@globalnarratives.bsky.social
Pinned
I have one. Voters make decisions based on the ideas in their heads and their beliefs about the world, and those ideas and beliefs are heavily shaped by their social interactions, especially media consumption, and in the last 20 years most media consumption is from social media's sea of lies.
I don't think center left or left or center pundits have put forward a single coherent explanation of the 2016 election following the 2024 election as literally all of their theories of the 2016 election were disproven by the Biden term.
"Men are disturbed not by events, but by the view that they take of them"
Epictetus
Epictetus
Or...! Maybe she's so nuts that no one wants to get on board with her loony ideas
NEW: This week, Daily Show host Jon Stewart introduced his audience to Jenin Younes, describing her as a courageous civil rights attorney who had been canceled by both the right and left and therefore “must be doing something right.”
Really, she spent years undermining public health—and Democrats.
Really, she spent years undermining public health—and Democrats.
Jon Stewart Praises Attorney Behind Years of Anti-Vaccine and Anti-Lockdown Lawfare
“You’re a civil rights attorney who has been canceled by both the right and the left, which means you must be doing something right.”
www.importantcontext.news
January 17, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Or...! Maybe she's so nuts that no one wants to get on board with her loony ideas
I was barely out of High School at the time DHS was created, but something about the use of the word "Homeland" just felt deeply reactionary and uncomfortable even then, and it has certainly lived down to expectations
Nick Miroff: After 9/11, George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security to prevent future terror strikes. Now DHS shifted from defending the country against foreign terrorists to deploying agents on American streets for the purpose of terrorizing American citizens.
‘Maybe DHS Was a Bad Idea’
Two decades after its founding, the department has become what its critics feared.
www.theatlantic.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:46 PM
I was barely out of High School at the time DHS was created, but something about the use of the word "Homeland" just felt deeply reactionary and uncomfortable even then, and it has certainly lived down to expectations
Reposted
The 2026 American Midterm Elections: Democratic Socialism with CIA characteristics v. Redditor Fascism
January 17, 2026 at 1:09 AM
The 2026 American Midterm Elections: Democratic Socialism with CIA characteristics v. Redditor Fascism
@atrupar.com has been doing the Lord's work for years transcribing all this nonsense, but it very sincerely needs to be asked. What is the point of getting Trump to make statements on these things? At best, they represent a temporary state of mind, at worst, outright deception
Twas ever thus
Twas ever thus
REPORTER: Do you commit to not militarily engaging NATO partners?
TRUMP: I don't talk about that
REPORTER: You're not willing to commit to not attacking a NATO partner?
TRUMP: I don't talk about that
REPORTER: You're not willing to commit to not attacking a NATO partner?
January 16, 2026 at 10:12 PM
@atrupar.com has been doing the Lord's work for years transcribing all this nonsense, but it very sincerely needs to be asked. What is the point of getting Trump to make statements on these things? At best, they represent a temporary state of mind, at worst, outright deception
Twas ever thus
Twas ever thus
No, but they didn't have the luxury of having been born at The End of History
Do we think that someone born in 1906 who had lived through WWI, the Spanish Flu, and the Great Depression was making these after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor?
January 16, 2026 at 6:29 PM
No, but they didn't have the luxury of having been born at The End of History
Trump I - Every week is Infrastructure Week
Trump II - Every day is Whiskey Friday
Trump II - Every day is Whiskey Friday
remember in 2026 every day can be Whiskey Friday, with or without Tony Dokoupil.
January 16, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Trump I - Every week is Infrastructure Week
Trump II - Every day is Whiskey Friday
Trump II - Every day is Whiskey Friday
I've been saying pretty much since the outset of Trump II that the biggest opposition figure to emerge will likely be someone whose name has not yet been uttered in national politics
Existing leadership has a reflexive need for comity that is forever vulnerable to weaponization by the reactionaries
Existing leadership has a reflexive need for comity that is forever vulnerable to weaponization by the reactionaries
Only 15 days in and we have a strong contender for most embarrassing headline of the year.
Ben. Shapiro. The guy who can't get his wife wet. The guy who needs an old person to open the pickle jar for him.
Ben. Shapiro. The guy who can't get his wife wet. The guy who needs an old person to open the pickle jar for him.
January 16, 2026 at 4:12 PM
I've been saying pretty much since the outset of Trump II that the biggest opposition figure to emerge will likely be someone whose name has not yet been uttered in national politics
Existing leadership has a reflexive need for comity that is forever vulnerable to weaponization by the reactionaries
Existing leadership has a reflexive need for comity that is forever vulnerable to weaponization by the reactionaries
The proportion of our culture wars (and low-grade domestic conflict?) that has played out through bakeries over the last 25 years has been truly astonishing
Look at this absolute queen
January 16, 2026 at 4:10 PM
The proportion of our culture wars (and low-grade domestic conflict?) that has played out through bakeries over the last 25 years has been truly astonishing
Not only will they come back if we do not prosecute them, but in order to have a chance at restoring anything like credibility around the world, it will be necessary to demonstrate that they have been removed thoroughly
This bit is important. If MAGA/ICE criminals aren't punished, they will come back. If they aren't broken and scattered, there will be purges when they do return. Time for some game theory!
January 15, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Not only will they come back if we do not prosecute them, but in order to have a chance at restoring anything like credibility around the world, it will be necessary to demonstrate that they have been removed thoroughly
The Extended Sinematic Universe delivering the goods on this one....
Krysten Sinema you crazy for this one
January 15, 2026 at 6:12 PM
The Extended Sinematic Universe delivering the goods on this one....
Just as The Baileys demanded....
Schumer as a major American metro is being brutally occupied by Trump goons: "The affordability crisis will be our focus throughout 2026 because that's what the American people are demanding"
January 15, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Just as The Baileys demanded....
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So obviously these guys are shitheads who are getting off on the misery they're inflicting on others, but they're also dorky edgelord cosplayers who should be mocked at literally every opportunity because this is pathetic challenge coin art.
Demonstrators apparently retrieved from the cars belonging to ICE these "challenge coins" that ICE mercenaries receive when they carry out arrests.
This one is decorated with a skull wearing a crown.
ICE mercenaries serve king death. They are evil incarnate.
This one is decorated with a skull wearing a crown.
ICE mercenaries serve king death. They are evil incarnate.
January 15, 2026 at 3:01 PM
So obviously these guys are shitheads who are getting off on the misery they're inflicting on others, but they're also dorky edgelord cosplayers who should be mocked at literally every opportunity because this is pathetic challenge coin art.
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"And know this: the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.
Remember this: Try."
Remember this: Try."
Whenever elected Democrats are like "there's nothing we can do to stop this," they fail to grasp that what voters want isn't even for them to work miracles as much as it is for them to just 𝘵𝘳𝘺. Like hey, just 𝘵𝘳𝘺 to do something. Be active. It's a shockingly low bar to clear and yet...
January 15, 2026 at 2:41 PM
"And know this: the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.
Remember this: Try."
Remember this: Try."
The mayor of Minneapolis right now could be turning himself into the most prominent figure in Democratic party politics nationally just by turning out to the protests and demonstrating solidarity and conviction
But his instinct is to tell people to calm down
But his instinct is to tell people to calm down
The typical Democratic elected's reaction to protests is "uh uh, hope this doesn't backfire, yeesh" when it should be to help organize them
Whenever elected Democrats are like "there's nothing we can do to stop this," they fail to grasp that what voters want isn't even for them to work miracles as much as it is for them to just 𝘵𝘳𝘺. Like hey, just 𝘵𝘳𝘺 to do something. Be active. It's a shockingly low bar to clear and yet...
January 15, 2026 at 3:02 PM
The mayor of Minneapolis right now could be turning himself into the most prominent figure in Democratic party politics nationally just by turning out to the protests and demonstrating solidarity and conviction
But his instinct is to tell people to calm down
But his instinct is to tell people to calm down
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at the end of the day, the problem is very simple and has been unchanged for a long time. if people recognized reality, they would have to do something about it.
McBride: Look, people are clutching their pearls at this guy yelling something at the president. They are more offended by a worker standing up to the president and calling him out for his hypocrisy than they are by the president trying to cover up for a human trafficking ring
January 15, 2026 at 3:40 AM
at the end of the day, the problem is very simple and has been unchanged for a long time. if people recognized reality, they would have to do something about it.
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This is *extraordinary*. Trump is already seeking to stash his plunder in offshore havens beyond the reach of American law *while still president*!
Seizure ... by whom? If we're asserting that the money is safer in Qatar than the US, that suggests that it is being protected because Qatar has something the US lacks — presumably a lack of accountability to American courts and Congress. www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
January 15, 2026 at 3:13 AM
This is *extraordinary*. Trump is already seeking to stash his plunder in offshore havens beyond the reach of American law *while still president*!
Everyone wants to hold in their heads that *someone else* will make the hard call, will stand up, will be the one to risk himself for the Right Thing to Do ... that we can stay as we were without a destabilizing refusal
But sometimes it DOES fall to you, and there is not going to be anyone else
But sometimes it DOES fall to you, and there is not going to be anyone else
Maybe it puts me on the outs with lawyers and defense people, but there is no scenario in which U.S. military officers should carry out orders to attack a NATO ally. They should disobey and elected Democrats should back them up.
Nazi orders were also lawful and "just following" them was no excuse.
Nazi orders were also lawful and "just following" them was no excuse.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), to Bloomberg TV:
“If there is military action against #Greenland, I will be one of the first people to file and co-sponsor a War Powers Resolution. It will pass.”
“If there is military action against #Greenland, I will be one of the first people to file and co-sponsor a War Powers Resolution. It will pass.”
January 15, 2026 at 2:10 AM
Everyone wants to hold in their heads that *someone else* will make the hard call, will stand up, will be the one to risk himself for the Right Thing to Do ... that we can stay as we were without a destabilizing refusal
But sometimes it DOES fall to you, and there is not going to be anyone else
But sometimes it DOES fall to you, and there is not going to be anyone else
The only consistent objective of the Reactionary Mind is a desire to punish the outgroup
this is all it’s really about for them. Not domestic policy, not “economic anxiety”, just an endless desire to punish stand-ins for the Mommy who forced them take a bath, even if it tanks their own quality of life.
January 15, 2026 at 2:05 AM
The only consistent objective of the Reactionary Mind is a desire to punish the outgroup
I attended a university with a Corps of Cadets in the student body, and had a classmate who was 6'3 former marine, who kept a 9mm and FOUR BOXES OF AMMO in the cab of his truck. IN VERMONT
I suggested politely it might be overkill, and he said "Hey, you never know"
Actually, I think you know
I suggested politely it might be overkill, and he said "Hey, you never know"
Actually, I think you know
as a small person who has spent a ton of time traveling alone without ever feeling the need to carry a gun, I also think about this a lot
As a small woman I think it’s pathetic to feel the need to carry a gun everywhere to feel safe. If I don’t feel the need how tf do these men that think they’re so big and tough.
January 15, 2026 at 2:02 AM
I attended a university with a Corps of Cadets in the student body, and had a classmate who was 6'3 former marine, who kept a 9mm and FOUR BOXES OF AMMO in the cab of his truck. IN VERMONT
I suggested politely it might be overkill, and he said "Hey, you never know"
Actually, I think you know
I suggested politely it might be overkill, and he said "Hey, you never know"
Actually, I think you know
When Mahmud II disbanded the Janissaries in 1826, they mutinied, were suppressed, and the event of their destruction became known as The Auspicious Incident
It’s worth considering that an overnight dismantling of ICE in 2029 would release into the wild a whole herd of specialists in violence with scant other marketable skills.
January 15, 2026 at 1:53 AM
When Mahmud II disbanded the Janissaries in 1826, they mutinied, were suppressed, and the event of their destruction became known as The Auspicious Incident
Occidentalism assumes the inherent weakness, duplicitousness, and perfidy of anything save brute force, and has no place in its mental universe for those who would resist that force, or the ideas that might drive them so to do
all of german imperial (and nazi german) diplomacy leading up to the wars was essentially just "what do you mean you people were serious when you signed a legally binding military alliance treaty"
i actually love how much the junker class literally just did not understand the concept of why keeping your word is important
January 15, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Occidentalism assumes the inherent weakness, duplicitousness, and perfidy of anything save brute force, and has no place in its mental universe for those who would resist that force, or the ideas that might drive them so to do
Feeling this today
It’s called ‘vs code’ because the code is an enemy you are fighting
January 15, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Feeling this today
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boy I dunno I think if the president of France just announced he was sending troops at the behest of Denmark to Greenland to protect against an American incursion I would not be among the 153 (!) Democrats vote to approve State Department/“national security” appropriations!
The House voted 341 to 79 to fund Trump's war-mongering foreign policy agenda.
Only 57 Democrats voted NO.
clerk.house.gov/evs/2026/rol...
Only 57 Democrats voted NO.
clerk.house.gov/evs/2026/rol...
January 14, 2026 at 11:53 PM
boy I dunno I think if the president of France just announced he was sending troops at the behest of Denmark to Greenland to protect against an American incursion I would not be among the 153 (!) Democrats vote to approve State Department/“national security” appropriations!
These people are stupid and odious, so I have no idea what this is all about, but I do eat very well at home for about $6 a meal, so doing so less well for less money doesn't sound insane
Brooke Rollins: "We've run over 1,000 simulations. It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla, and one other thing. So there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money."
January 14, 2026 at 9:48 PM
These people are stupid and odious, so I have no idea what this is all about, but I do eat very well at home for about $6 a meal, so doing so less well for less money doesn't sound insane
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My favourite line from Barbara Tuchman, paraphrased: power corrupts, but the corruption of powerlessness can be even more dangerous
Just guessing here, but I suspect the White House is pushing so hard for wars of conquest on multiple fronts because they see their support collapsing ahead of the midterms and worry they won't get another shot. An example of how tyrants become more dangerous as they get weaker, not less.
January 14, 2026 at 8:03 PM
My favourite line from Barbara Tuchman, paraphrased: power corrupts, but the corruption of powerlessness can be even more dangerous