Holdfast: Nations At War
January 8, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Holdfast: Nations At War
Vance’s assertion of “absolute immunity” for the ICE agent who killed Good leads to the conclusion that federal agents are being granted legal permission to murder civilians without fear of prosecution. #holdfast
January 10, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Vance’s assertion of “absolute immunity” for the ICE agent who killed Good leads to the conclusion that federal agents are being granted legal permission to murder civilians without fear of prosecution. #holdfast
In a sustained effort to delegitimize past elections and sow doubt about future ones—an established authoritarian tactic—Trump falsely claims he won Minnesota three times. This is objectively untrue. #holdfast
January 10, 2026 at 4:24 PM
In a sustained effort to delegitimize past elections and sow doubt about future ones—an established authoritarian tactic—Trump falsely claims he won Minnesota three times. This is objectively untrue. #holdfast
@pamhemphill53.bsky.social
Thank you, Pam, for your courage and for standing up for history while others try to erase it. #holdfast
Thank you, Pam, for your courage and for standing up for history while others try to erase it. #holdfast
January 7, 2026 at 6:01 PM
@pamhemphill53.bsky.social
Thank you, Pam, for your courage and for standing up for history while others try to erase it. #holdfast
Thank you, Pam, for your courage and for standing up for history while others try to erase it. #holdfast
This is an explicit declaration that binding federal law will be ignored. Treating war-powers constraints as “fake” radically reshapes the presidency into a personal authority and is a fundamental break from the rule of law. #holdfast
January 9, 2026 at 3:20 PM
This is an explicit declaration that binding federal law will be ignored. Treating war-powers constraints as “fake” radically reshapes the presidency into a personal authority and is a fundamental break from the rule of law. #holdfast
Without presenting evidence and contrary to the observable facts available so far, in their typical authoritarian fashion, the White House has cast blame on a purported “sinister left-wing movement” for yesterday’s killing of Renee Nicole Good. #holdfast
January 8, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Without presenting evidence and contrary to the observable facts available so far, in their typical authoritarian fashion, the White House has cast blame on a purported “sinister left-wing movement” for yesterday’s killing of Renee Nicole Good. #holdfast
2/ While this may sound outlandish at first glance, these are real and dangerous scenarios that become conceivable under an authoritarian Trump regime. #holdfast
January 10, 2026 at 4:31 PM
2/ While this may sound outlandish at first glance, these are real and dangerous scenarios that become conceivable under an authoritarian Trump regime. #holdfast
2/ Only autocrats treat legitimacy as something that can be traded for praise or favors, and only fools believe that the Nobel Peace Prize is something that can be "re-gifted.” #holdfast
January 10, 2026 at 4:21 PM
2/ Only autocrats treat legitimacy as something that can be traded for praise or favors, and only fools believe that the Nobel Peace Prize is something that can be "re-gifted.” #holdfast
Democracy doesn’t defend itself—neither does good information. If you believe in informed smart engagement, please actively invite others to follow: a small, concrete way to strengthen civil society.
Personal invitations matter more than algorithms.
#holdfast @steadystatevets.bsky.social #getsmart
Personal invitations matter more than algorithms.
#holdfast @steadystatevets.bsky.social #getsmart
January 8, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Democracy doesn’t defend itself—neither does good information. If you believe in informed smart engagement, please actively invite others to follow: a small, concrete way to strengthen civil society.
Personal invitations matter more than algorithms.
#holdfast @steadystatevets.bsky.social #getsmart
Personal invitations matter more than algorithms.
#holdfast @steadystatevets.bsky.social #getsmart
Trump talks about how he has the right policy but blames the mind of the public for rejecting it. That isn't democracy; it's authoritarian populism. In a democracy, the public judges the leaders. In autocracies, autocrats judge the public. #holdfast
Trump to House Republicans: "Most of you are in this business longer than me. That makes me smarter than you. Because look where I am, right? No it doesn't. But I wish you could explain to me what the hell is going on with the mind of the public because we have the right policy."
January 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Trump talks about how he has the right policy but blames the mind of the public for rejecting it. That isn't democracy; it's authoritarian populism. In a democracy, the public judges the leaders. In autocracies, autocrats judge the public. #holdfast
In combination with threats of territorial seizure, a proposed “freedom city” in Greenland backed by politically connected billionaires reflects a familiar authoritarian pattern: the use of state power to advance private interests. #holdfast
www.popsci.com/technology/b...
www.popsci.com/technology/b...
Billionaires dream of building utopian techno-city in Greenland
The 'freedom city' is the latest effort to create stateless cities with minimal corporate regulation.
www.popsci.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:58 PM
In combination with threats of territorial seizure, a proposed “freedom city” in Greenland backed by politically connected billionaires reflects a familiar authoritarian pattern: the use of state power to advance private interests. #holdfast
www.popsci.com/technology/b...
www.popsci.com/technology/b...
Authoritarians don’t start by suspending elections; they start by insisting their victory is so obvious that elections are a nuisance. Trump has already said, ‘they should cancel the election,’ and now he’s baffled that the public doesn’t fall in line. #holdfast
Trump: "They have the worst policy. How we have to even run against these people -- I won't say cancel the election, they should cancel the election, because the fake news with say, 'He wants the elections canceled. He's a dictator.' They always call me a dictator. Nobody is worse than Obama."
January 6, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Authoritarians don’t start by suspending elections; they start by insisting their victory is so obvious that elections are a nuisance. Trump has already said, ‘they should cancel the election,’ and now he’s baffled that the public doesn’t fall in line. #holdfast
Trump is deeply unmoored from reality. NATO doesn’t collect “payments,” there is no 5% requirement, Trump didn’t “end 8 wars,” and Ukraine’s survival wasn’t due to him. He personalizes global security around himself only, which isn’t strength. It’s destabilizing. #holdfast
January 7, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Trump is deeply unmoored from reality. NATO doesn’t collect “payments,” there is no 5% requirement, Trump didn’t “end 8 wars,” and Ukraine’s survival wasn’t due to him. He personalizes global security around himself only, which isn’t strength. It’s destabilizing. #holdfast
If U.S. leaders want to behave like autocrats, they should expect the consequences: loss of trust, loss of consent, and loss of the alliance architecture that has underpinned American power since 1945. #holdfast
January 6, 2026 at 5:39 PM
If U.S. leaders want to behave like autocrats, they should expect the consequences: loss of trust, loss of consent, and loss of the alliance architecture that has underpinned American power since 1945. #holdfast
2/ Combined with escalating threats toward multiple countries and Trump’s own assertion that only his personal morality restrains him, these statements point to an expanding willingness to use U.S. power unilaterally in what seems to be his plan to rule over the entire W hemisphere. #holdfast
January 9, 2026 at 3:39 PM
2/ Combined with escalating threats toward multiple countries and Trump’s own assertion that only his personal morality restrains him, these statements point to an expanding willingness to use U.S. power unilaterally in what seems to be his plan to rule over the entire W hemisphere. #holdfast
Stephen Miller, refusing to rule out force while insisting “nobody will fight us,” is using language of coercion designed to make resistance seem futile rather than unlawful. #holdfast
January 6, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Stephen Miller, refusing to rule out force while insisting “nobody will fight us,” is using language of coercion designed to make resistance seem futile rather than unlawful. #holdfast
2/ Trump then put him in charge of DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group,” which critics say exists to punish Trump’s perceived enemies, and that same machinery is now driving retaliatory investigations. #holdfast
January 7, 2026 at 5:39 PM
2/ Trump then put him in charge of DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group,” which critics say exists to punish Trump’s perceived enemies, and that same machinery is now driving retaliatory investigations. #holdfast
January 5, 2026 at 11:57 PM
If Trump moves forward with his authoritarian aspirations and the U.S. attacks another NATO member militarily, the alliance’s foundational logic collapses, and the post-WWII security order ends, which Frederiksen points out. #holdfast
January 5, 2026 at 9:04 PM
If Trump moves forward with his authoritarian aspirations and the U.S. attacks another NATO member militarily, the alliance’s foundational logic collapses, and the post-WWII security order ends, which Frederiksen points out. #holdfast
Trump didn’t say, “I’m president of Venezuela,” but he claimed the powers of one. The distinction matters, but so does the reality. #holdfast
January 5, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Trump didn’t say, “I’m president of Venezuela,” but he claimed the powers of one. The distinction matters, but so does the reality. #holdfast
Notifying Congress is not optional -- it's part of the Constitutional structure of checks and balances, and part of the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship. #holdfast
January 5, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Notifying Congress is not optional -- it's part of the Constitutional structure of checks and balances, and part of the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship. #holdfast
Watched Master & Commander tonight and got quite emotional. I’ve seen this film at least ten times before.
Must be the getting old, huh?
#HoldFast
Must be the getting old, huh?
#HoldFast
a person 's fists with the words hold fast written on them
ALT: a person 's fists with the words hold fast written on them
media.tenor.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Watched Master & Commander tonight and got quite emotional. I’ve seen this film at least ten times before.
Must be the getting old, huh?
#HoldFast
Must be the getting old, huh?
#HoldFast