John Holbo
@jholbo.bsky.social
Professor of Philosophy, Illustrator of Philosophers
https://www.onbeyondzarathustra.com
https://www.onbeyondzarathustra.com
This ignores the 9 and 3/4 amendment, which secretly states that some enumerated rights may NOT be retained by the people. (It's just unenumerated which enumerated rights those unretained ones might be.)
A neat thing about birthright citizenship is how it tests whether a person cares at all about the Constitution. There's no argument against it, birthright citizenship is the unambitious text, the obvious intent of the drafters, and the undisputed way it was followed for the past 150+ years.
I continue to think that Matty coming out against birthright citizenship a few months ago should have been taken as a major warning sign that the group chats have already decided to surrender on this.
December 7, 2025 at 10:26 PM
This ignores the 9 and 3/4 amendment, which secretly states that some enumerated rights may NOT be retained by the people. (It's just unenumerated which enumerated rights those unretained ones might be.)
The first sentence of section 1 of the 14th amendment was drafted so unclearly (narrator: it wasn't) because, historically, the framers of the 14A maybe wanted to open the door for a sequel! Give "Dred" a sporting chance to bounce back in a generation or two - for a rematch. Yes, that was the mood.
The evidence is the text. All you have to do is read the Constitution.
December 7, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The first sentence of section 1 of the 14th amendment was drafted so unclearly (narrator: it wasn't) because, historically, the framers of the 14A maybe wanted to open the door for a sequel! Give "Dred" a sporting chance to bounce back in a generation or two - for a rematch. Yes, that was the mood.
Reposted by John Holbo
The Republican Party really only has one core principle now: Everything the government does must either benefit Donald Trump and his allies or punish his enemies.
Donald Trump’s restitution scheme is among the greatest heists in US history
Bogus claims of malicious prosecution could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions.
www.motherjones.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The Republican Party really only has one core principle now: Everything the government does must either benefit Donald Trump and his allies or punish his enemies.
Reposted by John Holbo
this has become a very important video to me
December 7, 2025 at 4:29 AM
this has become a very important video to me
It's hard to be sure exactly what Atwater is confessing in that famous interview about the Southern Strategy. I mean: there's the Southern Strategy. And there's Atwater, who knew about it. But, despite Atwater's deathbed will to 'fess up, there's an element of denial or just unclarity in there?
The cherry on top of all this is that Grim -- like many people on the left -- get that Atwater interview completely wrong.
Here it is. I criticized Ryan Grim because I didn't think he challenged Christopher Rufo all that hard, and Grim called it "defamation".
December 7, 2025 at 3:47 AM
It's hard to be sure exactly what Atwater is confessing in that famous interview about the Southern Strategy. I mean: there's the Southern Strategy. And there's Atwater, who knew about it. But, despite Atwater's deathbed will to 'fess up, there's an element of denial or just unclarity in there?
Reposted by John Holbo
Tree /human hybrid. Book illustration from Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754), author of the satirical fantasy Niels Klim's Underground Travels (1741)
#satire #scifi #Enlightenment #18th #18thC
#satire #scifi #Enlightenment #18th #18thC
December 6, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Tree /human hybrid. Book illustration from Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754), author of the satirical fantasy Niels Klim's Underground Travels (1741)
#satire #scifi #Enlightenment #18th #18thC
#satire #scifi #Enlightenment #18th #18thC
You could write this. Or you could write: “That notion, which has been the rule in nearly every country in the Western Hemisphere for over a century, is grounded in the language of the 14th Amendment.”
All how you choose to frame it.
All how you choose to frame it.
December 6, 2025 at 1:14 AM
At first Serpico is a fairly regular guy but then he is wearing bigger and weirder and more hats. And even when it's a regular one like other guys wear he wears his too - insistently somehow. And neither the criminals or the cops can stand it. So they take him down. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuGg...
December 6, 2025 at 12:57 AM
At first Serpico is a fairly regular guy but then he is wearing bigger and weirder and more hats. And even when it's a regular one like other guys wear he wears his too - insistently somehow. And neither the criminals or the cops can stand it. So they take him down. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuGg...
My long-standing "Animal Farm" thought: 'all animals are equal but some are more equal than others' has a paradoxical 'believe the absurd party-line math!' quality we associate with 20th century-style totalitarianism, Stalinism, Winston in "1984" (Picard & the four lights, if you prefer tv.)
So I've been pondering the end of Animal Farm as of late... danieldrezner.substack.com/p/the-maga-f...
The MAGA Foreign Policy Evolution
"Already it was impossible to say which was which."
danieldrezner.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:43 AM
My long-standing "Animal Farm" thought: 'all animals are equal but some are more equal than others' has a paradoxical 'believe the absurd party-line math!' quality we associate with 20th century-style totalitarianism, Stalinism, Winston in "1984" (Picard & the four lights, if you prefer tv.)
Morbidly fascinated by 'The Bible says Christian nationalism but not Christian ethnonationalism' conservatives on X.
December 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Morbidly fascinated by 'The Bible says Christian nationalism but not Christian ethnonationalism' conservatives on X.
I don't get why Tarantino hates Dano, and I'm reasonably glad you-all apparently don't either.
December 5, 2025 at 7:29 AM
I don't get why Tarantino hates Dano, and I'm reasonably glad you-all apparently don't either.
Trump has already issued a blanket pardon/clemency that covers this case, too, surely - it happened on Jan 6 and all that was covered. So why has the FBI even been looking for the pipe bomber? (Has there ever before been a case of a 'John Doe' being pardoned preemptively but the manhunt goes on?)
DON Jr: It's almost like the pipebombs were the backup plan if they didn't get what they wanted out of January 6, which to me seems like a very clear setup operation
KASH PATEL: You're absolutely right
KASH PATEL: You're absolutely right
December 5, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Trump has already issued a blanket pardon/clemency that covers this case, too, surely - it happened on Jan 6 and all that was covered. So why has the FBI even been looking for the pipe bomber? (Has there ever before been a case of a 'John Doe' being pardoned preemptively but the manhunt goes on?)
Reposted by John Holbo
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by John Holbo
I heard it over the cosmic radio
December 4, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I heard it over the cosmic radio
This smacks of racial impetus!
December 5, 2025 at 3:02 AM
This smacks of racial impetus!
A 'clear and pleasant danger' standard for military engagement. Namely, anything goes so long as it thrills right-wingers.
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 2:07 AM
A 'clear and pleasant danger' standard for military engagement. Namely, anything goes so long as it thrills right-wingers.
There are so many layers to the absurdity.
December 5, 2025 at 1:53 AM
There are so many layers to the absurdity.
Reposted by John Holbo
They made a mistake from the beginning, not just morally but tactically, in gleefully releasing all their boat murder snuff films and blasting them out wall-to-wall so everyone sees them a million times. Can hardly plead now 'no, this one would be too gruesome, we don't release that kind of stuff.'
NEWS --> Tons of fresh detail on what video of the strike shows: Rep Adam Smith says two men are sitting on capsized boat, drugs aren't visible. Rationale officials gave for killing is they *may* have been able to keep trafficking.
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Hegseth Defense Collapses as Dems Reveal Horrific Video Strike Details
The ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services committee tells TNR after watching the video: “This is a big, big problem.”
newrepublic.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:21 PM
They made a mistake from the beginning, not just morally but tactically, in gleefully releasing all their boat murder snuff films and blasting them out wall-to-wall so everyone sees them a million times. Can hardly plead now 'no, this one would be too gruesome, we don't release that kind of stuff.'
Reposted by John Holbo
When people convince themselves that they should get mad at the dummy rather than the ventriloquist.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/u...
Republican Anger Erupts at Johnson as Party Frets About Future
www.nytimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:19 AM
When people convince themselves that they should get mad at the dummy rather than the ventriloquist.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/u...
Boy is my timeline bad this morning.
December 4, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Boy is my timeline bad this morning.
Reposted by John Holbo
Today was actually pretty good, all the Gender aside.
December 2, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Today was actually pretty good, all the Gender aside.
If you wanted to design a situation in which it was maximally likely that US soldiers would refuse orders - rightly or wrongly - out of serious, sincere concern that they are illegal and they would therefore get in trouble, that situation would be: Pete Hegseth as SecDef, Donald Trump as President.
Pete Hegseth says he’s going to court-martial me for saying the same exact thing he said 9 years ago. What changed for Pete? Well to start, he spends all day thinking about how he can suck up to Trump. When Trump says jump, he says how high.
December 3, 2025 at 3:46 AM
If you wanted to design a situation in which it was maximally likely that US soldiers would refuse orders - rightly or wrongly - out of serious, sincere concern that they are illegal and they would therefore get in trouble, that situation would be: Pete Hegseth as SecDef, Donald Trump as President.
A new type of reply guy on X. Folks whose big hearts are breaking at the inhumanity of the existence of laws of armed conflict. Like, two weeks ago, did they wake up, see the sun, hear the birds, sip coffee, remember war crimes are crimes - and burst into tender tears for that which can't be done?
December 3, 2025 at 2:35 AM
A new type of reply guy on X. Folks whose big hearts are breaking at the inhumanity of the existence of laws of armed conflict. Like, two weeks ago, did they wake up, see the sun, hear the birds, sip coffee, remember war crimes are crimes - and burst into tender tears for that which can't be done?
Now I wish Daredevil #7 had been about Namor visiting Frank Lloyd Wright. "Any architect will do." "You weary me with details. A prince of Atlantis does not concern himself with petty organicism!"
December 3, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Now I wish Daredevil #7 had been about Namor visiting Frank Lloyd Wright. "Any architect will do." "You weary me with details. A prince of Atlantis does not concern himself with petty organicism!"
Reposted by John Holbo
Federal Government Announces Racial Profiling Campaign, Explains It’s Because of the President’s Personal Bigotry
Officials prepare immigration operation in Minnesota that would focus on Somali immigrants, source tells AP, as Trump says he doesn't want Somalis in U.S.
Federal authorities plan operation in Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrants, AP source says
Federal authorities are preparing an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, focusing on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S.
bit.ly
December 2, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Federal Government Announces Racial Profiling Campaign, Explains It’s Because of the President’s Personal Bigotry