Tom Zinnen
@tmzinnen.bsky.social
Retired outreacher, formerly at UW-Madison Biotech Center
Reposted by Tom Zinnen
It's important to understand what this ad does and why it is so threatening to the Trump admin. It gets to social identity theory, which posits that we have many identities, and the one which is salient in a given context will dictate how we think/behave in a particular situation. 1/
WATCH: After six Democratic lawmakers posted a video urging members of the military not to follow illegal orders, Trump erupted online, accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, one of the senators in that video, joins Chris Hayes to respond.
'HANG THEM': Trump melts down, accuses six Dems of ‘seditious behavior’
YouTube video by MS NOW
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:00 AM
It's important to understand what this ad does and why it is so threatening to the Trump admin. It gets to social identity theory, which posits that we have many identities, and the one which is salient in a given context will dictate how we think/behave in a particular situation. 1/
Reposted by Tom Zinnen
Your regular reminder that the reason all of the awful & illegal things keep happening in 🇺🇸 politics - from Trump to GWB/torture to Iran-Contra to Watergate, back to 1865 - is that there are never any actual legal or personal consequences for all of the awful & illegal things happening in 🇺🇸 politics
This, from 2016, feels very quaint now. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Why Trump Would Almost Certainly Be Violating the Constitution If He Continues to Own His Businesses
The meaning of the Emoluments Clause is fairly clear. And it all goes back to a diamond-encrusted snuffbox Ben Franklin got from Louis XVI.
www.propublica.org
November 21, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Your regular reminder that the reason all of the awful & illegal things keep happening in 🇺🇸 politics - from Trump to GWB/torture to Iran-Contra to Watergate, back to 1865 - is that there are never any actual legal or personal consequences for all of the awful & illegal things happening in 🇺🇸 politics
Beef prices up 5X over last year?
Gotterdammerung it, please show some evidence to back up that extraordinary claim.
Here's an ordinary claim: Ground beef is up from $5.5/lb in July '24 to $6.3/lb in July '25 (the latest FRED data).
0.8/5.5 = 14.5%. That's 1.14X, not 5X.
Gotterdammerung it, please show some evidence to back up that extraordinary claim.
Here's an ordinary claim: Ground beef is up from $5.5/lb in July '24 to $6.3/lb in July '25 (the latest FRED data).
0.8/5.5 = 14.5%. That's 1.14X, not 5X.
November 21, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Beef prices up 5X over last year?
Gotterdammerung it, please show some evidence to back up that extraordinary claim.
Here's an ordinary claim: Ground beef is up from $5.5/lb in July '24 to $6.3/lb in July '25 (the latest FRED data).
0.8/5.5 = 14.5%. That's 1.14X, not 5X.
Gotterdammerung it, please show some evidence to back up that extraordinary claim.
Here's an ordinary claim: Ground beef is up from $5.5/lb in July '24 to $6.3/lb in July '25 (the latest FRED data).
0.8/5.5 = 14.5%. That's 1.14X, not 5X.
Cops have the protection of exoneration by claiming "I feared for my life" under a broad range of situations, but ordinary folks have higher standards in defending themselves as someone unknown to them is, from the point of view of the resident, trying to break into the resident's house.
María Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velásquez’s killing led to a criminal charge after a couple mistakenly tried to unlock the wrong door.
Shootings linked to wrong addresses have intensified the debate over how far “stand your ground” protections extend.
Shootings linked to wrong addresses have intensified the debate over how far “stand your ground” protections extend.
Two minutes on a porch, a misunderstanding and a fatal shot
María Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velásquez and her husband began trying their keys in the door of what they believed was the home they were supposed to clean, court records say.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Cops have the protection of exoneration by claiming "I feared for my life" under a broad range of situations, but ordinary folks have higher standards in defending themselves as someone unknown to them is, from the point of view of the resident, trying to break into the resident's house.
The poundage of the top five states adds up to 1.14 billion pounds.
Assuming 10 pounds per pumpkin on average, that would be 114 million pumpkins.
A far piece from 2 billion?
Assuming 10 pounds per pumpkin on average, that would be 114 million pumpkins.
A far piece from 2 billion?
“All States produce some pumpkins, but six States produce most of them.” IL topped the list, producing 630m pounds of pumpkins in 2022. “The next 5 largest pumpkin-producing States by weight were IN w/160m pounds, CA w/120m pounds, MI and PA w/90m pounds each, and VA w/50m pounds.”
Immigrants are among the essential farmworkers who help harvest approximately two billion pumpkins so we can all carve, decorate, and bake our way through the fall. ICYMI at @americasvoice.bsky.social: americasvoicecnn.substack.com/p/dont-ghost...
November 21, 2025 at 4:12 PM
The poundage of the top five states adds up to 1.14 billion pounds.
Assuming 10 pounds per pumpkin on average, that would be 114 million pumpkins.
A far piece from 2 billion?
Assuming 10 pounds per pumpkin on average, that would be 114 million pumpkins.
A far piece from 2 billion?
The man has no balls: specifically, he lacks iron binnacles on either side of his moral compass.
November 21, 2025 at 4:08 PM
The man has no balls: specifically, he lacks iron binnacles on either side of his moral compass.
Reposted by Tom Zinnen
The Wisconsin Senate approved a bill to expand insurance coverage for breast cancer exams by a vote of 32-1.
Advocates say Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is blocking action due to pressure from insurance companies.
@liamberan.bsky.social story:
isthmus.com/news/news/ad...
Advocates say Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is blocking action due to pressure from insurance companies.
@liamberan.bsky.social story:
isthmus.com/news/news/ad...
Vos is blocking breast cancer screening bill, advocates say
The bill would require insurance companies in Wisconsin to cover supplemental diagnostic examinations for women with dense breast tissue.
isthmus.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The Wisconsin Senate approved a bill to expand insurance coverage for breast cancer exams by a vote of 32-1.
Advocates say Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is blocking action due to pressure from insurance companies.
@liamberan.bsky.social story:
isthmus.com/news/news/ad...
Advocates say Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is blocking action due to pressure from insurance companies.
@liamberan.bsky.social story:
isthmus.com/news/news/ad...
As it is for baseball fields so it is for intelligence spy-infrastructure:
If you build it, they will come.
And in the second case, they will abuse it.
If you build it, they will come.
And in the second case, they will abuse it.
Internal university communications reveal how a network established for post-9/11 intelligence sharing was turned on students protesting genocide.
How U.S. Universities Used Counterterror Fusion Centers to Surveil Student Protests for Palestine
Internal university communications reveal how a network established for post-9/11 intelligence sharing was turned on students protesting genocide.
interc.pt
November 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
As it is for baseball fields so it is for intelligence spy-infrastructure:
If you build it, they will come.
And in the second case, they will abuse it.
If you build it, they will come.
And in the second case, they will abuse it.
Note: the *courts* have found 150 unlawful actions.
This is a minimal count. And damning to the Trump administration.
This is a minimal count. And damning to the Trump administration.
Houlahan points out that courts have found Trump has taken at least 150 unlawful actions since re-taking office, "so yes, those kinds of things are going on. Just because you are the president doesn't mean everything that comes out of your mouth is lawful."
November 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Note: the *courts* have found 150 unlawful actions.
This is a minimal count. And damning to the Trump administration.
This is a minimal count. And damning to the Trump administration.
More than a civil war, the GOP has capitulated powers and abdicated duties of Congress while Trump tramples the constitution
Jeffries: "Republicans are in the midst of an ongoing civil war. Trump is fighting with MTG. Johnson and Thune are fighting with each other. Mills and Mace are fighting with each other. House Rs are strongly disagreeing with Senate Rs. The whole thing on the other side of the aisle is a mess."
November 21, 2025 at 2:11 PM
More than a civil war, the GOP has capitulated powers and abdicated duties of Congress while Trump tramples the constitution
American Apartheid.
On this day in 1927, the Supreme Court upheld Mississippi’s power to force a nine-year-old Chinese American girl to attend a "colored school" outside the district in which she lived.
Nov. 21, 1927 | Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning Chinese Americans from White Schools
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
calendar.eji.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
American Apartheid.
Yes, but I am reminded of the sad story of geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin who advocated for working (loosely held) hypotheses (1890) but made his adamantine opposition to continental drift the hill he would die on.
Once a HS social studies teacher was inexplicably forced to do a day of sex ed and didn’t know what to do, so he told us about a “timekeeper,” who is someone at a bar who you don’t think is attractive enough to hook up with and when you’ve drunk enough for them to be attractive, you should go home.
What’s the most significant advice you received from a teacher?
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
November 21, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Yes, but I am reminded of the sad story of geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin who advocated for working (loosely held) hypotheses (1890) but made his adamantine opposition to continental drift the hill he would die on.
Reposted by Tom Zinnen
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) says someone showed up to her D.C. office today and made white supremacist threats. Capitol Police had to intervene.
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
November 21, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) says someone showed up to her D.C. office today and made white supremacist threats. Capitol Police had to intervene.
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
This was hours after Trump said Democrats in Congress should be executed.
"When leaders promote hate, hate shows up."
Dick Cheney didn't speak out against Trump until Cheney felt obliged to speak up for his daughter in 2022.
Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to speak up for the country but rather he remained silent against Trump in 2016 & in 2020.
A tough-guy cowardly cowboy who put party before country.
Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to speak up for the country but rather he remained silent against Trump in 2016 & in 2020.
A tough-guy cowardly cowboy who put party before country.
November 20, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Dick Cheney didn't speak out against Trump until Cheney felt obliged to speak up for his daughter in 2022.
Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to speak up for the country but rather he remained silent against Trump in 2016 & in 2020.
A tough-guy cowardly cowboy who put party before country.
Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to speak up for the country but rather he remained silent against Trump in 2016 & in 2020.
A tough-guy cowardly cowboy who put party before country.
Sue the government for damages, and find a DA who will investigate and take the case to a grand jury. Cops and law-enforcement agencies need to be held accountable both personally and as organizations.
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Sue the government for damages, and find a DA who will investigate and take the case to a grand jury. Cops and law-enforcement agencies need to be held accountable both personally and as organizations.
I seem to recall two assassinated in Minnesota and the husband of the Speaker of the House nearly beaten to death in his own home by Trumpists.
November 20, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I seem to recall two assassinated in Minnesota and the husband of the Speaker of the House nearly beaten to death in his own home by Trumpists.
Reposted by Tom Zinnen
Ingrassia - who also cancelled a colleagues hotel room and forced her to stay in his room on a work trip - had his nomination withdrawn for one position after his Nazi inclinations were publicized. But Trump found another position for him.
Meanwhile Driscoll was fired.
www.jns.org/conservative...
Meanwhile Driscoll was fired.
www.jns.org/conservative...
Conservative lawyer reportedly tapped for Trump admin role post-‘Nazi’ text scandal
Paul Ingrassia allegedly sent an email to colleagues, saying the U.S. president personally offered him the position, according to news reports.
www.jns.org
November 20, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Ingrassia - who also cancelled a colleagues hotel room and forced her to stay in his room on a work trip - had his nomination withdrawn for one position after his Nazi inclinations were publicized. But Trump found another position for him.
Meanwhile Driscoll was fired.
www.jns.org/conservative...
Meanwhile Driscoll was fired.
www.jns.org/conservative...
:-/
In 1982, a physics joke gone wrong sparked the invention of the emoticon arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025...
In 1982, a physics joke gone wrong sparked the invention of the emoticon
A simple proposal on a 1982 electronic bulletin board helped sarcasm flourish online.
arstechnica.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:34 PM
:-/
I'm much more concerned with the current use in the US of the Knights Templar cross by the reight-wing religious zealots.
November 20, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I'm much more concerned with the current use in the US of the Knights Templar cross by the reight-wing religious zealots.
Oh, so this is why flags continue to loiter at half mast at federal facilities: Cheney's still not yet buried.
He died on Nov 3.
Put him down in the ground so we can get the flags back up where they belong.
And change the flag code.
He died on Nov 3.
Put him down in the ground so we can get the flags back up where they belong.
And change the flag code.
Former president George W. Bush will give a eulogy at former vice president Dick Cheney’s funeral in Washington on Thursday.
Neither President Trump nor Vice President Vance are expected to attend.
Neither President Trump nor Vice President Vance are expected to attend.
Cheney’s funeral expected to draw Bush and GOP’s old guard, not Trump
The former vice president will be honored at the Washington National Cathedral beginning at 11 a.m.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Oh, so this is why flags continue to loiter at half mast at federal facilities: Cheney's still not yet buried.
He died on Nov 3.
Put him down in the ground so we can get the flags back up where they belong.
And change the flag code.
He died on Nov 3.
Put him down in the ground so we can get the flags back up where they belong.
And change the flag code.
Reposted by Tom Zinnen
Trump issues an order for the arrest and criminal prosecution of members of Congress who made a video reminding soldiers and sailors that they swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States and shouldn't implement illegal orders. Trump's conduct is unabashed fascism.
November 20, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Trump issues an order for the arrest and criminal prosecution of members of Congress who made a video reminding soldiers and sailors that they swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States and shouldn't implement illegal orders. Trump's conduct is unabashed fascism.
American Apartheid, Minnesota Style, Mid-Century Flavor
Don't want any native Americans buying back any prized lakefront property, either.
Don't want any native Americans buying back any prized lakefront property, either.
November 20, 2025 at 4:06 PM
American Apartheid, Minnesota Style, Mid-Century Flavor
Don't want any native Americans buying back any prized lakefront property, either.
Don't want any native Americans buying back any prized lakefront property, either.
Extrajudicial murder at sea is still against the law and morality.
Tom Cotton is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and he's telling us it's proof that Trump's boat attack victims are drug traffickers if CNN doesn't interview their grieving relatives.
Cotton on Trump's boat strikes: "Use common sense. If any of these had been boats full of fisherman or refugees, CNN would've already been on the ground & interviewed all their families & told their stories. We can be confident all of these strikes have been against cartel-based drug traffickers."
November 20, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Extrajudicial murder at sea is still against the law and morality.
The Calvinism Is Strong In This One...
The incompetence is staggering.
Dr. Oz Slammed After Telling Americans To Simply 'Get Healthier' To Reduce Their Healthcare Costs
www.comicsands.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
The Calvinism Is Strong In This One...
Reposted by Tom Zinnen
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
November 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.