurian Candidate brilliantly explains why liars like Trump don’t care about the wild numbers they fabricate. This was the basis of McCarthyism in a nutshell:
May 20, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Have you ever wondered why Trump & MAGA always lie so wildly about numbers without a care in the world? Watch Angela Lansbury explain the reason. It’s crucial to understanding Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone” tactic — and it’s a lesson you’ll never forget once you’ve seen it.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis.
It's surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.
It's surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.
May 10, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis.
It's surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.
It's surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
On 4 May 1961, the Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C., in two buses and headed to New Orleans.
They faced violence, resistance, and arrests.
This interracial group aimed to challenge segregation in interstate bus travel and public facilities. 💙
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
They faced violence, resistance, and arrests.
This interracial group aimed to challenge segregation in interstate bus travel and public facilities. 💙
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
May 4, 2025 at 9:28 PM
On 4 May 1961, the Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C., in two buses and headed to New Orleans.
They faced violence, resistance, and arrests.
This interracial group aimed to challenge segregation in interstate bus travel and public facilities. 💙
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
They faced violence, resistance, and arrests.
This interracial group aimed to challenge segregation in interstate bus travel and public facilities. 💙
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
one thing that reporting this and every other story on DOGE that cannot be overstated is the degree to which @wired.com’s reporting has been positively vital and opens doors for others when we do our own work. eternally grateful to them for the amazing body of work
If there’s one thing I’ve taken away from reporting on the current DOGE collection of govt data, it is that the people who’ve previously spent their careers carefully handling this information believe there is almost no limit to how it could be abused (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
American Panopticon
The Trump administration is pooling data on Americans. Experts fear what comes next.
www.theatlantic.com
April 27, 2025 at 8:36 PM
one thing that reporting this and every other story on DOGE that cannot be overstated is the degree to which @wired.com’s reporting has been positively vital and opens doors for others when we do our own work. eternally grateful to them for the amazing body of work
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Modern journalism's instinct/desire/strategy to lazily accept and pass on, without further interrogation, the nonsense counterfactual framing of whoever is acting in the worst faith, is a huge part of why we are here.
why is *every* newspaper/programme running with the headline "tariffs are paused" when they haven't been.
What's happened is that every country (except China) gets a flat rate of 10% for 90 days.
What's happened is that every country (except China) gets a flat rate of 10% for 90 days.
April 10, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Modern journalism's instinct/desire/strategy to lazily accept and pass on, without further interrogation, the nonsense counterfactual framing of whoever is acting in the worst faith, is a huge part of why we are here.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Keep this in mind: The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was carried out by executive order—from the President of the United States.
🧵
🧵
March 13, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Keep this in mind: The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was carried out by executive order—from the President of the United States.
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Can someone who knows immigration law explain what sort of legal process would normally have to be followed to “revoke” somebody’s green card?
March 10, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Can someone who knows immigration law explain what sort of legal process would normally have to be followed to “revoke” somebody’s green card?
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Jesus Christ. Read this thread about the young vandals looting the Social Security database, having no concept of what they're doing, no idea how close they are to destroying the lives of millions who have no other source of income.
Where in the af is Congress? These are acts of an invading army.
Where in the af is Congress? These are acts of an invading army.
Extraordinary filing released tonight in a case about access to Social Security data from Tiffany Flick, fmr chief of staff to Acting Commissioner Michelle King. It details the unusual urgency the DOGE boys had in getting to SSA data & what they were looking for:
democracyforward.org/wp-content/u...
democracyforward.org/wp-content/u...
March 9, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Jesus Christ. Read this thread about the young vandals looting the Social Security database, having no concept of what they're doing, no idea how close they are to destroying the lives of millions who have no other source of income.
Where in the af is Congress? These are acts of an invading army.
Where in the af is Congress? These are acts of an invading army.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Yeah. This is the other point that's so important. We *need* decentralized systems across the board to protect democracy. We need people to have the power to control their online experiences, rather than oligarchs.
Mike Masnick is exactly correct. And it’s not just that tech journalism has to be about democracy these days, but building tech products has to be, too.
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
/cc @mmasnick.bsky.social
www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w...
/cc @mmasnick.bsky.social
Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)
While political reporters are still doing their view-from-nowhere “Democrats say this, Republicans say that” dance, tech and legal journalists have been watching an unfortunately recogn…
www.techdirt.com
March 5, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Yeah. This is the other point that's so important. We *need* decentralized systems across the board to protect democracy. We need people to have the power to control their online experiences, rather than oligarchs.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Does this feel like the first five minutes of a zombie movie, where everything is not quite right with the neighbors but the news hasn't said anything yet
March 2, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Does this feel like the first five minutes of a zombie movie, where everything is not quite right with the neighbors but the news hasn't said anything yet
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Now the whole country gets the experience of what it's like when private equity buys the place you work
February 4, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Now the whole country gets the experience of what it's like when private equity buys the place you work
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
During the Minneapolis uprising that followed George Floyd's murder in 2020, an American Indian Movement patrol caught an SUV full of Wisconsin teenagers who'd driven into the city to set fires and make trouble, and they made them all call their moms. Anyway, just thinking of that for no reason.
February 3, 2025 at 2:41 AM
During the Minneapolis uprising that followed George Floyd's murder in 2020, an American Indian Movement patrol caught an SUV full of Wisconsin teenagers who'd driven into the city to set fires and make trouble, and they made them all call their moms. Anyway, just thinking of that for no reason.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
people say “you need to start living in the real world” but they forget that the real world includes lupines and lightning bugs and ginger beer and starlight and sea coasts and Renoir paintings and Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos and fog banks and foxes playing in snow.
December 5, 2024 at 3:45 PM
people say “you need to start living in the real world” but they forget that the real world includes lupines and lightning bugs and ginger beer and starlight and sea coasts and Renoir paintings and Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos and fog banks and foxes playing in snow.
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
Reup: After I noted that 5 GOP Senators have suggested Trump's appointees should get FBI background checks, a bunch of people said, "They need to demand them."
My response? Make them. Get on the phone now.
www.emptywheel.net/2024/11/27/o...
My response? Make them. Get on the phone now.
www.emptywheel.net/2024/11/27/o...
On Background Checks for Trump Appointees, The Magic Number Is "Four" - emptywheel
On any given issue requiring Senate involvement, four Republican Senators joining with the Democrats have the ability to block Trump's worst attacks on the United States.
www.emptywheel.net
November 27, 2024 at 6:32 PM
Reup: After I noted that 5 GOP Senators have suggested Trump's appointees should get FBI background checks, a bunch of people said, "They need to demand them."
My response? Make them. Get on the phone now.
www.emptywheel.net/2024/11/27/o...
My response? Make them. Get on the phone now.
www.emptywheel.net/2024/11/27/o...
Reposted by Barbara 𓅄
The biggest superpower in a autocracy are saying the words "no, I won't comply."
We outnumber them. Autocrats require constant effort to maintain control. Forcing them to expend effort to enforce compliance is our asymmetrical advantage.
We outnumber them. Autocrats require constant effort to maintain control. Forcing them to expend effort to enforce compliance is our asymmetrical advantage.
November 17, 2024 at 3:44 PM
The biggest superpower in a autocracy are saying the words "no, I won't comply."
We outnumber them. Autocrats require constant effort to maintain control. Forcing them to expend effort to enforce compliance is our asymmetrical advantage.
We outnumber them. Autocrats require constant effort to maintain control. Forcing them to expend effort to enforce compliance is our asymmetrical advantage.