‘Twas Brillig
@grumpygreybeard.bsky.social
Prone to posting about politics or pictures of my cat. You have been warned. I strive to always include at least one misspelled word or grammatical error per post.
Pinned
How to play a video game. STEP 1. Get a cat.
#ProofOfCat
#ProofOfCat
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
It's tough to make the case that the average Iowan is better off now than they were before Gov. Reynolds.
January 13, 2026 at 9:39 PM
It's tough to make the case that the average Iowan is better off now than they were before Gov. Reynolds.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, born #OTD 1706
-- Benjamin Franklin, born #OTD 1706
January 17, 2026 at 1:04 PM
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, born #OTD 1706
-- Benjamin Franklin, born #OTD 1706
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
ICE is younger than my blog
ICE is younger than my email address
ICE is younger than at least one of my ukuleles
ICE is younger than my email address
ICE is younger than at least one of my ukuleles
I'm just going to point out that ICE is about 23 years old. It was formed as part of the response to 9/11 and was reactionary, performative, and racist from the start.
Its not eternal. This is not a thousand-year Reich.
Its not eternal. This is not a thousand-year Reich.
January 16, 2026 at 3:09 PM
ICE is younger than my blog
ICE is younger than my email address
ICE is younger than at least one of my ukuleles
ICE is younger than my email address
ICE is younger than at least one of my ukuleles
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
This video shows ICE holding children hostage to bait parents out of their homes.
Just unspeakable levels of cruelty and inhumanity.
Just unspeakable levels of cruelty and inhumanity.
January 14, 2026 at 8:58 PM
This video shows ICE holding children hostage to bait parents out of their homes.
Just unspeakable levels of cruelty and inhumanity.
Just unspeakable levels of cruelty and inhumanity.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Seems as if this works — if employers start firing people for standing up for their neighbors and fellow humans — than a remedy is publicizing the identity of those employers.
Publishing the names of protesters and contacting their employers to have them fired for exercising their rights is a tactic straight out of the White Citizens Councils.
They're going to start using the Kirk witch hunt strategy.
January 16, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Seems as if this works — if employers start firing people for standing up for their neighbors and fellow humans — than a remedy is publicizing the identity of those employers.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, was put in a chokehold by ICE agents.
Agents took his phone, which he tracked to a used electronics vending machine near an ICE detention center.
Yes: ICE is stealing and selling people’s things after brutalizing them. There are no words.
Agents took his phone, which he tracked to a used electronics vending machine near an ICE detention center.
Yes: ICE is stealing and selling people’s things after brutalizing them. There are no words.
We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing
Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. “I felt like I was going to p
www.propublica.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, was put in a chokehold by ICE agents.
Agents took his phone, which he tracked to a used electronics vending machine near an ICE detention center.
Yes: ICE is stealing and selling people’s things after brutalizing them. There are no words.
Agents took his phone, which he tracked to a used electronics vending machine near an ICE detention center.
Yes: ICE is stealing and selling people’s things after brutalizing them. There are no words.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Just want to stress that this was a woman who was simply trying to get to a doctor's appointment.
We are so far past the Rubicon that it isn't worth having a discussion anymore as to whether Trump is acting as an authoritarian. The only question is whether we have the strength and courage to get back to the other side.
January 14, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Just want to stress that this was a woman who was simply trying to get to a doctor's appointment.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
The countries that best educate their people are the countries that will win in the 21st Century.
I will die on this hill, and right now the US is failing and will fall behind.
I will die on this hill, and right now the US is failing and will fall behind.
Yesterday, NYT and other news outlets reported China's record trade surplus ($1.2 trillion).
Today, it's China's universities.
It's China, not America, that donald f. trump is making great. And he's hard at work for Russia and Saudi Arabia, too.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
Today, it's China's universities.
It's China, not America, that donald f. trump is making great. And he's hard at work for Russia and Saudi Arabia, too.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:10 PM
The countries that best educate their people are the countries that will win in the 21st Century.
I will die on this hill, and right now the US is failing and will fall behind.
I will die on this hill, and right now the US is failing and will fall behind.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Decline is far too passive to describe this: this is the direct result of systematic attacks on science and medicine from the right, it is the result of systematic political attacks on the American university for decades, and the result of a media complex that has bred mistrust in universities.
This is what decline looks like. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
January 15, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Decline is far too passive to describe this: this is the direct result of systematic attacks on science and medicine from the right, it is the result of systematic political attacks on the American university for decades, and the result of a media complex that has bred mistrust in universities.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Denmark/Greenland will let us do anything we want militarily to protect our interests in Greenland with current and abandoned US military bases. We can move any assets we want there. So all the arguments about security are BS. Trump wants to OWN Greenland, not protect it.
January 15, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Denmark/Greenland will let us do anything we want militarily to protect our interests in Greenland with current and abandoned US military bases. We can move any assets we want there. So all the arguments about security are BS. Trump wants to OWN Greenland, not protect it.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
You're willing to drag the world into deadly turmoil when your only reason for being in power it to avoid jail.
January 15, 2026 at 2:27 PM
You're willing to drag the world into deadly turmoil when your only reason for being in power it to avoid jail.
The view from across the pond.
Whether or not Trump invades Greenland, this much is clear: the western order we once knew is history | Timothy Garton Ash
Whether or not Trump invades Greenland, this much is clear: the western order we once knew is history | Timothy Garton Ash
The EU must be more robust in order to stem the tide of international disorder, or it risks falling to authoritarian imperialism, says Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 12:44 PM
The view from across the pond.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Flashbangs burn hotter then lava.
They've caused serious burns, severed hands, and even killed.
*That's* what ICE just tossed into a car full of kids.
Here's our investigation from 2015, by @juliaangwin.com:
www.propublica.org/article/flas...
They've caused serious burns, severed hands, and even killed.
*That's* what ICE just tossed into a car full of kids.
Here's our investigation from 2015, by @juliaangwin.com:
www.propublica.org/article/flas...
January 15, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Flashbangs burn hotter then lava.
They've caused serious burns, severed hands, and even killed.
*That's* what ICE just tossed into a car full of kids.
Here's our investigation from 2015, by @juliaangwin.com:
www.propublica.org/article/flas...
They've caused serious burns, severed hands, and even killed.
*That's* what ICE just tossed into a car full of kids.
Here's our investigation from 2015, by @juliaangwin.com:
www.propublica.org/article/flas...
ISU Women drop four in a row. Not even sure what to say at this point. SMH #BlueCy
ernie from sesame street is wearing a striped shirt and orange gloves
ALT: ernie from sesame street is wearing a striped shirt and orange gloves
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:05 AM
ISU Women drop four in a row. Not even sure what to say at this point. SMH #BlueCy
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
BREAKING: Mother Jones is suing the Bureau of Prisons for Ghislaine Maxwell’s records.
Because someone needed to.
Because someone needed to.
Mother Jones sues the Bureau of Prisons for Ghislaine Maxwell records
Why was Jeffrey Epstein's procurer transferred to a cushy prison?
www.motherjones.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:51 AM
BREAKING: Mother Jones is suing the Bureau of Prisons for Ghislaine Maxwell’s records.
Because someone needed to.
Because someone needed to.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
PRO PUBLICA: “Former Police Are Appalled… Banned Tactics, No Punishment — There is a federal ban on chokeholds and similar tactics. But there is no sign of punishment for ICE officers who’ve used them.” www.propublica.org/article/vide...
January 14, 2026 at 11:18 PM
PRO PUBLICA: “Former Police Are Appalled… Banned Tactics, No Punishment — There is a federal ban on chokeholds and similar tactics. But there is no sign of punishment for ICE officers who’ve used them.” www.propublica.org/article/vide...
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Trump is selling seized Venezuelan oil and putting the cash in a bank account in Qatar. Nothing to see here. www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
January 14, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Trump is selling seized Venezuelan oil and putting the cash in a bank account in Qatar. Nothing to see here. www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
A bit of history to keep in mind.
January 14, 2026 at 1:35 AM
A bit of history to keep in mind.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Bless the Ford worker who called Donald Trump a pedophile protector to his face today, which made President Pedo Protector throw up his tiny middle finger.
January 14, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Bless the Ford worker who called Donald Trump a pedophile protector to his face today, which made President Pedo Protector throw up his tiny middle finger.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Dear ICE thugs, I realize that you are dumber than rocks and almost certainly incapable of comprehending this, but the people giving you the power to currently break the law with impunity will not always be in office. And there's SO MUCH video.
January 14, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Dear ICE thugs, I realize that you are dumber than rocks and almost certainly incapable of comprehending this, but the people giving you the power to currently break the law with impunity will not always be in office. And there's SO MUCH video.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Colvin's arrest for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.
Unsung US civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin dies, aged 86
Colvin's arrest for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.
www.aljazeera.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Colvin's arrest for not giving up her seat on a segregated bus helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.
All kinds of wrong. Kim can't retire soon enough.
I was just denied entry to an important budget briefing in Governor Kim Reynolds' office, to which many other statehouse reporters were invited.
The First Amendment doesn't permit government officials to restrict media access based on content or viewpoints.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pc1...
The First Amendment doesn't permit government officials to restrict media access based on content or viewpoints.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pc1...
Iowa governor's staffer blocks Laura Belin from budget briefing
YouTube video by Bleeding Heartland
www.youtube.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:03 AM
All kinds of wrong. Kim can't retire soon enough.
Any #BlueCy folks make it to the Phog tonight? Much as I love to hate the Jayhawks, being able to attend a game at Phog Allen is a bucket list item.
January 14, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Any #BlueCy folks make it to the Phog tonight? Much as I love to hate the Jayhawks, being able to attend a game at Phog Allen is a bucket list item.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
New video shows ICE agents detaining a US citizen legal observer in Minneapolis.
The agents smashed his car window, dragged him out, and placed a knee on his neck.
The agents smashed his car window, dragged him out, and placed a knee on his neck.
January 13, 2026 at 4:21 PM
New video shows ICE agents detaining a US citizen legal observer in Minneapolis.
The agents smashed his car window, dragged him out, and placed a knee on his neck.
The agents smashed his car window, dragged him out, and placed a knee on his neck.
Reposted by ‘Twas Brillig
Perfidy. Of course.
Breaking NYT:
The Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane in its first boat attack, according to officials briefed on the matter.
The laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status.
That is a war crime called "perfidy."
The Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane in its first boat attack, according to officials briefed on the matter.
The laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status.
That is a war crime called "perfidy."
U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:40 AM
Perfidy. Of course.