jmelesky, seasonally festive
@jmelesky.bsky.social
Data tech person. Highly trained amateur programmer. Role models include: Columbo, Captain America, Janelle Monáe.
User image is an old gravatar of large pink pixels on an off-white background.
Primarily on the fediverse, but here, too.
User image is an old gravatar of large pink pixels on an off-white background.
Primarily on the fediverse, but here, too.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
Chuckling at the people in the U.S. who consistently shit on people who live in "red" states... Well according to others in the world, the entire US is now a "red" state. Not so easy to overthrow authoritarians, is it?
January 20, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Chuckling at the people in the U.S. who consistently shit on people who live in "red" states... Well according to others in the world, the entire US is now a "red" state. Not so easy to overthrow authoritarians, is it?
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
It’s important to crunch the numbers given all the nonsense this administration spouts, but also worth stressing we didn’t actually need new research to know this is how tariffs work. It’s well known, it’s what virtually every economist said, & the administration just plunged ahead delusionally.
A new study show that Americans - not foreigners - have payed 96% of the tariffs so far. Here's the WSJ:
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
January 20, 2026 at 2:35 PM
It’s important to crunch the numbers given all the nonsense this administration spouts, but also worth stressing we didn’t actually need new research to know this is how tariffs work. It’s well known, it’s what virtually every economist said, & the administration just plunged ahead delusionally.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
more Americans have got to internalize that November 2024 was the last point at which we were gonna get out of this disaster without Americans being (at least) *inconvenienced*.
every choice those fighting fascism make during terrifying times like these will have downsides. that is *how it is*.
every choice those fighting fascism make during terrifying times like these will have downsides. that is *how it is*.
January 19, 2026 at 7:02 PM
more Americans have got to internalize that November 2024 was the last point at which we were gonna get out of this disaster without Americans being (at least) *inconvenienced*.
every choice those fighting fascism make during terrifying times like these will have downsides. that is *how it is*.
every choice those fighting fascism make during terrifying times like these will have downsides. that is *how it is*.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
January 16, 2026 at 12:17 AM
I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
The Star Tribune had an insane graphic about the presence of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. There are more immigration officers in the metro right now than local police officers.
January 15, 2026 at 12:56 AM
The Star Tribune had an insane graphic about the presence of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. There are more immigration officers in the metro right now than local police officers.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
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 14, 2026 at 12:32 AM
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.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
"What happens next will define the future of Americans’ relationship to their government. Are we free citizens of a constitutional republic or we are the unwilling subjects of a gangster regime where state violence is excused at the highest levels of power?"
Minnesota Is the Test Case for an American Police State - Dame Magazine
President Donald Trump wasted no time turning his second term into an all-out assault on the rule of law. As the tragic shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapol...
www.damemagazine.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:50 PM
"What happens next will define the future of Americans’ relationship to their government. Are we free citizens of a constitutional republic or we are the unwilling subjects of a gangster regime where state violence is excused at the highest levels of power?"
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
51% of Americans believe ICE is making cities less safe, now is the time for Democrats to go out and tell people that they're right and here's how we'll eliminate ICE as a threat to you
New CNN polling:
Most Americans see an immigration officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Good as an inappropriate use of force. Roughly half view it as a sign of broader issues with the way ICE is operating, w/under 1/3 saying that ICE operations have made cities safer.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/p...
Most Americans see an immigration officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Good as an inappropriate use of force. Roughly half view it as a sign of broader issues with the way ICE is operating, w/under 1/3 saying that ICE operations have made cities safer.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/p...
January 14, 2026 at 5:57 PM
51% of Americans believe ICE is making cities less safe, now is the time for Democrats to go out and tell people that they're right and here's how we'll eliminate ICE as a threat to you
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.
slate.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
The official explanation they’re apparently going with here is that they aren’t 100% convinced that breathing soot and ozone is actually bad for you.
Breaking News: The EPA will stop considering lives saved when setting pollution limits and instead calculate only the cost to businesses.
E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved by Limiting Air Pollution
In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show.
nyti.ms
January 12, 2026 at 7:48 PM
The official explanation they’re apparently going with here is that they aren’t 100% convinced that breathing soot and ozone is actually bad for you.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
“With all of that going on, we have 7,000 homeless people on our streets, we have 14,000 unhoused people living through shelters & other means. We have an affordability crisis that is absolutely crushing the people of our city & so it makes me incredibly angry that I’m having to fight my own govt”
Portland putting ‘sand in the gears’ of local ICE operations after high-profile shootings
Elected officials are proposing legislation and throwing up bureaucratic hurdles in an effort to make work difficult for federal agents
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:04 AM
“With all of that going on, we have 7,000 homeless people on our streets, we have 14,000 unhoused people living through shelters & other means. We have an affordability crisis that is absolutely crushing the people of our city & so it makes me incredibly angry that I’m having to fight my own govt”
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
The quote about America being full of temporarily embarrassed millionaires is wrong. It's full of temporarily embarrassed tyrants.
The country is full of ppl who believe the success is the ability to take what you want, from whom you want, and be poweful enough to weather the consequences.
The country is full of ppl who believe the success is the ability to take what you want, from whom you want, and be poweful enough to weather the consequences.
January 12, 2026 at 3:17 AM
The quote about America being full of temporarily embarrassed millionaires is wrong. It's full of temporarily embarrassed tyrants.
The country is full of ppl who believe the success is the ability to take what you want, from whom you want, and be poweful enough to weather the consequences.
The country is full of ppl who believe the success is the ability to take what you want, from whom you want, and be poweful enough to weather the consequences.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
Guys it’s kind of wild, but apparently leaders can face very serious charges for leading coups
South Korea's ex-President Yoon faces potential death sentence request in trial reut.rs/4qFOlGd
South Korea's ex-President Yoon faces potential death sentence request in trial
South Korea's special prosecutor is expected to make a sentencing request for former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of insurrection over his brief imposition of martial law in 2024, as a lower court trial convened on Friday for its final session.
reut.rs
January 9, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Guys it’s kind of wild, but apparently leaders can face very serious charges for leading coups
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
The reason you have congressional hearings is so
stories like this HAVE to get coverage for the normies. There were TEN Benghazi investigations. Give me twenty ICE investigations, with big damn press conferences.
stories like this HAVE to get coverage for the normies. There were TEN Benghazi investigations. Give me twenty ICE investigations, with big damn press conferences.
A Minneapolis pastor of an MCC church — a denomination rooted in LGBTQ equality — recounts being detained by ICE.
Says an ICE officer walked up to him as he was chanting “we are not afraid.”
The agent, he says, raised his gun and said “are you afraid now?”
m.youtube.com/watch?v=lcSO...
Says an ICE officer walked up to him as he was chanting “we are not afraid.”
The agent, he says, raised his gun and said “are you afraid now?”
m.youtube.com/watch?v=lcSO...
Minneapolis pastor: ICE 'pointed a gun at me' and 'put me in the back of an SUV'
YouTube video by MS NOW
m.youtube.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:39 AM
The reason you have congressional hearings is so
stories like this HAVE to get coverage for the normies. There were TEN Benghazi investigations. Give me twenty ICE investigations, with big damn press conferences.
stories like this HAVE to get coverage for the normies. There were TEN Benghazi investigations. Give me twenty ICE investigations, with big damn press conferences.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
36 people have died at ICE's hands in the past year
may of these deaths did not happen on camera, but it does not make them any less horrifying and unacceptable
this is a list of their names, where they lived before being abducted, and a link to crowdfunding if i can find it
may of these deaths did not happen on camera, but it does not make them any less horrifying and unacceptable
this is a list of their names, where they lived before being abducted, and a link to crowdfunding if i can find it
January 8, 2026 at 7:53 PM
36 people have died at ICE's hands in the past year
may of these deaths did not happen on camera, but it does not make them any less horrifying and unacceptable
this is a list of their names, where they lived before being abducted, and a link to crowdfunding if i can find it
may of these deaths did not happen on camera, but it does not make them any less horrifying and unacceptable
this is a list of their names, where they lived before being abducted, and a link to crowdfunding if i can find it
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
Updated: A DHS spokesperson claims a Portland victim shot by a border patrol agent today "weaponized" their vehicle, leading the agent to fire. The Trump administration made a similar claim following the killing of a woman in Minneapolis yesterday, though video apparently contradicts that assertion.
Police: Two People in East Portland Shot by Federal Agents
Update 5:45 pm: Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, wrote on the social platform X that US Border Patrol agents were conducting a "targeted vehicle stop" in E...
www.portlandmercury.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Updated: A DHS spokesperson claims a Portland victim shot by a border patrol agent today "weaponized" their vehicle, leading the agent to fire. The Trump administration made a similar claim following the killing of a woman in Minneapolis yesterday, though video apparently contradicts that assertion.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
Tomorrow at Strength In Numbers: A fresh look at public opinion toward ICE and Trump's deportation agenda, plus brand-new data on support for abolishing ICE.
Get it in your inbox: www.gelliottmorris.com/subscribe
Get it in your inbox: www.gelliottmorris.com/subscribe
Subscribe to Strength In Numbers
Independent, data-driven analysis of politics, public opinion, and elections. Evidence, not spin. Learn what the data really says. Click to read Strength In Numbers, by G. Elliott Morris, a Substack p...
www.gelliottmorris.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Tomorrow at Strength In Numbers: A fresh look at public opinion toward ICE and Trump's deportation agenda, plus brand-new data on support for abolishing ICE.
Get it in your inbox: www.gelliottmorris.com/subscribe
Get it in your inbox: www.gelliottmorris.com/subscribe
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
ICE observers in the Twin Cities are in need of dash cams to prevent further intimidation and frivolous claims.
Cams are $110, memory cards $35, and ship to us directly via this wish list: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
If you've been looking for a way to help, we'd sure appreciate it!
Cams are $110, memory cards $35, and ship to us directly via this wish list: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
If you've been looking for a way to help, we'd sure appreciate it!
January 6, 2026 at 3:05 AM
ICE observers in the Twin Cities are in need of dash cams to prevent further intimidation and frivolous claims.
Cams are $110, memory cards $35, and ship to us directly via this wish list: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
If you've been looking for a way to help, we'd sure appreciate it!
Cams are $110, memory cards $35, and ship to us directly via this wish list: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
If you've been looking for a way to help, we'd sure appreciate it!
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
🧵New preprint: Adults often agree with their ingroup even when evidence says otherwise. Why?
To find out, we studied kids, who show the same tendency but *before* political identities take hold. With developmental data, we can see the basic psychological ingredients.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
1/11
To find out, we studied kids, who show the same tendency but *before* political identities take hold. With developmental data, we can see the basic psychological ingredients.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
1/11
OSF
doi.org
January 6, 2026 at 3:03 PM
🧵New preprint: Adults often agree with their ingroup even when evidence says otherwise. Why?
To find out, we studied kids, who show the same tendency but *before* political identities take hold. With developmental data, we can see the basic psychological ingredients.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
1/11
To find out, we studied kids, who show the same tendency but *before* political identities take hold. With developmental data, we can see the basic psychological ingredients.
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
1/11
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
We talk a lot about the GOP's structural advantages, and not enough about the Dem's big structural advantage: the law. Trump's attempted political prosecutions have floundered because Dems don't break the law, but the Democrats would not have a similar problem if they decided to go ham on the GOP.
January 5, 2026 at 7:17 PM
We talk a lot about the GOP's structural advantages, and not enough about the Dem's big structural advantage: the law. Trump's attempted political prosecutions have floundered because Dems don't break the law, but the Democrats would not have a similar problem if they decided to go ham on the GOP.
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
The moderate position is indeed The Hague
January 3, 2026 at 6:45 AM
The moderate position is indeed The Hague
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
This is an excellent time for all good Americans to read Diary of a Man in Despair. You can even read it for free on the Archive.
archive.org/stream/Diary...
archive.org/stream/Diary...
January 1, 2026 at 4:52 PM
This is an excellent time for all good Americans to read Diary of a Man in Despair. You can even read it for free on the Archive.
archive.org/stream/Diary...
archive.org/stream/Diary...
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
Today is the last day that you can repost this image
December 31, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Today is the last day that you can repost this image
Reposted by jmelesky, seasonally festive
You can also use the map in the story to look up vaccination rates in your local schools! This was a HUGE data lift: we reviewed and mapped tens of thousands of individual schools’ data, assembling the most comprehensive public database. And we published this data here: github.com/washingtonpo...
December 31, 2025 at 2:29 PM
You can also use the map in the story to look up vaccination rates in your local schools! This was a HUGE data lift: we reviewed and mapped tens of thousands of individual schools’ data, assembling the most comprehensive public database. And we published this data here: github.com/washingtonpo...