Kelsey Atherton
@atherton.bsky.social
War, robots, & bad futures but imagining better. I edit @cipolicy.bsky.social's International Policy Journal, opinions my own. Unitarian Universalist. He/him. Husband to @alymay.bsky.social & father of 2.
Front takes towards enemies.
Front takes towards enemies.
Pinned
Beirut
There's a timelessness to plucked strings, an urgency to triumphant bass, an enduring loneliness to warbled lyrics. It fits the places you linger on nights she has the kids: breweries, street-side cafes. You've plotted your retirement: away from the city, in the high desert of 8pm closings.
There's a timelessness to plucked strings, an urgency to triumphant bass, an enduring loneliness to warbled lyrics. It fits the places you linger on nights she has the kids: breweries, street-side cafes. You've plotted your retirement: away from the city, in the high desert of 8pm closings.
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
the law is real until it gets to SCOTUS at which point it becomes fake, which doesn't bother the six reactionaries at the top but does undermine literally everyone else in the profession
September 30, 2025 at 5:17 PM
the law is real until it gets to SCOTUS at which point it becomes fake, which doesn't bother the six reactionaries at the top but does undermine literally everyone else in the profession
how many times do you think voters want to see the image of a woman with 19 knife wounds that was part of an investigation overseen by Shapiro where he saw that image and decided "this is definitely a suicide, nothing else it could be."
Josh Shapiro believes he is uniquely suited to win over Trump voters—but he’ll need to overcome distrust among some in his own party first, Tim Alberta reports: theatln.tc/mR9AHSG4
December 5, 2025 at 7:32 PM
how many times do you think voters want to see the image of a woman with 19 knife wounds that was part of an investigation overseen by Shapiro where he saw that image and decided "this is definitely a suicide, nothing else it could be."
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
I mean, also the whole 'covering up a murder' thing, and turning on the state's largest union after they endorsed him lol.
Josh Shapiro believes he is uniquely suited to win over Trump voters—but he’ll need to overcome distrust among some in his own party first, Tim Alberta reports: theatln.tc/mR9AHSG4
December 5, 2025 at 7:20 PM
I mean, also the whole 'covering up a murder' thing, and turning on the state's largest union after they endorsed him lol.
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
Really smart piece from @cgmaisano.bsky.social getting beyond the popularism debates to argue that what Mamdani's victory shows the rest of the country isn't necessarily about ideology, but it is about organization dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
Partyism Without the Party - Dissent Magazine
Zohran Mamdani’s victory was rooted in organizations that took up the base-building and mobilization functions that once fell to parties.
dissentmagazine.org
December 5, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Really smart piece from @cgmaisano.bsky.social getting beyond the popularism debates to argue that what Mamdani's victory shows the rest of the country isn't necessarily about ideology, but it is about organization dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
Mad at myself for discovering an unlocked key to productivity is "do the text editing on a shitty laptop so that nothing else about Computer is done competently enough to be distracting"
December 5, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Mad at myself for discovering an unlocked key to productivity is "do the text editing on a shitty laptop so that nothing else about Computer is done competently enough to be distracting"
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
Kennedy's zombie ACIP panel just voted to restrict hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. Experts say it will harm children for no reason. www.ms.now/news/rfk-cdc...
ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner:
"'Do no harm' is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording. And I vote no."
ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner:
"'Do no harm' is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording. And I vote no."
RFK Jr.’s CDC panel: No more hepatitis B vaccine for some newborns
The CDC's vaccine advisory panel, stocked with anti-vaccine activists and loyalists to RFK Jr., voted Friday to stop recommending a birth dose of vaccine.
www.ms.now
December 5, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Kennedy's zombie ACIP panel just voted to restrict hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. Experts say it will harm children for no reason. www.ms.now/news/rfk-cdc...
ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner:
"'Do no harm' is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording. And I vote no."
ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner:
"'Do no harm' is a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording. And I vote no."
Would be worth parsing out which parts scream Vance and which show the influence of other potential successors!
In all seriousness, it's pretty clear that the NSS is an instrument in an internal conflict within the Trump administration over foreign policy, one exacerbated by the president's rapid cognitive and physical decline.
December 5, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Would be worth parsing out which parts scream Vance and which show the influence of other potential successors!
Trump Administration sees its chief foreign policy role as the backer of the far right international, all foreign policy bends to that aim.
The antidote cannot be pursuing far-right policy in half-measures like Starmer is or Biden did on Israel & the border. Internationalist solidarity or barbarism
The antidote cannot be pursuing far-right policy in half-measures like Starmer is or Biden did on Israel & the border. Internationalist solidarity or barbarism
December 5, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Trump Administration sees its chief foreign policy role as the backer of the far right international, all foreign policy bends to that aim.
The antidote cannot be pursuing far-right policy in half-measures like Starmer is or Biden did on Israel & the border. Internationalist solidarity or barbarism
The antidote cannot be pursuing far-right policy in half-measures like Starmer is or Biden did on Israel & the border. Internationalist solidarity or barbarism
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
US national security strategy.
Something sure is unrecognisable here, but it’s not Europe.
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
Something sure is unrecognisable here, but it’s not Europe.
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
December 5, 2025 at 5:06 AM
US national security strategy.
Something sure is unrecognisable here, but it’s not Europe.
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
Something sure is unrecognisable here, but it’s not Europe.
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
"As far back as September, defense officials have been quietly pushing back on criticism that killing the two survivors amounted to a war crime by arguing...they appeared to be radioing for help"
society must discourage baldfaced lying, especially by authorities
www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...
society must discourage baldfaced lying, especially by authorities
www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...
Exclusive: Survivors clinging to capsized boat didn’t radio for backup, admiral overseeing double-tap strike tells lawmakers | CNN Politics
The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications device...
www.cnn.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:20 AM
"As far back as September, defense officials have been quietly pushing back on criticism that killing the two survivors amounted to a war crime by arguing...they appeared to be radioing for help"
society must discourage baldfaced lying, especially by authorities
www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...
society must discourage baldfaced lying, especially by authorities
www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
helps to think about the details like any regular crime you'd see on one of the 800 cop shows that run on TV constantly: these guys committed one set of murders, thought it over, and then decided to kill the witnesses as part of the coverup. mention of drugs is just jingling keys at this point
December 5, 2025 at 3:14 AM
helps to think about the details like any regular crime you'd see on one of the 800 cop shows that run on TV constantly: these guys committed one set of murders, thought it over, and then decided to kill the witnesses as part of the coverup. mention of drugs is just jingling keys at this point
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
So, Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan says he is (will be?) introducing two articles of impeachment, one related to the boat murders and one as to Signalgate. Here's a video announcement, but I can't find any text of a resolution. x.com/RepShriThane...
Congressman Shri Thanedar on X: "Hegseth must be impeached. Thank you for your attention to this matter. https://t.co/qA1eK2WObm" / X
Hegseth must be impeached. Thank you for your attention to this matter. https://t.co/qA1eK2WObm
x.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:20 AM
So, Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan says he is (will be?) introducing two articles of impeachment, one related to the boat murders and one as to Signalgate. Here's a video announcement, but I can't find any text of a resolution. x.com/RepShriThane...
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
I'll tell you what, if Emily Gould had fucked Mark Sanford, Ryan Lizza and possibly RFK Jr while running a catch and kill operation, that book would be a banger
This been my one random evening post that I log out after writing 🫡
This been my one random evening post that I log out after writing 🫡
December 5, 2025 at 2:43 AM
I'll tell you what, if Emily Gould had fucked Mark Sanford, Ryan Lizza and possibly RFK Jr while running a catch and kill operation, that book would be a banger
This been my one random evening post that I log out after writing 🫡
This been my one random evening post that I log out after writing 🫡
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
So, about my theory of fascism as a form of unwelcome agonistic play that often takes the form of a bloodsport
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 2:51 AM
So, about my theory of fascism as a form of unwelcome agonistic play that often takes the form of a bloodsport
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
Nobody involved in this should draw a free breath for the rest of their lives
December 5, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Nobody involved in this should draw a free breath for the rest of their lives
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
The past few years have seen massive expansion of crypto (speculation), NFTs (speculation), sports betting (gambling), prediction markets (more gambling), and social media engagement farming (selling yourself or bots).
Surprising we don't hear more about decommodification in politics.
Surprising we don't hear more about decommodification in politics.
December 5, 2025 at 12:29 AM
The past few years have seen massive expansion of crypto (speculation), NFTs (speculation), sports betting (gambling), prediction markets (more gambling), and social media engagement farming (selling yourself or bots).
Surprising we don't hear more about decommodification in politics.
Surprising we don't hear more about decommodification in politics.
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
today I learned about VXX, which offers synthetic returns of short term VIX futures, itself a measure of volatility based on short term option sales of the S&P 500. so a monetization of the volatility index's volatility.
December 4, 2025 at 11:00 PM
today I learned about VXX, which offers synthetic returns of short term VIX futures, itself a measure of volatility based on short term option sales of the S&P 500. so a monetization of the volatility index's volatility.
it's funny that in the last window of Democratic rule the broadest horizon the president could imagine was commissioning a study on possible reforms to the Supreme Court, the same Court that ruled his insurrectionist rival could run again and had repeatedly overruled standing law to partisan end
December 5, 2025 at 12:01 AM
it's funny that in the last window of Democratic rule the broadest horizon the president could imagine was commissioning a study on possible reforms to the Supreme Court, the same Court that ruled his insurrectionist rival could run again and had repeatedly overruled standing law to partisan end
Our rule by unelected law wizards is permanent until actuarial tables dictate otherwise
December 4, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Our rule by unelected law wizards is permanent until actuarial tables dictate otherwise
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
a lot of people have elaborate ideas about how house districting could be reformed, up to and including proportional representation, but it would be interesting to see the fallout if congress just passed a very short law saying that partisan gerrymanders are illegal
December 4, 2025 at 11:53 PM
a lot of people have elaborate ideas about how house districting could be reformed, up to and including proportional representation, but it would be interesting to see the fallout if congress just passed a very short law saying that partisan gerrymanders are illegal
Reposted by Kelsey Atherton
This is just going to go on as long as there are no consequences
December 4, 2025 at 11:41 PM
This is just going to go on as long as there are no consequences
it's not the most important revelation in the Signal Chat Leaks but despite being our first Millennial VP, JD Vance is as uncharismatic in the group chat as he is on stage or in front of a camera.
December 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM
it's not the most important revelation in the Signal Chat Leaks but despite being our first Millennial VP, JD Vance is as uncharismatic in the group chat as he is on stage or in front of a camera.
Fine give me the same advance and I can write stream of consciousness quasi-journalistic fanfiction about all the monsters that were in love with me without using any names despite everyone knowing who they are. Autofiction blottofiction let's go
@teotten1.bsky.social's latest great idea: We need more AMERICAN CANTOs, it should be an anthology series with new editions every six months, c'mon I know some of you have an AMERICAN CANTO in you
December 4, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Fine give me the same advance and I can write stream of consciousness quasi-journalistic fanfiction about all the monsters that were in love with me without using any names despite everyone knowing who they are. Autofiction blottofiction let's go
Man there is maybe an argument to have someday about the imperial overreach of Coast Guard interdiction operations in the Caribbean, but that argument is so staggeringly overshadowed by the Trump admin's policy of "fuck the laws of the US or the sea, we can murder boats just because."
December 4, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Man there is maybe an argument to have someday about the imperial overreach of Coast Guard interdiction operations in the Caribbean, but that argument is so staggeringly overshadowed by the Trump admin's policy of "fuck the laws of the US or the sea, we can murder boats just because."
Anyone who goes to MrBeast for financial services should just post their social security number to the internet, they're cooked
December 4, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Anyone who goes to MrBeast for financial services should just post their social security number to the internet, they're cooked