Brent
@bk4us.com
Cold War Liberal. Peace if possible, truth at all costs.
Reposted by Brent
the entire difference between kyle rittenhouse and alex pretti is that kyle rittenhouse was there to shoot people the cops wanted to shoot and alex pretti was there to protect people the cops wanted to shoot
January 25, 2026 at 3:58 PM
the entire difference between kyle rittenhouse and alex pretti is that kyle rittenhouse was there to shoot people the cops wanted to shoot and alex pretti was there to protect people the cops wanted to shoot
Reposted by Brent
What’s so misguided about the formulation “authoritarianism is here, it’s just unevenly distributed,” which I have heard from Ezra Klein and others, it’s that it misses the point: that’s true of authoritarianism *everywhere*.
January 25, 2026 at 8:29 PM
What’s so misguided about the formulation “authoritarianism is here, it’s just unevenly distributed,” which I have heard from Ezra Klein and others, it’s that it misses the point: that’s true of authoritarianism *everywhere*.
Reposted by Brent
The central message from every Trump admin official right now is that the Herrenvolk far right is allowed to do all the things (call people "vermin," carry guns in public, etc. etc.), but if you do those things, then they are justified in everything they do, including killing you.
Once again:
Once again:
January 25, 2026 at 8:38 PM
The central message from every Trump admin official right now is that the Herrenvolk far right is allowed to do all the things (call people "vermin," carry guns in public, etc. etc.), but if you do those things, then they are justified in everything they do, including killing you.
Once again:
Once again:
Reposted by Brent
Saying there must be trials isn't just an emotive aspiration.
Congress can:
- Create a new court (complying w/ 6A jury vicinage)
- Give it jurisdiction over defined category of crimes
- Also create dedicated prosecutors for the same
- Strip SCOTUS of appellate jurisdiction
It can be done.
Congress can:
- Create a new court (complying w/ 6A jury vicinage)
- Give it jurisdiction over defined category of crimes
- Also create dedicated prosecutors for the same
- Strip SCOTUS of appellate jurisdiction
It can be done.
January 25, 2026 at 7:28 AM
Saying there must be trials isn't just an emotive aspiration.
Congress can:
- Create a new court (complying w/ 6A jury vicinage)
- Give it jurisdiction over defined category of crimes
- Also create dedicated prosecutors for the same
- Strip SCOTUS of appellate jurisdiction
It can be done.
Congress can:
- Create a new court (complying w/ 6A jury vicinage)
- Give it jurisdiction over defined category of crimes
- Also create dedicated prosecutors for the same
- Strip SCOTUS of appellate jurisdiction
It can be done.
Reposted by Brent
look, the right wing's fever dream of the left is simply not true. no elected official no matter what their political persuasion is gong to go on TV and urge their constituents to read some hot man-on-man smut [aide whispers in my ear] wait what
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdami advises New Yorkers to stay home and read ‘Heated Rivalry’ during the winter storm
via hearts530
via hearts530
January 25, 2026 at 7:11 PM
look, the right wing's fever dream of the left is simply not true. no elected official no matter what their political persuasion is gong to go on TV and urge their constituents to read some hot man-on-man smut [aide whispers in my ear] wait what
Reposted by Brent
if you read enough history you understand that the very best people, following their instincts, tend to make themselves targets in times like these.
New: Alex Pretti, the man killed by the Trump-Vance mob of agents was an outdoorsmen, a mountain biker, an ICU nurse who "would go out of his way to help," say Veterans Affairs colleagues.
Cheerful. Funny. Gentle.
And still, per sources, Trump officials are urging staff to call him a "terrorist."
Cheerful. Funny. Gentle.
And still, per sources, Trump officials are urging staff to call him a "terrorist."
DHS Shooting Victim in Minneapolis Was a ‘Sweet’ and ‘Principled Person’
Zeteo spoke with two doctors who worked with Alex Pretti, a nurse who is the latest victim of Trump’s violent invasion of Minnesota.
zeteo.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:57 AM
if you read enough history you understand that the very best people, following their instincts, tend to make themselves targets in times like these.
Reposted by Brent
The nurses are pissed
January 25, 2026 at 4:48 AM
The nurses are pissed
Reposted by Brent
A quote for the ages. Especially this one.
January 25, 2026 at 6:13 AM
A quote for the ages. Especially this one.
Reposted by Brent
The people who spent years defending and even lionizing Kyle Rittenhouse and Ashli Babbitt now want us to believe that an unarmed mother in her car and a disarmed nurse were domestic terrorists who deserved to be murdered by law enforcement.
January 25, 2026 at 4:26 AM
The people who spent years defending and even lionizing Kyle Rittenhouse and Ashli Babbitt now want us to believe that an unarmed mother in her car and a disarmed nurse were domestic terrorists who deserved to be murdered by law enforcement.
Reposted by Brent
Bill Kristol sees this shit clearly. I don't know how so many elected Democrats don't.
Also, may I say that I don’t agree with people saying ICE and CBP need “more training.” They’re doing exactly what this administration has trained them to—impose a reign of fear in blue cities. They don’t need more training. They need to be ripped up root and branch.
January 25, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Bill Kristol sees this shit clearly. I don't know how so many elected Democrats don't.
Reposted by Brent
15 years ago I borrowed a bulletproof vest from a reporter so I could report from a war zone. I held onto it after I returned.
Last week the reporter finally asked for it back because he is headed to Minneapolis.
Last week the reporter finally asked for it back because he is headed to Minneapolis.
January 25, 2026 at 10:36 AM
15 years ago I borrowed a bulletproof vest from a reporter so I could report from a war zone. I held onto it after I returned.
Last week the reporter finally asked for it back because he is headed to Minneapolis.
Last week the reporter finally asked for it back because he is headed to Minneapolis.
Reposted by Brent
Wake up. Make breakfast. Do email. Watch a murder. Go to a party for a 5 year old. Laugh with my daughter. See a different angle of that murder. Hear govt officials slander the victim. Play Barbies with my kid. Feed her dinner. Tear up at that victim reading last honors to a vet. Put kid to bed. USA
January 25, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Wake up. Make breakfast. Do email. Watch a murder. Go to a party for a 5 year old. Laugh with my daughter. See a different angle of that murder. Hear govt officials slander the victim. Play Barbies with my kid. Feed her dinner. Tear up at that victim reading last honors to a vet. Put kid to bed. USA
Reposted by Brent
The NDS & extended deterrence. "Here you have the United States...stating rather openly that, actually, it would not be willing to trade “Paris for New York,” as De Gaulle once famously asked of Kennedy... the ripple effects of this will likely be severe."
panda.substack.com/p/a-note-on-...
panda.substack.com/p/a-note-on-...
A Note On the 2026 US National Defense Strategy and Extended Deterrence
What does the NDS have to say about nuclear weapons and the nuclear environment facing the United States? Turns out, not much.
panda.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 10:48 AM
The NDS & extended deterrence. "Here you have the United States...stating rather openly that, actually, it would not be willing to trade “Paris for New York,” as De Gaulle once famously asked of Kennedy... the ripple effects of this will likely be severe."
panda.substack.com/p/a-note-on-...
panda.substack.com/p/a-note-on-...
Reposted by Brent
Reposted by Brent
Nominate the city of Minneapolis for the Nobel Peace Prize.
January 25, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Nominate the city of Minneapolis for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Reposted by Brent
And why humans doing their own security is a terrible idea, since they’re actually way more likely to flip out and shoot everybody for no reason than combat bots are.
January 25, 2026 at 11:42 AM
And why humans doing their own security is a terrible idea, since they’re actually way more likely to flip out and shoot everybody for no reason than combat bots are.
Reposted by Brent
It sometimes feels ludicrous to study literature when jackbooted thugs are murdering people in the streets and shipping innocent people to camps. But if I'm going to be an academic in such a moment, at least I get to study this.
January 25, 2026 at 9:24 AM
It sometimes feels ludicrous to study literature when jackbooted thugs are murdering people in the streets and shipping innocent people to camps. But if I'm going to be an academic in such a moment, at least I get to study this.
Reposted by Brent
"I cannot remember a night so dark as to hinder or prevent the coming day: nor a storm so furious & dreadful as to prevent the return of warm sunshine & a cloudless sky"--John Brown, Nov. 8, 1859
Written to his wife, roughly one month before his execution. 🗃️
Written to his wife, roughly one month before his execution. 🗃️
January 25, 2026 at 12:30 PM
"I cannot remember a night so dark as to hinder or prevent the coming day: nor a storm so furious & dreadful as to prevent the return of warm sunshine & a cloudless sky"--John Brown, Nov. 8, 1859
Written to his wife, roughly one month before his execution. 🗃️
Written to his wife, roughly one month before his execution. 🗃️
Reposted by Brent
I don't think this is the case. Many European security researchers are alarmed precisely because of their deep investment in US networks and communication with US colleagues, many of whom are telling us to be concerned and to seek out alternatives for the sake of our own security.
Those who never trusted the US are saying we should never trust the US again...
January 25, 2026 at 9:30 AM
I don't think this is the case. Many European security researchers are alarmed precisely because of their deep investment in US networks and communication with US colleagues, many of whom are telling us to be concerned and to seek out alternatives for the sake of our own security.
Reposted by Brent
Popularists would surely agree that politics is often about trust—you can only build coalitions & pass legislation, etc. if there's a modicum of trust between members.
Yet when your fundamental political position is simply "do what the polls say is popular, right now," nobody can trust you!
Yet when your fundamental political position is simply "do what the polls say is popular, right now," nobody can trust you!
people called me a brainwashed liberal for predicting this would happen two weeks ago www.gelliottmorris.com/p/support-fo...
Support for abolishing ICE hits a new high
Americans have turned sharply against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and say it too often resorts to violence
www.gelliottmorris.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Popularists would surely agree that politics is often about trust—you can only build coalitions & pass legislation, etc. if there's a modicum of trust between members.
Yet when your fundamental political position is simply "do what the polls say is popular, right now," nobody can trust you!
Yet when your fundamental political position is simply "do what the polls say is popular, right now," nobody can trust you!
Reposted by Brent
Once again, immigration is not even a problem. Immigrants are not more criminal, they don't cost jobs, they don't harm the economy. There is no reason for any of this. It is hurting ourselves to hurt them.
January 24, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Once again, immigration is not even a problem. Immigrants are not more criminal, they don't cost jobs, they don't harm the economy. There is no reason for any of this. It is hurting ourselves to hurt them.
Reposted by Brent
Read the excerpts.
This is how bad it’s gotten.
And thank God for the judges that are still defending the rule of law.
This is how bad it’s gotten.
And thank God for the judges that are still defending the rule of law.
Since July, I've tracked at least 2,300 cases in which federal judges have ruled ICE has illegally detained people without bond or due process.
This is one that stands out:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
This is one that stands out:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 25, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Read the excerpts.
This is how bad it’s gotten.
And thank God for the judges that are still defending the rule of law.
This is how bad it’s gotten.
And thank God for the judges that are still defending the rule of law.
Reposted by Brent
They killed him, and then they immediately set to concocting lies about him. I know the killing is worse, and yet I can't escape the thought that the lying is what reveals the deeper abyss.
January 25, 2026 at 11:37 AM
They killed him, and then they immediately set to concocting lies about him. I know the killing is worse, and yet I can't escape the thought that the lying is what reveals the deeper abyss.
Now is the summer of our discontent
Made murderous winter by this son of New York
Made murderous winter by this son of New York
January 25, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Now is the summer of our discontent
Made murderous winter by this son of New York
Made murderous winter by this son of New York
Reposted by Brent
Huge scandal that Minneapolis has been crawling with terrorists this whole time. They've been living among us undercover as poets and nurses. And would've continued to, had it not been for the work of our bravest child kidnappers
January 25, 2026 at 12:44 AM
Huge scandal that Minneapolis has been crawling with terrorists this whole time. They've been living among us undercover as poets and nurses. And would've continued to, had it not been for the work of our bravest child kidnappers