Andy Lewis/The Optionist
@andyblewis.bsky.social
Looking for great IP? Read the Optionist on Substack. Also wrote the civil rights history The Shadows of Youth, UVA Phd, Hollywood Reporter alum, lapsed college prof, retired fencer, once on KUWTK
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Torture Techniques from CIA Black Sites Were Used at Alligator Alcatraz
Amnesty International, interviewing migrant detainees, identifies use of the confinement box. There can be no denying it is a torture prison
www.forever-wars.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:40 PM
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
I have no idea how sincere MTG is here, but the idea that Trump would be bothered by his comments generating death threats misses the point that he has used terror as as a tool.
Terror is not a byproduct of Trumpism; it is a central feature of how he governs.
Terror is not a byproduct of Trumpism; it is a central feature of how he governs.
Marjorie Taylor Greene claims she shared with Trump death threat she received that he incited, and his response was "extremely unkind"
December 8, 2025 at 5:12 AM
I have no idea how sincere MTG is here, but the idea that Trump would be bothered by his comments generating death threats misses the point that he has used terror as as a tool.
Terror is not a byproduct of Trumpism; it is a central feature of how he governs.
Terror is not a byproduct of Trumpism; it is a central feature of how he governs.
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. ”Hard mode” no Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or Marvel)
December 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. ”Hard mode” no Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or Marvel)
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
Netflix, which rarely carries a single movie from before 1980, wants you to know how thrilled they are to acquire that classic piece of franchise IP, Casablanca
December 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Netflix, which rarely carries a single movie from before 1980, wants you to know how thrilled they are to acquire that classic piece of franchise IP, Casablanca
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
My current career plan is to pathologize a personality trait, which I then pivot into a personal brand, creating daily content to cultivate intense parasocial relationships that eventually lead to sponsorship deals and, if I play my cards right, cult-adjacent murders.
December 6, 2025 at 7:08 PM
My current career plan is to pathologize a personality trait, which I then pivot into a personal brand, creating daily content to cultivate intense parasocial relationships that eventually lead to sponsorship deals and, if I play my cards right, cult-adjacent murders.
if I get this straight Laura Loomer who may or may not be sleeping w/Trump is mad at Marjorie Taylor Green who may or may not be sleeping w/Milo Y who says Charlie Kirk was gay & wasn't sleeping w/Erica who's trying to steal JD Vance from Usha. And all this happened at Tucker Carlson's xmas party?
Laura Loomer says that Milo Yiannopoulos works for Marjorie Taylor Greene and lives in her house.
December 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
if I get this straight Laura Loomer who may or may not be sleeping w/Trump is mad at Marjorie Taylor Green who may or may not be sleeping w/Milo Y who says Charlie Kirk was gay & wasn't sleeping w/Erica who's trying to steal JD Vance from Usha. And all this happened at Tucker Carlson's xmas party?
Dear Leader clown show
December 6, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Dear Leader clown show
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
good reminder that ezra notwithstanding, charlie kirk was and turning point usa is a vicious proto-fascist organization devoted to harassing and silencing political enemies and glorifying violence.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announces another boat strike in response to a request/wish from Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet.
December 5, 2025 at 3:26 AM
good reminder that ezra notwithstanding, charlie kirk was and turning point usa is a vicious proto-fascist organization devoted to harassing and silencing political enemies and glorifying violence.
Can someone point him to the passage in the Bible where it says lying is wrong, because he seems to have skipped that page.
Johnson: There's no gender division here at all in our conference. It's a meritocracy. And we've got great women doing great things. I'm their biggest champion, and that's what the record shows
December 4, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Can someone point him to the passage in the Bible where it says lying is wrong, because he seems to have skipped that page.
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
These are good moments to remember that the CEOs of all the biggest companies in America are happy to go to White House dinners and slap this guy’s back. They do not care about this. Remember this, years from now, when they want you to forget.
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."
December 4, 2025 at 12:13 AM
These are good moments to remember that the CEOs of all the biggest companies in America are happy to go to White House dinners and slap this guy’s back. They do not care about this. Remember this, years from now, when they want you to forget.
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
The CEOs of Ford and Stellantis, as well as senior executives from other auto manufacturers, standing beside him while Trump goes off on another vicious racist rant about African immigrants. Not one of them had the courage or the dignity to walk away.
bsky.app/profile/just...
bsky.app/profile/just...
Trump, continued: "What the Somalian people have done to Minnesota is not even believable. It’s not even believable. And a lot of it starts with the governor. A lot of it starts with Barack HUSSEIN Obama, because that’s when people started coming in... They want to kiss our country good night."
December 3, 2025 at 11:10 PM
The CEOs of Ford and Stellantis, as well as senior executives from other auto manufacturers, standing beside him while Trump goes off on another vicious racist rant about African immigrants. Not one of them had the courage or the dignity to walk away.
bsky.app/profile/just...
bsky.app/profile/just...
This is why Trump wanted Canada to be the 51st state so he could extort Franklin the Turtle like CBS, ABC, Washington Post etc
🔥 BREAKING: A spokesperson for Kids Can Press, the publisher of the Franklin the Turtle books, messaged me today about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth using the likeness and image from the books to make light of killings in the Caribbean in his post yesterday on X.
December 2, 2025 at 3:49 AM
This is why Trump wanted Canada to be the 51st state so he could extort Franklin the Turtle like CBS, ABC, Washington Post etc
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
🔥 BREAKING: A spokesperson for Kids Can Press, the publisher of the Franklin the Turtle books, messaged me today about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth using the likeness and image from the books to make light of killings in the Caribbean in his post yesterday on X.
December 2, 2025 at 12:16 AM
🔥 BREAKING: A spokesperson for Kids Can Press, the publisher of the Franklin the Turtle books, messaged me today about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth using the likeness and image from the books to make light of killings in the Caribbean in his post yesterday on X.
Why not go for the full. Dear Leader 18 for 18 holes? Just as credible
December 1, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Why not go for the full. Dear Leader 18 for 18 holes? Just as credible
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
Has this been posted yet
December 1, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Has this been posted yet
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
December 1, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
They’re burying the weirdest part of this story, which is that this congressman’s twin brother keeps trying and failing to replace him in various jobs and is now hoping to replace him in this one
November 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
They’re burying the weirdest part of this story, which is that this congressman’s twin brother keeps trying and failing to replace him in various jobs and is now hoping to replace him in this one
Nuzzi's journalistic trangressions are terrible but we shouldn't let RFK jr. off the hook. His behavior was and is reprehensible. Everything we've learned here underscores he's unfit for public office (and a personally terrible human being).
Olivia Nuzzi wrote an entire story based on unnamed sources about Biden's decline, reinvigorating calls for him to leave the race -- and the whole time, she was working on RFK Jr.'s behalf, according to her ex-fiance. newrepublic.com/article/2035...
Olivia Nuzzi’s Real Victims
More than her fiancé, or fellow female journalists, the public will pay the price for these misdeeds. RFK Jr. will see to that.
newrepublic.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Nuzzi's journalistic trangressions are terrible but we shouldn't let RFK jr. off the hook. His behavior was and is reprehensible. Everything we've learned here underscores he's unfit for public office (and a personally terrible human being).
One thing about being a professor-turned-journalist is I read journalists w/ eye to academic standards of evidence & proof. Sorry journalists you fall for b.s. like access & snark. Viewed through the eye of an academic it was clear Nuzzi was always a shit actual journalist.
Olivia Nuzzi wrote an entire story based on unnamed sources about Biden's decline, reinvigorating calls for him to leave the race -- and the whole time, she was working on RFK Jr.'s behalf, according to her ex-fiance. newrepublic.com/article/2035...
Olivia Nuzzi’s Real Victims
More than her fiancé, or fellow female journalists, the public will pay the price for these misdeeds. RFK Jr. will see to that.
newrepublic.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:24 PM
One thing about being a professor-turned-journalist is I read journalists w/ eye to academic standards of evidence & proof. Sorry journalists you fall for b.s. like access & snark. Viewed through the eye of an academic it was clear Nuzzi was always a shit actual journalist.
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
“A man - a man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part - of - a - team.”
Finally getting some theological clarity on the ethics of reclining in one’s plane seat
November 29, 2025 at 4:40 PM
“A man - a man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part - of - a - team.”
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
For context, Trump is just 2 (yes, two) points higher now than he was in the Gallup poll conducted almost entirely after the Jan 6 riot.
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
Gallup poll | 11/3-11/25
President Trump approval
Disapprove 60% (+6)
Approve 36% (-5)
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
President Trump approval
Disapprove 60% (+6)
Approve 36% (-5)
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
November 28, 2025 at 6:20 PM
For context, Trump is just 2 (yes, two) points higher now than he was in the Gallup poll conducted almost entirely after the Jan 6 riot.
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
My pho guy closes his shop on Black Friday every year and just cooks hibachi out front all day for anyone that wants it for free
November 28, 2025 at 6:18 PM
My pho guy closes his shop on Black Friday every year and just cooks hibachi out front all day for anyone that wants it for free
Reposted by Andy Lewis/The Optionist
When a politician says: we’ll deregulate health insurance and send you a “freedom account” check, ask: freedom to buy what? If insurers don’t offer real policies or can cherry-pick only healthy people, that money is a coupon for a store that’s not open.
November 28, 2025 at 12:52 PM
When a politician says: we’ll deregulate health insurance and send you a “freedom account” check, ask: freedom to buy what? If insurers don’t offer real policies or can cherry-pick only healthy people, that money is a coupon for a store that’s not open.
$1 trillion in investment just to help this guy rag on people at parties no one wants him at.
Everything about this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen
November 28, 2025 at 7:06 PM
$1 trillion in investment just to help this guy rag on people at parties no one wants him at.
Trump to should be subject to this
If Trump proactively pardons Hegseth, the solution is to signal either to the ICC or the country of origin of the murdered men that we will honor extradition requests on this point.
And then, in something of an irony, Noem him out of the country before anyone can react.
And then, in something of an irony, Noem him out of the country before anyone can react.
Historical precedent of note...
November 28, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Trump to should be subject to this