Author | Lightnews

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 3h

"Trump has talked about attacking targets inside Venezuela." Hm. Would these attacks be analogous to, say, him dropping the one big bunker-busting bomb on Iran, or Clinton's missile strikes on Somalia? This seems ... different, requiring a different level of engagement and more of an escalation risk

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 23h

My memory of it is a little fuzzy, but the jump from Joy Division --> Happy Mondays at the film's midpoint reminded me of the jump from the 70s --> 80s in Boogie Nights and the jump from training camp --> war zone in Full Metal Jacket. Abrupt, a total pivot and reboot, and unforgettable.

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 23h

Terrific movie.

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

"Vagueness breeds trepidation, perhaps the desired result. 'We want you to fear,' Steve Bannon said." That *is* the desired result (also, Bannon's an asshole). Most laws can be selectively enforced, if they aren't vague. The key is having good faith actors in gov't.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/m...

In the Trump Presidency, the Rules Are Vague. That Might Be the Point.

www.nytimes.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Staggering monthly ACA ( #Obamacare ) premium increases unless something is done (by Republicans).

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Here’s How Much Obamacare Prices Are Rising Across the Country

The new prices make it official: Americans will need to pay more for insurance next year if extra subsidies are allowed to expire.

www.nytimes.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

I mean, of course, in any big, messy country, there's gonna be some "waste, fraud, and corruption" in these programs, and yes, we should find and eliminate it. But to suggest that's a big % of the funds spent here is insulting and crazy, and to justify withholding benefits on this basis is absurd.

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Definitely possible

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah. Fwiw, and I realize the plural of "anecdote" isn't "data," but I've spoken with right-leaning friends who dislike Trump. Their impression is that Democrats push trans rights so far out to the center of their message that it alienates folks. "Just don't make it such a big issue," they say.

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Moving away from BLM and trans equality would make us sound insincere and, once again, overly managed by consultants and focus-group testing. If candidates want to de-emphasize those issues, without abandoning our commitment to them, I guess that's an okay middle ground. Otherwise, be loud and proud

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 1d

“Dems moved too far left” means BLM and trans equality—and for some, taking COVID seriously—and many Dem politicians really do support those things.

There’s tons of noise and euphemism, but that’s the core argument.

And it is a misguided one, since Dems won the election after that move, in 2020.

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Omg, I responded to the wrong post! Lol. In my defense, I'm old and addle minded. Fwiw, my college football team is crappy, too ( #TheU ).

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

I have a different theory: I just don't think voters care that much about issues like this right now. We've become a very mean-spirited country going through a very mean-spirited moment. Empathy has become a dirty word, attacked as evidence of weakness by folks like Elon Musk.

Joel Mendelson @jpmendelson.bsky.social · 1d

Scared money don’t make money, @edsbs.bsky.social

BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL @edsbs.bsky.social · 1d

that 4th down call was a tribute to Billy right there

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Reposted

Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 1d

Layers of problems with the USG labeling people on these vessels as "unprivileged belligerents."

1) There is no armed conflict, so no belligerents privileged or unprivileged.

2) Even if there were an armed conflict, that wouldn't mean that (alleged) drug smugglers were somehow belligerents.

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 2d

SCOOP: The Trump administration acknowledged they don’t know the identities of the people they’re killing; can’t meet the evidentiary burden to prosecute survivors; and consider those survivors to be “unprivileged belligerents." theintercept.com/2025/10/31/t...

Trump Administration Admits It Doesn’t Know Who Exactly It’s Killing in Boat Strikes

Officials acknowledged they don’t know the identities of the people they’re killing and can’t meet the evidentiary burden to prosecute survivors.

theintercept.com

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Do you see this as likely a series of isolated strikes (kinds of like the one set of bunker-buster bombs dropped on Iran's supposed nuclear development labs) or an all-out war, designed to pummel Venezuela until the Maduro regime is toppled?

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Sounds more like a desperate effort to salvage a bad situation than a hard-fought victory built on carefully developed leverage and tough negotiations.

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

Lots of questionable assumptions and dismissive/snark-y remarks in the comments. It isn't surprising that billionaires would make concessions to Trump. What might be surprising is *why* they'd make such concessions. Is it because they're (a) power-hungry; (b) scared of opposing Trump; (c) a combo?

Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 2d

Mr. Obama sir we tried to tell you that you were running with a bad crowd (billionaires), they’re bad news

www.cnn.com/2025/10/31/p...

People who know Obama say he has been surprised and appalled in how many of the rich people who now form his social circle have made concessions to Trump. He's
reaching out to business and other institutional leaders, urging them not to bend to the current administration even if it
helps their bottom lines.

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 1d

I have some reservations about this guy's analysis, but I think this part is 💯% correct, especially since we just had a national election last year that was mostly, in my view, a referendum on the ways we define and value particular types of masculinity. Trump's (faux) tough-guy persona is popular

Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first @joshstein.bsky.social · 2d

I've been thinking about the idea of positive virtues in masculinity a lot. (For which I blame, variously, @katemanne.bsky.social, @nberlat.bsky.social, @euthyphro.bsky.social, and other smart, ethical people.)

"A man stands up." is a good place to start with those things, I think.

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 2d

"In '25, Oasis are bigger than the Beatles. You won't find 'pub men' harmonizing 'Day Tripper,' you'll find them belting 'Champagne Supernova,' 'Wonderwall,' 'Don’t Look Back in Anger.'"

I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but c'mon. These three songs were Oasis's ONLY hits.

pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

Oasis: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Read Gabriel Szatan’s review of the album.

pitchfork.com

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daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 2d

What an editorial! Good job, @nytimes.com.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Opinion | In Trump’s America, Are We Losing Our Democracy?

Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has.

www.nytimes.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 3d

Writing is excruciating and humbling, even with all the technology and tools around these days to make it easier.

At least nowadays, I don't have to deal with manual typewriters and white-out correction, like I did in high school.

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 4d

Good news that the tariffs have been less disastrous than predicted, but maybe this is Trump's strategy: a lot of saber rattling, not nearly as much happening in practice, so the doomsayers look hysterical and he can claim (modest) policy victories.

open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

How We Lost the Trade War

Tariff uncertainty may be waning, but the damage will persist

open.substack.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 4d

An article that should terrify Americans, see, e.g., "The president’s advisers have warned that Mr. Trump’s predecessors Barack Obama and Joe Biden are also fair game."

Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 4d

Important piece, as most folks know, the reality is 180 degrees at odds with Republican claims: Biden did NOT weaponize the Justice Department, AG Garland actually slowed its pursuit of lawbreaking by Trump and his co-conspirators www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...

Opinion | How Trump and Biden Dismantled the Justice Dept.

www.nytimes.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 4d

"The ACLU of Louisiana called the deportation a 'stunning violation of a federal court order.'" Remind me again how this isn't already, right now, a #ConstitutionalCrisis, with the #Trump Admin openly defying federal court orders?

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Man deported to Laos despite court order blocking his removal, attorneys say

“ICE just ignored a federal court order and tore yet another family apart,” said the executive director for the ACLU of Louisiana.

www.politico.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 4d

I ... *agree* with Josh Hawley? Words I never thought I'd type.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/o...

Opinion | Josh Hawley: No American Should Go to Bed Hungry

www.nytimes.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 5d

For a 61 year-old who presumably will live (and need Obamacare insurance coverage for) a long time, a jump from $439 to $1,059 in monthly insurance premium costs is just *staggering*.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/h...

Obamacare Prices Become Public, Highlighting Big Increases

www.nytimes.com

daniel22223333.bsky.social @daniel22223333.bsky.social · 5d

"If the Dem future requires us to exchange our discomfort with casual Nazism to advance a political agenda, I'm not interested." Agreed. And, as @tressiemcphd.bsky.social points out, that kinda trade-off is bad politics, anyway. Be anti-Nazi, unscripted, and smart, and you'll be fine as a candidate.

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 5d

If you are reading this piece today, you may be interested to know that I found Adam Bonica on moderate candidates compelling. Ht @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social

data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-new-yo...