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Reposted by Nicholas Grossman

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 11h

Why would the cartels want to stop ICE and CBP activities that have been diverting resources away from drug interdiction?

MFordTheRiver @prynnford.bsky.social · 11h

Of all the things that didn’t happen

Screen shot of ABC article with the headline “cartels issuing bounties up to 50k for hits on ICE and CBP agents, DHS says.”

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 7h

“Kavanaugh stop” is a great phrase. Evocative, critical, memorable, and on point.

The internet tells me the term was coined and popularized by @akalhan.bsky.social and @sifill.bsky.social. A big hat tip to them.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 7h

I bet some of these Young Republican leaders think they’re joking, being edgy, rejecting wokeness, or whatever. But even in the best case scenario, what they’re doing is acculturating each other to atrocity — at minimum, to shrug at the real thing as if it’s all a game. And perhaps carry it out.

Politico @politico.com · 17h

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by Nicholas Grossman

Anthony L. Fisher @anthonylfisher.bsky.social · 9h

Pete Hegseth to the U.S. military:

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 9h

JD Vance doth protest too much about group chats where Republican staffers are “just joking” about putting people they don’t like in gas chambers.

“How do you do, fellow kids” meme, except it’s JD Vance saying “how do you do, fellow internet Nazis.”

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 14h

Another deadly US strike on a boat in the Caribbean. Like previous ones:
-targeted based on proven liars saying “drug traffickers” without presenting any evidence
-illegal under both US and int’l law
-where US forces aren’t under threat and can interdict
-bad strategy if actually against traffickers

Senator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 14h

Trump just bombed six more people in the Caribbean, for a total of 27 civilians who have been killed so far by the US military. It’s illegal for the military to target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat. This is murder.

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says
In a social media post, the president said the people aboard a boat were suspected of smuggling drugs for an unspecified group his team had labeled terrorists.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 14h

Even worse, it was the 2020 Biden campaign. He held no government position. And yes, it was flagging TOS violations, not demanding removal of something that didn’t violate TOS.

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 14h

Agreed. That’s why I mentioned his playoff win in Green Bay above. And I didn’t have to look it up. One of the best QB performances I’ve ever seen.

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 16h

Federal officials telling social media companies to take down posts was supposedly a free speech crisis. It’s not even really hypocrisy, since the right was lying about much of it.
And this isn’t misinformation, foreign influence ops, or public health, just 1A-protected speech the govt doesn’t like.

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 16h

At the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, a Facebook group used by nearly 80,000 people to report sightings of federal immigration agents in the Chicago area has been taken down by the social media giant Meta, Facebook’s parent company.

Facebook suspends popular Chicago ICE-sightings group at Trump administration’s request

The group, "ICE Sighting-Chicagoland," has been increasingly used in the last five weeks of President Donald Trump’s intense deportation campaign to warn neighbors that federal agents are nearby.

trib.al

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 16h

Accurate arm, plus a good runner. Basically a precursor to today's star mobile QBs, like Lamar Jackson or Jaden Daniels.

I really liked watching him play.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

I thought he was good enough to start then too, and it didn't look like a tough call. But I wanted to note how NFL teams treat backup QBs as valuable, and he was inarguably good enough at the time to be worth a roster spot as a backup—the sort who can take over for an injured starter and win.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

Yes. Job taken away under public pressure over speech. If anything, it's one of the most egregious cases, since the speech he got cancelled over was so mild. Didn't spout a bunch of insults, didn't push lies, just silently took a knee, then stood up and played.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

If anything, what stands out about the Kaepernick case is the NFL blackballed him when he was a good enough player to be one of the better backup QBs, possibly a lower end starter.

(If you don’t know the NFL, backup QBs are important enough that teams typically pay them a couple million a year.)

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

Yeah… part of the whole omnipotent deity thing is doesn’t need saving, but can save others.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

Anger at Kaepernick is one of the more egregious examples of “how dare a Black man say racism is bad instead of being grateful for white America letting him succeed.”

He walked into Lambeau and beat the Packers in a playoff game. He lead the Niners to a Superbowl. He wasn’t in the NFL as a favor.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

Many focusing on the hubristic blasphemy of “we’re saving God”—and fair enough—but also, Kaepernick?

All he did was exercise his 1A right to expression in a calm, quiet, unobtrusive way. And he last played Jan. 1, 2017!

How lacking in real problems that this was ever a grievance, let alone still.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19h

Eric Trump: "We're saving Christianity. We've saving God. We've saving the family unit. We're saving this nation. I mean, DEI is out of the window, Benny. You no longer have Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the national anthem. You no longer have Budweiser going woke as hell. All of this is dead."

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19h

In both countries, there are numerous military officers, intelligence officers, defense engineers, etc. who know each other personally, maybe went to school together and/or worked together on joint projects (eg missile defense). Adds to the "our team" belief, which influences outside NatSec too.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19h

The factors are intertwined and co-determinative, yes. Americans thinking that US and Israel have similar culture and shared values increases the "our team" security cooperation logic, and ongoing security cooperation with joint adversaries (eg Iran) increases the sense of shared values.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19h

Yeah, fine, that's a good reply. I will acknowledge it as such.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19h

The pendant community is diverse—unified on virtually nothing besides the value of being pedantic.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19h

I say “probably” or “likely” when I think something is right but don’t have hard evidence, and drop those qualifiers when I have good evidence.

Got multiple replies and quotes focused on criticizing my use of “probably” from people who agree with the point I was making.

That made me think of this.

Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 1d

going viral here is worse than it used to be on twitter because half of the replies will just be pure pedantry

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Reposted by Nicholas Grossman

Democracy Dies in Dorkness @lizamazel.bsky.social · 1d

literal participation trophies every goddamn day here

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 1d

So much of the reaction to the latest Gaza deal acts as if Trump took office amidst a raging war, which simply isn't true.

There's a tendency in US media to praise Trump whenever the opportunity arises, as if they need to make up for all the factually accurate reporting that makes him look awful.

Opinion | Trump’s Nobel peace prize campaign is the least important part of the Gaza deal

If the ceasefire holds, the administration deserves much credit. But the fixation on Trump getting a prize distracts from things that actually matter.

www.msnbc.com

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19h

An additional factor is security cooperation. That can’t explain this on its own, but regional security and intelligence cooperation, military-industrial complex, etc. plays a role in “our team” v. “not our team” perceptions.
“Support the troops” to “support the allied troops” isn’t much of a leap.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 20h

Mike Johnson? I hadn't thought of that, but now that you point it out, he does seem kinda like a more religious middle aged Alex P. Keaton, at least in some ways.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 20h

Yeah, I saw.

This post (from this morning) is effectively a follow-up to the article (published yesterday).

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 22h

The many media outlets, politicians, and commentators who rushed to declare “a great peace, glory to the king!” should ask themselves why they did that, and figure out how to not make the same mistake again.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

(ABC) - The Israel Defense Forces said its troops opened fire on Palestinians, killing five, after they allegedly violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

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