Michael Gauger
@mtgauger.bsky.social
Writer/editor focused on American history (especially the Progressive Era and World War I) and political science, funding for youth music education. Proud University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alumnus. Opinions mine. A repost isn’t necessarily an endorsement.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Q: Officials say the suspect in the DC shooting was vetted & it came up clean
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
November 28, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Q: Officials say the suspect in the DC shooting was vetted & it came up clean
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
Reposted by Michael Gauger
The pretend University of Austin teaches "Forbidden Courses" with zero pushback even as the real universities are forbidding courses due to political pressure
My friend Jake (that’s Dr. Beck to you!) on the crisis in Texas universities.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Professor: Texas used to have universities
Former Texas Tech professor takes issue with the actions of Texas universities to restrict what topics can be discussed. Doing so makes them something other...
www.dallasnews.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:04 PM
The pretend University of Austin teaches "Forbidden Courses" with zero pushback even as the real universities are forbidding courses due to political pressure
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Let's not confuse the people giving the stupid orders with the people who have to deal with following them, who are often good and decent people.
Apparently she offered to cover other people's shifts so they could go home to their families for the holiday.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/27/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/27/u...
Two National Guard members were tasked with serving the nation. One is dead as the other fights for his life after shooting | CNN
On a day when many families gather across the country to give thanks, a National Guard member’s family is mourning her death after an ambush-style shooting in Washington, DC, as her colleague fights f...
www.cnn.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Let's not confuse the people giving the stupid orders with the people who have to deal with following them, who are often good and decent people.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
And presumably he wants the media to cover his press conferences! It's not like you don't have any leverage!
There's a weird collective self-justification among reporters on this beat that their job is not to push back but to be stoic in order to observe an endlessly fascinating natural phenomenon. It's all nonsense. He is a public servant. Demand decency, and slap back hard and fast when you don't get it.
I can’t believe people in the room don’t push back. It doesn’t matter if he’s the president, part of holding him accountable is standing up to his bullying— especially if he’s doing it right in front of your face
November 28, 2025 at 2:46 AM
And presumably he wants the media to cover his press conferences! It's not like you don't have any leverage!
Reposted by Michael Gauger
“There are costs to performatively deploying members of the military,” Juliette Kayyem writes, “one of which is the risk of endangering them”:
A Terrible and Avoidable Tragedy in D.C.
Trump was warned that members of the military could be attacked.
bit.ly
November 28, 2025 at 2:45 AM
“There are costs to performatively deploying members of the military,” Juliette Kayyem writes, “one of which is the risk of endangering them”:
Reposted by Michael Gauger
“I’m not against giving thanks. I’m against celebrating a falsehood,” says Choctaw historian A. S. Dillingham in an interview with @jessehagopian.bsky.social in @truthout.org on Thanksgiving propaganda. "A national origin story that hides the real foundations of the US."
truthout.org/articles/the...
truthout.org/articles/the...
The Thanksgiving Myth Hides the US’s Inability to Reckon With Its Own History
“I’m not against giving thanks. I’m against celebrating a falsehood,” says Choctaw historian A. S. Dillingham.
truthout.org
November 28, 2025 at 2:36 AM
“I’m not against giving thanks. I’m against celebrating a falsehood,” says Choctaw historian A. S. Dillingham in an interview with @jessehagopian.bsky.social in @truthout.org on Thanksgiving propaganda. "A national origin story that hides the real foundations of the US."
truthout.org/articles/the...
truthout.org/articles/the...
Reposted by Michael Gauger
"We followed everything we were supposed to do"
Legitimate green card applicants with US spouses are being
arrested by armed, masked men at scheduled immigration interviews, taken away from their children, sent to prison
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Legitimate green card applicants with US spouses are being
arrested by armed, masked men at scheduled immigration interviews, taken away from their children, sent to prison
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:55 AM
"We followed everything we were supposed to do"
Legitimate green card applicants with US spouses are being
arrested by armed, masked men at scheduled immigration interviews, taken away from their children, sent to prison
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Legitimate green card applicants with US spouses are being
arrested by armed, masked men at scheduled immigration interviews, taken away from their children, sent to prison
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Michael Gauger
a young woman who signed up to serve her community and our narcissistic, despotic president decided to use her as a prop for his ego
November 28, 2025 at 2:11 AM
a young woman who signed up to serve her community and our narcissistic, despotic president decided to use her as a prop for his ego
Reposted by Michael Gauger
What’s left of this man’s brain is just a Rube Goldberg machine of racism
TRUMP: If you look at Somalia, they are taking over Minnesota.
REPORTER: What do the Somalians have to do with this Afghan guy who shot the National Guard members?
TRUMP: Ah, nothing. But Somalians have caused a lot of trouble. They're ripping us off.
REPORTER: What do the Somalians have to do with this Afghan guy who shot the National Guard members?
TRUMP: Ah, nothing. But Somalians have caused a lot of trouble. They're ripping us off.
November 28, 2025 at 1:40 AM
What’s left of this man’s brain is just a Rube Goldberg machine of racism
Reposted by Michael Gauger
I can’t believe people in the room don’t push back. It doesn’t matter if he’s the president, part of holding him accountable is standing up to his bullying— especially if he’s doing it right in front of your face
“You’re a stupid person” — Trump lashes out at a reporter who presses him on the fact that the suspected DC shooter was actually thoroughly vetted before he was let in the US from Afghanistan
November 28, 2025 at 12:52 AM
I can’t believe people in the room don’t push back. It doesn’t matter if he’s the president, part of holding him accountable is standing up to his bullying— especially if he’s doing it right in front of your face
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Straight-up sociopath.
Asked about a Guard member who’s dead because of his bullshit and it takes him 30 seconds to make it all about how great he is.
Asked about a Guard member who’s dead because of his bullshit and it takes him 30 seconds to make it all about how great he is.
Q: Do you plan to attend Sarah's funeral?
TRUMP: I haven't thought about it yet, but it's certainly something I can conceive of. I love West Virginia. You know, I won West Virginia by one of the biggest margins of any president anywhere.
TRUMP: I haven't thought about it yet, but it's certainly something I can conceive of. I love West Virginia. You know, I won West Virginia by one of the biggest margins of any president anywhere.
November 28, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Straight-up sociopath.
Asked about a Guard member who’s dead because of his bullshit and it takes him 30 seconds to make it all about how great he is.
Asked about a Guard member who’s dead because of his bullshit and it takes him 30 seconds to make it all about how great he is.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
that's 95% of it. An additional 5% is that he was approved for asylum in April under this administration. So even on their own terms their blame shifting doesn't add up.
November 27, 2025 at 4:35 PM
that's 95% of it. An additional 5% is that he was approved for asylum in April under this administration. So even on their own terms their blame shifting doesn't add up.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
The Trump administration has reacted to a small scale lone wolf attack by in DC announcing a sweeping collective punishment, using the organs of government to heap blame on partisan rivals, and potentially dissuading anyone from collaborating with US forces abroad for a generation.
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington
November 27, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The Trump administration has reacted to a small scale lone wolf attack by in DC announcing a sweeping collective punishment, using the organs of government to heap blame on partisan rivals, and potentially dissuading anyone from collaborating with US forces abroad for a generation.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
JD Vance loves nothing more than telling insane lies about this nation’s history
VP JD Vance stood before a crowd and tried to falsify history, claiming Christians ended widespread mass child-sacrifice practices among Native Americans
November 27, 2025 at 4:43 PM
JD Vance loves nothing more than telling insane lies about this nation’s history
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Blessings, peace to you all.
Blessings, peace to you all.
November 27, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Blessings, peace to you all.
Blessings, peace to you all.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Another shameful Trump act. South Africa has serious problems but it remains exemplary both in its peaceful democratic transition from a racist regime and in its more recent bounce back from corrupt populism. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/w...
Trump Says South Africa Is Not Invited to G20 Summit in U.S. in 2026
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Another shameful Trump act. South Africa has serious problems but it remains exemplary both in its peaceful democratic transition from a racist regime and in its more recent bounce back from corrupt populism. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/w...
Reposted by Michael Gauger
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:01 PM
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Reposted by Michael Gauger
The House will have been in session for fewer than 30 days between July 1-December 31 and just had a 53-day recess. He makes $223K/year plus benefits including 75% of all health expenses for his entire family. Affordable Care Act subsidies expire Dec 31st for everyone else’s healthcare coverage.
Speaker 'barely holding it together' and 'crushed by his workload': NYT
Speaker 'barely holding it together' and 'crushed by his workload': NYT
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made several revealing admissions about the stressful and chaotic nature of his job, according to a recent New York Times report.The Times' Annie Karni wrote in a Wednesday article that Johnson turned what was meant to be an easy interview with a friendly podcast h...
bit.ly
November 27, 2025 at 3:34 AM
The House will have been in session for fewer than 30 days between July 1-December 31 and just had a 53-day recess. He makes $223K/year plus benefits including 75% of all health expenses for his entire family. Affordable Care Act subsidies expire Dec 31st for everyone else’s healthcare coverage.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Even “in the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude & severity, Lincoln described “blessings of fruitful fields & healthful skies” and hoped for “full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility & Union.” In that spirit, I am hopeful for better days ahead. www.americaamerica.news/p/abraham-li...
Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
As we approach our national holiday, America's 16th president reminds us to give thanks even in times of turmoil
www.americaamerica.news
November 27, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Even “in the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude & severity, Lincoln described “blessings of fruitful fields & healthful skies” and hoped for “full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility & Union.” In that spirit, I am hopeful for better days ahead. www.americaamerica.news/p/abraham-li...
Reposted by Michael Gauger
In honor of the holiday, I am reposting my op-ed on the history of Thanksgiving from the LA Times. (Spoiler: it ends badly for the Wampanoags.)
www.latimes.com/archives/la-...
www.latimes.com/archives/la-...
Which Thanksgiving?
When Americans sit down to our annual Thanksgiving meal with family and friends, we like to imagine that we are reenacting a scene that first took place in 1621.
www.latimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
In honor of the holiday, I am reposting my op-ed on the history of Thanksgiving from the LA Times. (Spoiler: it ends badly for the Wampanoags.)
www.latimes.com/archives/la-...
www.latimes.com/archives/la-...
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Got to love how much praise NYT gets for one article, 2+ years late, that literally just rehashes things we all knew already but NYT has spent the last 2 years ignoring & denying & obfuscating.
The New York Times produced a detailed, data-driven report on President Trump showing signs of aging. The president, 79, responded by calling the female reporter who co-wrote the story “ugly.” https://cnn.it/48idUFL
November 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Got to love how much praise NYT gets for one article, 2+ years late, that literally just rehashes things we all knew already but NYT has spent the last 2 years ignoring & denying & obfuscating.
Reposted by Michael Gauger
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
November 27, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
Reposted by Michael Gauger
CDC website altered at Robert F. Kennedy's behest to reflect his belief that "all events depicted in the film Ghostbusters really happened."
November 26, 2025 at 6:10 PM
CDC website altered at Robert F. Kennedy's behest to reflect his belief that "all events depicted in the film Ghostbusters really happened."
Reposted by Michael Gauger
Again, Reagan literally couldn’t do the job & his henchmen were engaged in wildly illegal policy that should have ended his presidency (Iran-Contra). Ditto Trump now every day x100. Biden couldn’t campaign anymore. These things were not remotely the same. The wrong one was made a nonstop scandal.
👇🎯💯 All of this. Not a single person or journalist is able to identify a single part of the actual <governing> & <policy> part of the job Biden wasn’t doing. And we never had this feeding frenzy for Reagan or Trump, both of whom weren’t able/willing to do the actual job during their terms. Enough.
I say all this to say, stop it. Biden was old, tired, not as sharp in language, recall or gait as two years before.
But he was doing the job and doing it well. Sadly he was not able to effectively do the Comms part of the job which requires vigor & charisma.
Now do a wellness check on Trump.
But he was doing the job and doing it well. Sadly he was not able to effectively do the Comms part of the job which requires vigor & charisma.
Now do a wellness check on Trump.
November 27, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Again, Reagan literally couldn’t do the job & his henchmen were engaged in wildly illegal policy that should have ended his presidency (Iran-Contra). Ditto Trump now every day x100. Biden couldn’t campaign anymore. These things were not remotely the same. The wrong one was made a nonstop scandal.