Jo_clever_ke
@insidejoke.bsky.social
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
striking i think that yglesias' response to being criticized on facts and policy is "well but it doesn't poll well in R+1 electoral districts." polling is important. sure. but it's not actually a good barometer of what's true lmao
Look as long as everybody starts ignoring Yglesias we are making progress.
December 21, 2025 at 1:17 AM
striking i think that yglesias' response to being criticized on facts and policy is "well but it doesn't poll well in R+1 electoral districts." polling is important. sure. but it's not actually a good barometer of what's true lmao
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
Swing voters famously base their votes on sober consideration of the issues.
December 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Swing voters famously base their votes on sober consideration of the issues.
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
Tis the season.
December 19, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Tis the season.
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
the most consistent driver of radicalization on a mechanical level -- and its really not anything close to a scientific field -- is immersion in a community that is already radicalized
it would be interesting to explore what motivates this because i think these people genuinely believe they were “radicalized” by a single event when a look through their profiles indicates they’ve been posting extreme and violent content for a very, very long time
December 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
the most consistent driver of radicalization on a mechanical level -- and its really not anything close to a scientific field -- is immersion in a community that is already radicalized
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
Also 'leftists for deflation' is an inherently funny concept. As is all these people wanting the economy of the 10s back, something they described as a hellscape at the time. Really miss that really cheap credit, eh?
December 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Also 'leftists for deflation' is an inherently funny concept. As is all these people wanting the economy of the 10s back, something they described as a hellscape at the time. Really miss that really cheap credit, eh?
So does Bannon just no longer even pretend to do the populist shit anymore? Trump 1 he was doing that bullshit all the time talking to the press about a wealth tax.
Steve Bannon at AmFest 2025 yesterday: "We are a Christian nation that got off the rails. We have to re-Christianize this country... Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr and Charlie Kirk is a Christian saint. That is your legacy that you take up."
December 20, 2025 at 3:22 PM
So does Bannon just no longer even pretend to do the populist shit anymore? Trump 1 he was doing that bullshit all the time talking to the press about a wealth tax.
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
I don’t disagree with the general premise of that we are gonna be living with a Trumpified conservative political and media universe for a long time but the degree to which Candace Owens (Candace Owens!) is currently freaking out the maga and gop elite is real… newrepublic.com/article/2044...
The MAGA Crack-Up Is Overrated. MAGA Is Here to Stay.
Sure, Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, and Tucker Carlson are squabbling. But the underlying ideology remains as powerful as ever.
newrepublic.com
December 20, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I don’t disagree with the general premise of that we are gonna be living with a Trumpified conservative political and media universe for a long time but the degree to which Candace Owens (Candace Owens!) is currently freaking out the maga and gop elite is real… newrepublic.com/article/2044...
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
yeah, i think copying GOP influencer politics is like "wow, those guys are getting a lot of mileage out of breeding captive xenomorphs to do their bidding, maybe we should too"
*ignores weyland-yutani facilities keep getting overrun by so-called "captive" xenomorphs*
*ignores weyland-yutani facilities keep getting overrun by so-called "captive" xenomorphs*
December 20, 2025 at 2:33 PM
yeah, i think copying GOP influencer politics is like "wow, those guys are getting a lot of mileage out of breeding captive xenomorphs to do their bidding, maybe we should too"
*ignores weyland-yutani facilities keep getting overrun by so-called "captive" xenomorphs*
*ignores weyland-yutani facilities keep getting overrun by so-called "captive" xenomorphs*
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
Look he just hates a showy press event and wanted to avoid the attention
They "renamed" the place yesterday and within 24 hours, they found a hack contractor to put up the letters, then unveiled it by dropping a blue tarp to no ceremony?
If you are looking for any evidence that he isn't dying, you won't find it here.
If you are looking for any evidence that he isn't dying, you won't find it here.
December 19, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Look he just hates a showy press event and wanted to avoid the attention
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
I mean this is what happens when you have:
-a new admin explicitly promising lower prices and that doesn't happen
- The market leading industry promising tech that will replace your job will come soon
- the admin creating uncertainty at every turn and then telling you everything is actually fine
-a new admin explicitly promising lower prices and that doesn't happen
- The market leading industry promising tech that will replace your job will come soon
- the admin creating uncertainty at every turn and then telling you everything is actually fine
Consumer confidence data is basically useless for markets/econ forecasting at this point. There is just no universe where periods when inflation was 5x as high, real income growth was deeply negative, or unemployment was more than 2x current were better than the current backdrop.
December 19, 2025 at 3:47 PM
I mean this is what happens when you have:
-a new admin explicitly promising lower prices and that doesn't happen
- The market leading industry promising tech that will replace your job will come soon
- the admin creating uncertainty at every turn and then telling you everything is actually fine
-a new admin explicitly promising lower prices and that doesn't happen
- The market leading industry promising tech that will replace your job will come soon
- the admin creating uncertainty at every turn and then telling you everything is actually fine
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
cannot make me care about the dnc report, everyone has been wrong about this dumb shit why should i care about them
December 18, 2025 at 5:06 PM
cannot make me care about the dnc report, everyone has been wrong about this dumb shit why should i care about them
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
How do we know the Trump boys didn't steal the USDA emergency funds for some other illegal spending?
October 27, 2025 at 3:23 AM
How do we know the Trump boys didn't steal the USDA emergency funds for some other illegal spending?
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
In the same way people from deep red areas are completely culturally out of sync with life in deep blue areas, a lot of our blue political pundits have never stepped outside their bubble. Ironically the average American has spent plenty of time around people different political views.
i was especially struck by these paragraphs, which rang very true to me. libs who grew up around conservatives aren't embarrassed to be liberals--or confused about what conservatives want. there's a certain kind of elite media man, on the other hand--
December 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM
In the same way people from deep red areas are completely culturally out of sync with life in deep blue areas, a lot of our blue political pundits have never stepped outside their bubble. Ironically the average American has spent plenty of time around people different political views.
👇
When it comes to Trump and his administration it's never a bad idea to bet on more bullshit.
December 18, 2025 at 2:19 AM
👇
Good news I can sleep, bad news no excuse to drop money on some new video games to distract me from the news, and from all the unplayed video games in my backlog.
good news everyone it’s a rambling grievance session
December 18, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Good news I can sleep, bad news no excuse to drop money on some new video games to distract me from the news, and from all the unplayed video games in my backlog.
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
When it comes to Trump and his administration it's never a bad idea to bet on more bullshit.
December 17, 2025 at 11:57 PM
When it comes to Trump and his administration it's never a bad idea to bet on more bullshit.
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
It's very funny that "Bush wanted oil" just became the accepted reality by everyone because accepting that 9/11 made Bush decide he was Christ's chosen leader to bring democracy home and slay the man who threatened his father is too weird
December 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM
It's very funny that "Bush wanted oil" just became the accepted reality by everyone because accepting that 9/11 made Bush decide he was Christ's chosen leader to bring democracy home and slay the man who threatened his father is too weird
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
One thing that powerfully reminds me of how long ago 2003 was is that nobody pushing this today seems to remember how long and sustained the pr campaign to build support both domestically and internationally for the Iraq War actually was
Trump on Venezuela: "Getting land, oil rights, whatever we had -- they took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn't watching. But they're not gonna do that. We want it back. They took our oil rights. We had a lot of oil there. They threw our companies out. And we want it back."
December 17, 2025 at 10:11 PM
One thing that powerfully reminds me of how long ago 2003 was is that nobody pushing this today seems to remember how long and sustained the pr campaign to build support both domestically and internationally for the Iraq War actually was
A lot of people calling this out as being about oil, and that is fair enough since Trump is explicitly claiming it is so, but the thing is, the oil in Venezuela is profoundly shitty oil, takes a whole bunch of refining, the infrastructure is shit, it doesnt make any sense to go in at $55 a barrel
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration is asking U.S. oil companies if they’re interested in returning to Venezuela once Maduro is toppled, per sources familiar with the discussions.
So far, the answer is a hard “no.”
So far, the answer is a hard “no.”
Trump administration asking US oil industry to return to Venezuela — but getting no takers
The administration’s outreach to the industry, previously unreported, is the latest sign the White House is dreaming of a post-Maduro future for Venezuela.
www.politico.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:42 PM
A lot of people calling this out as being about oil, and that is fair enough since Trump is explicitly claiming it is so, but the thing is, the oil in Venezuela is profoundly shitty oil, takes a whole bunch of refining, the infrastructure is shit, it doesnt make any sense to go in at $55 a barrel
It remains confusing to me why he even wanted the job. Bongino was a pretty well-established right-wing podcaster. By every conceivable stretch he had it better off before. Lower stress, better paycheck, more respect from his peers, better work life balance.
The New York Times is reporting that Dan Bongino is preparing to exit the FBI within the next few weeks and has already been clearing out his office.
He's expected to go right back into podcasting upon his departure.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/u...
He's expected to go right back into podcasting upon his departure.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/u...
Eager for Center Stage, Patel Casts Aside Caution in Statements as F.B.I. Leader
www.nytimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
It remains confusing to me why he even wanted the job. Bongino was a pretty well-established right-wing podcaster. By every conceivable stretch he had it better off before. Lower stress, better paycheck, more respect from his peers, better work life balance.
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
One consistent theme of the anti-institutionalists is that they have not run the institutions they despise. The is akin to Rufo overseeing the implosion of New College, despite both institutions been handed massive financial resources.
CBS News staffers might want to check into how things are going at their boss’s anti-woke “university” in Austin.
Via @ngluckman.bsky.social
www.chronicle.com/article/at-t...
Via @ngluckman.bsky.social
www.chronicle.com/article/at-t...
December 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
One consistent theme of the anti-institutionalists is that they have not run the institutions they despise. The is akin to Rufo overseeing the implosion of New College, despite both institutions been handed massive financial resources.
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
Erika Kirk's meeting with Candace Owens is starting to look like a disaster. Owens is still criticizing specific TPUSA staffers on her first show back, and now says they couldn't convince her Tyler Robinson was the gunman.
Erika Kirk flew to Nashville for this??
Erika Kirk flew to Nashville for this??
December 16, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Erika Kirk's meeting with Candace Owens is starting to look like a disaster. Owens is still criticizing specific TPUSA staffers on her first show back, and now says they couldn't convince her Tyler Robinson was the gunman.
Erika Kirk flew to Nashville for this??
Erika Kirk flew to Nashville for this??
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
one of the ways that Joe Manchin was very damaging to the Dem party as a whole was the way he'd go on television all the time to talk about how the rest of his party sucked
nobody should ever make the mistake of thinking MTG is on their side but "Republican on TV saying Republicans suck" is helpful
nobody should ever make the mistake of thinking MTG is on their side but "Republican on TV saying Republicans suck" is helpful
Marjorie Taylor Greene: "I think the midterms are gonna be very hard for Republicans. I'm one of the people that's willing to admit the truth and say I don't see Republicans winning the midterms right now, so that doesn't bode well for Mike Johnson."
December 17, 2025 at 2:27 AM
one of the ways that Joe Manchin was very damaging to the Dem party as a whole was the way he'd go on television all the time to talk about how the rest of his party sucked
nobody should ever make the mistake of thinking MTG is on their side but "Republican on TV saying Republicans suck" is helpful
nobody should ever make the mistake of thinking MTG is on their side but "Republican on TV saying Republicans suck" is helpful
Reposted by Jo_clever_ke
In the early 2010s, our society was evolving away from blind adoration of macho hubris. Then teenagers raised on fictional jerkass characters meant as parodic—like Tyler Durden, Eric Cartman, and Peter Griffin—hit adulthood and began voting such figures into power for fun. In this essay I will
How culture is downstream from Homer Simpson—seriously, and how in a very specific way, our country's current political tragedy and the so-called "crisis of masculinity" are both indirect results.
I wish I were exaggerating.
(Thread.)
I wish I were exaggerating.
(Thread.)
I remember when the Simpsons, in its ninth season (1997), began to feature what fans called "jerkass Homer," a characterization of him that involved deliberately being a jerk for openly selfish reasons while rationalizing it with a childish glee that was funny just by being inappropriate. >
October 8, 2025 at 3:22 PM
In the early 2010s, our society was evolving away from blind adoration of macho hubris. Then teenagers raised on fictional jerkass characters meant as parodic—like Tyler Durden, Eric Cartman, and Peter Griffin—hit adulthood and began voting such figures into power for fun. In this essay I will