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Reposted by Susan Barnes

Rob Tornoe @robtornoe.bsky.social · 10h

Penn State, a land-grant institution, will pay James Franklin about $50 million to NOT coach for the next six seasons.

Meanwhile, the school declined to spend about $17 million to keep WPSU on the air, choosing instead to shutter its public media company.

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Susan Barnes @susrbarnes.bsky.social · 9h

Great piece on the whole mess. Thanks!

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette @post-gazette.com · 10h

Jason Mackey: Why firing James Franklin was Penn State's only option

For someone whose coaching career has been defined by a series of smoke and mirrors — beating the bad teams, hardly ever beating the good ones —...

www.post-gazette.com

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Susan Barnes @susrbarnes.bsky.social · 9h

As a Penn Stater who cheers for my teams, it’s crazy we owe Franklin $50 million but we’ve been sustaining deep academic budget cuts for a while. So pathetic.

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 15h

The central cleavage in American politics

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

“Who was president in 2020?” remains one of the most pertinent questions in American politics—absurd, yes, but here we are—and that extends to “who was president January 1 - 19, 2021?”

Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 17h

That’s a nice trick, since Biden wasn’t the president on Jan 6.

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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 17h

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

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Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

“[T]he broader aim of all this agitprop is far uglier. Trump has employed a form of state propaganda that may be unrivaled by any presidency in modern memory, and these MAGA influencers are generating material for that vile effort.”

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

This MAGA propaganda is deeply sinister. Stephen Miller has been lying about Portland/Chicago relentlessly. It's core to his project: He's trying to establish quasi-absolute power for Trump to simply invent pretexts by fiat to justify whatever abuses he launches. 5/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

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Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 1d

LMAO this is what happens when you fight the creatives: *Oh yeah? I've got an inflatable frog suit. BRING IT.*
#FROGTIFA #AMPHIFA #AmphibiansAgainstFascism

AMPHIBIANS AGAINST FASCISM flag with frog
AMPHIFA

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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 2d

Authoritarians rule based on fear.

Ridiculing them this way weakens their propaganda.

It matters.

Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 2d

This video is everywhere because it's a hilarious visual refutation of Portland being on fire. You can't get a mass movement going without convincing the masses

so yes, this does do something actually

Post

Dallas Steele

@Cherrykickstart

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This literally does nothing. You are not beating fascism by dressing up in inflatable suits and dancing

Quote tweeting Claude Taylor @TrueFactsStated

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Portland is leading the way. This is how you (non violently) beat Fascism. Humor and ridicule are key.

Stillframe from a video of Portland protesters dancing in inflatable suits

9:17 AM 08 Oct 25 758K Views

13:01 09 Oct 25 32.6K Views

88 Reposts

11 Quotes

1,049 Likes

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God @thegodpodcast.com · 2d

Imagine being mad you didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize while you’re busy stirring up Civil War in your own country.

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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 2d

The guy who keeps invading cities and bombing foreigners whenever he feels like it and keeps dangling invasion of Greenland, Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela didn’t win the Nobel peace prize this year

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April Glick Pulito @aprilglick.bsky.social · 2d

Nobel committee subtweeting Trump

Reuters @reuters.com · 2d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 3d

Antifa is not a group; the president cannot designate domestic terror groups.

My @brennancenter.org colleague @faizapatel.bsky.social is out today with a deep review of NSPM-7. It is a dangerous directive that will facilitate predatory politics-based targeting: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 4d

"We took the freedom of speech away," says the president

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

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Jane Coaston @janecoaston.bsky.social · 4d

Mike Johnson was born in 1972. “God Bless the USA” came out when he was 12. This is boomer cosplay.

Andrew Mearns @mearns.bsky.social · 4d

lmao this dolt is beyond parody.
yeah Lee Greenwood, totally appealing to all audiences. you nailed it buddy

“Lee Greenwood for Super Bowl halftime show!” says the idiot

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 4d

really can’t say enough about how mike johnson is a sniveling little coward of a man. a bayou-bred pushover with a dignity deficit that would embarrass renfield

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Q: Do you agree that the mayor of Chicago and governor of Illinois should be in prison?

MIKE JOHNSON: Should they be in prison? I'm not the attorney general. I'm not following the day to day on that

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 4d

Way to call Trump’s bluff, Gov. Pritzker.

The president threatening to have Chicago’s mayor and Illinois’ governor arrested is serious and bad, not least since it’s because they’re following the law instead of helping Trump break it.

But his capacity is limited. He’s hoping the bluster is enough.

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 4d

I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?

Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.

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Old White Nepo Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 5d

These people are evil. Never stop saying so. Don’t be intimidated into shutting up.

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 5d

Here’s video of the incident

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jen rice @jenrice.bsky.social · 5d

NEW: today in court, the TX congressional map-maker said he
-was hired by the RNC, not TX
-reviewed the DOJ letter (urging TX to eliminate some minority districts) before it was sent
-communicated w/the white house using signal messages that autodeleted

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

RNC-Hired Mapmaker Denies Using Racial Data in Texas Gerrymander, Sparks Debate

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Ted Lieu @tedlieu.bsky.social · 5d

Today is Day 7 of the Republican shutdown. Your regular reminders:

1. Republicans control the White House, Senate and House.

2. GOP making deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and ACA.

3. Democrats are fighting to lower costs, cancel the cuts and save healthcare for Americans.

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Phaedra C. Pezzullo @phaedra.bsky.social · 6d

Agree. I showed the movie reenactment of this scene to my students this semester and we discussed satyagraha as an ethic & tactic

Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 6d

We’re in a moment now where it would be worth people taking three hours to watch Gandhi, particularly the scene of the salt march. There is value to making the brutality of your opponent so plain as day that no one can argue with it. The clarity of that brought down an empire

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Susan Barnes @susrbarnes.bsky.social · 7d

What a win for the Bulwark community!

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Susan Barnes @susrbarnes.bsky.social · 7d

As I listen to all the local announcers from the playoff teams, I’m reminded how fortunate we are to have Robert Ford and Steve Sparks. Win or lose, Ford and Sparks are outstanding analysts and transcend the local beat. #Astros

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Mark Russell @manruss.bsky.social · 9d

“How can Portland POSSIBLY stand against the might of the federal government?!”

“Let me introduce you to our frog.”

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 7d

There is no actual democracy in the world where minority parties, controlling <exactly none> of the legislative or executive institutions of the government, are expected to save the governing majority from itself. Only in America, where Murc's Law Trumps everything else.

Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 7d

There is no benefit to stopping the shutdown. None. GOP and Trump won't stick to any deals made and this is the only lever you have right now. And they will double down and double fuck Dems if they do cave. Don't blink. They own the exec and both house and senate. Let them sort it out.

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 7d

The White House is blatantly violating the Constitution, ignoring Congressionally-allocated spending. Approving any budget would put a stamp of approval on the end of checks and balances.

It'll hurt, yes, but it's time for opposition. The political costs will mostly fall on the people in charge.

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