John
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johnspeckhardt.bsky.social
John
@johnspeckhardt.bsky.social
Hello 👋🏻 📍Minnesota
Left of liberal, certified homebody and tolerator of life. I’m on Threads as well for some reason.
Reposted by John
Spoiler alert: When top officials have to start saying in an agency’s defense “no, no, no, that’s a totally legitimate law enforcement agency,” they have already lost and it is, in fact, no longer a legitimate law enforcement agency.
Homan: "ICE is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency. We're not out scouring the streets to disappear people or deny people their civil rights or due process."
February 12, 2026 at 2:35 PM
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If you’re coming to the Twin Cities in the next couple of weeks and this drawdown really occurs, good luck getting a rental car that doesn’t smell like body odor, piss, and 45 days of a grown man eating nothing but microwaveable soup.
February 12, 2026 at 2:59 PM
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James Van Der Beek, who starred in the teen drama series "Dawson’s Creek," has died at 48
February 11, 2026 at 7:36 PM
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In the Skyway 20 minutes after an ice abduction, mayor Frey walks through the government center. A lady yells at him "what are you doing to stop this? Fuck you." He responds, "is that helpful?" With a smirk on his face.
February 10, 2026 at 6:17 PM
February 10, 2026 at 8:36 PM
@lee-in-iowa.bsky.social are the political winds starting to shift in Iowa?
February 10, 2026 at 5:53 PM
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When Bad Bunny said "God Bless America" he meant it in the way that encompasses ALL of America, which includes Latin America, not just the US.
February 9, 2026 at 5:28 PM
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The electrical poles blowing up highlights the immense issue of reliable electricity in Puerto Rico. Since Hurricane Maria, the grid has been completely unreliable. Most of the money sent to fix it has been held up or shoveled into corrupt companies that pocket the money. There is immense corruption
February 9, 2026 at 5:28 PM
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The chairs from the album cover are familiar to anyone who grew up in a Puerto Rican home. They were ubiquitous. For whatever reason, everyone had those same plastic chairs outside their home for large parties. I broke quite a few as a kid playing on them.
February 9, 2026 at 5:28 PM
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This is el Cuatro, a traditional Puerto Rican instrument with 10 strings similar to a mandolin. It's called el Cuatro despite having 10 strings b/c it originally had 4 when it came over from Spain.
February 9, 2026 at 5:21 PM
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This was Bad Bunny giving the Grammy to his younger self.
February 9, 2026 at 5:21 PM
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This is Bad Bunny getting a drink from the legendary Toñita who runs a Puerto Rican social club in NYC. She's a fixture in Nuyorican culture and Bad Bunny directly references her in the song saying "Un shot de cañita en casa de Toñita"

hellgatenyc.com/tonita-time-...
February 9, 2026 at 5:21 PM
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That New York influence showed in songs like Neuvayol that sampled El Gran Combo's 1972 hit Un Verano en Nuevayol (A summer in New York). That's why a NYC style street corner in the lower east side is here. NY is a key part of Puerto Rican identity and culture from the bodega to the barbershop.
February 9, 2026 at 5:15 PM
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Salsa is a core genre in Puerto Rican music, that although developed by Puerto Ricans was actually made famous by Nuyoricans in New York City who moved in a major migration wave in the 1950's. El Gran Combo made this genre a powerhouse in Latin culture.
February 9, 2026 at 5:15 PM
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This is a love letter to Reggaeton featuring some of the biggest songs in the genre, Dale Don Dale by Don Omar and Gasolina by Daddy Yankee. These songs came out 20 years ago and made Reggaeton internationally famous.
February 9, 2026 at 5:10 PM
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La casita (little house) looks like an average house in Puerto Rico with solid concrete walls and shutter style windows. If you have family in PR, you've seen these houses. They are the center of everything, from family to parties.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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El perreo or "twerking" is at the heart of modern Puerto Rican dance culture. It's pretty much what Reggaeton was made for, dancing. Dancing is so core to Puerto Rican culture. Get-togethers always have dancing, from kids to abuelitas dancing to salsa, merengue, and reggaeton.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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Boxing is huge in Puerto Rico. We're home to two major champions, Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Miguel Cotto. We are an island of boxing royalty.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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Beauty culture is huge among Puerto Rican women, especially getting nails done. That and the salon are huge 3rd places for people to hang out in.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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Dominoes are huge in Puerto Rican culture. Having some beer or rum while playing dominoes with friends is one of the most quintessential Puerto Rican things you can do.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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Cold coconuts are a mainstay of Puerto Rican street food. It's incredibly refreshing on a hot day. Go down the street in Viejo San Juan and you can't miss the coco frio or piragua (shaved ice) stands.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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So when Bad Bunny starts with him being in a sugarcane field, it's showcasing so much history of exploitation of the Puerto Rican people by the US and especially the wealthy.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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Sugarcane production was brutal work that left workers subjected to horrendous conditions for barely any pay while US sugar barrons became unimaginably wealthy. They siphoned wealth from the island while leaving it impoverished. Attempts to fight for better wages resulted in violent crackdowns.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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The show opens with a Jibaro (countryside person in Puerto Rico) playing a guitar in a sugarcane field while wearing a pava (traditional hat worn by Puerto Rican farmers).

Sugarcane was a major cash crop that the US exploited as a colonial power (Domino Sugar)
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
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“kid rock? isn’t that what they called epstein island?”
February 9, 2026 at 3:12 PM