Jeff Johnston
@koeselitz.bsky.social
he/him | db programmer | New Mexican | piano, accordion, &c | bi, monogamous, married | medievalist: Dante; Farabi | now leading study groups on: Bach’s Matthew Passion; Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives
Pinned
Jeff Johnston
@koeselitz.bsky.social
· Jul 9
A Zohran victory would be very very good for a great number of reasons, but nobody bats a thousand and on this particular issue he is going to need to adjust somehow. I’m willing to say that, because the function of discourse is coalition setting, not electioneering.
“The function of discourse is coalition setting, not electioneering” - this is so important! In a time when electoral anxiety can feel overwhelming - esp for the liberals among us more prone to worry - we have to moderate that impulse and focus on building the coalition through honest discourse.
Tim Keller’s cameo in Pluribus was pretty awesome
November 22, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Tim Keller’s cameo in Pluribus was pretty awesome
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
Democrats must abolish ICE no matter the centrist teeth gnashing when they get back in power
NEW: Federal prison workers are jumping ship & heading to ICE for better pay + bonuses. Already BOP lost >1400 people this year, reversing all of 2024’s staffing gains. It’s an unintended consequence of Trump’s push for mass deportations
My 1st for @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
My 1st for @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Leave in Droves for ICE
Many of the problems the agency is facing now are not new, but staff and prisoners fear an exodus of officers could make life behind bars even worse.
www.propublica.org
November 21, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Democrats must abolish ICE no matter the centrist teeth gnashing when they get back in power
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
PLEASE tell every author you know about this!
Authors beware: ClaimsHero is urging authors to opt out of the Anthropic settlement in order to file their own separate lawsuit. Except this outfit has no federal or state court experience with class-action suits. And the judge has called them a fraud.
Predatory Opt-Out Scheme ClaimsHero Targets Anthropic Settlement Participants: What Authors Need to Know - The Authors Guild
In recent weeks, a third-party law firm, ClaimsHero, has launched an aggressive online campaign urging authors to opt out of the Bartz v. Anthropic copyright settlement. ClaimsHero—which has no litiga...
authorsguild.org
November 21, 2025 at 8:41 PM
PLEASE tell every author you know about this!
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
“The Internet is the Palantiri” metaphor stays winning.
November 21, 2025 at 8:49 PM
“The Internet is the Palantiri” metaphor stays winning.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
TRUMP: globalize the intifadata. you’re hearing it more and more. globalize the infante. it’s a beautiful term. i think i may have just coined it. i’m not sure. but you’re hearing it more and more.
November 21, 2025 at 8:51 PM
TRUMP: globalize the intifadata. you’re hearing it more and more. globalize the infante. it’s a beautiful term. i think i may have just coined it. i’m not sure. but you’re hearing it more and more.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
it is extra annoying that the nazis currently running the United States government are also twelve years old
like, really, we have to fear for our communities because of some groyper dipshits who post dank memes on 8chan all day
like, really, we have to fear for our communities because of some groyper dipshits who post dank memes on 8chan all day
November 21, 2025 at 4:18 PM
it is extra annoying that the nazis currently running the United States government are also twelve years old
like, really, we have to fear for our communities because of some groyper dipshits who post dank memes on 8chan all day
like, really, we have to fear for our communities because of some groyper dipshits who post dank memes on 8chan all day
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
For contrast, one of my favorite sentences from Catherine Drinker Bowen’s Miracle at Philadelphia: “A single executive for the national government conjured up visions from the past — royal governors who could not be restrained, a crown, ermine, a scepter!”
a nice reminder of one of the more absurd elements of trump v. u.s., which is roberts’ apparent belief that the constitution was written to remove limits on executive power prospect.org/2025/11/21/r...
The Right-Wing Legal Movement Made Trump a King - The American Prospect
John Roberts created a monster: Donald Trump compressed a solid millennium or two of monarchical misrule into a mere ten months.
prospect.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM
For contrast, one of my favorite sentences from Catherine Drinker Bowen’s Miracle at Philadelphia: “A single executive for the national government conjured up visions from the past — royal governors who could not be restrained, a crown, ermine, a scepter!”
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
“Kelly’s grotesque minimization of Epstein’s abuses rests on deeply ingrained attitudes and ideas about women in American society, including evangelical Christianity.”
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-barely-l...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-barely-l...
The Barely Legal Type: Purity Culture, Rape Culture, and America’s Lose-Lose Proposition for Girls
The very parts of American culture that claim to promote teen abstinence and sexual purity operate on a parallel logic to the rape culture that enables the darkest misogynistic violence against women.
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:19 PM
“Kelly’s grotesque minimization of Epstein’s abuses rests on deeply ingrained attitudes and ideas about women in American society, including evangelical Christianity.”
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-barely-l...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-barely-l...
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
It’s a very big deal that Spotlight reporters published details about how and how much public money is being spent to support ICE’s favored airline.
Why? Bc the body gifting ICE Air all this public cash – the Delaware River and Bay Authority, or DRBA – is an oversight black hole.
Why? Bc the body gifting ICE Air all this public cash – the Delaware River and Bay Authority, or DRBA – is an oversight black hole.
“Public money is quietly funding a half-million-dollar annual marketing campaign for Avelo Airlines’ Delaware operations, even as the company faces mounting criticism in the state and nationally for operating deportation flights for the Trump administration.“
Amid ICE controversy, public dollars pay for Avelo marketing in Delaware
Public money is quietly funding a half-million-dollar annual marketing campaign for Avelo Airlines’ Delaware operations, even as the company faces mounting criticism in the state and nationally for op...
https://spotlightdelaware.org/2025/11/20/amid-ice-controversy-public-dollars-pay-for-avelo-marketing-in-delaware/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=✈%EF%B8%8F%20Public%20funds%20pay%20Avelo%20marketing%20despite%20outcry%3B%20Data%20center%20vote%20delayed&utm_campaign=11%2020%2025%20Newsletter%20%28Copy%29
November 21, 2025 at 2:36 PM
It’s a very big deal that Spotlight reporters published details about how and how much public money is being spent to support ICE’s favored airline.
Why? Bc the body gifting ICE Air all this public cash – the Delaware River and Bay Authority, or DRBA – is an oversight black hole.
Why? Bc the body gifting ICE Air all this public cash – the Delaware River and Bay Authority, or DRBA – is an oversight black hole.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
The opposite of the Moms for Liberty wave should get more attention
In culture war backlash, Democrats sweep school boards
In culture war backlash, Democrats sweep school boards
The party recruited and invested in school board races to oust Republicans. It worked.
dlvr.it
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
The opposite of the Moms for Liberty wave should get more attention
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
If you scroll on X, you are only being shown what Elon wants you to see. If you create content on X, no one will see it unless Elon wants them to.
November 21, 2025 at 1:23 AM
If you scroll on X, you are only being shown what Elon wants you to see. If you create content on X, no one will see it unless Elon wants them to.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
Quite frankly, I think non-fascists who are still using Twitter and somehow still believe it’ll help them achieve non-fascist aims are 100% delusional. It’s pathetic.
It's a censorship engine designed to promote ideas that Elon Musk likes and suppress ideas that Elon Musk does not like. I really don't get why this evident fact - that Musk openly admits! - is so hard for so many people to understand
An X user asks Elon Musk why they’re seeing tweets from left-wing lawmakers.
Musk: “Because we are failing very badly with the recommendations algorithm. Doing my best to address this.”
Musk: “Because we are failing very badly with the recommendations algorithm. Doing my best to address this.”
November 21, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Quite frankly, I think non-fascists who are still using Twitter and somehow still believe it’ll help them achieve non-fascist aims are 100% delusional. It’s pathetic.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
i know i can be sensitive but the world could be a little kinder too
November 21, 2025 at 3:46 AM
i know i can be sensitive but the world could be a little kinder too
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
![II. Credibility
The Court next addresses the credibility of the parties’ evidence and witnesses. After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the Court and listening to the testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, during depositions, and in other court proceedings, the Court finds Defendants’ evidence simply not credible. [FN 6]
Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage.
[FN 6] In another case considering some of the same evidence presented to this Court, another court in this district also found that the perceptions of certain of Defendants’ declarants, such as Hott and Parra, were not reliable. See Illinois v. Trump, No. 25-cv-12174, 2025 WL 2886645, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 10, 2025) (noting a “troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning, and criticizing their government, and those who are obstructing, assaulting, or doing violence”), motion to stay denied in part, 155 F.4th 929 (7th Cir. 2025).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreifpyry2il5toxbr3iejgrsxs6kmnwve75qwnhebfp44ieyjrfpsdu@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
i’ve posted something to this effect every year for many years. i hope one day to not have to post it at all.
i don’t want to be remembered , i want to live without fear. to live a life considered unremarkable
November 18, 2024 at 5:28 PM
i’ve posted something to this effect every year for many years. i hope one day to not have to post it at all.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
149 of 200
"Dad, just sent you a basket of figs and 25 nice apples. I put a label with your name on the basket so you see it's yours from me. Take care and write me back!" 100AD Egypt.
"Dad, just sent you a basket of figs and 25 nice apples. I put a label with your name on the basket so you see it's yours from me. Take care and write me back!" 100AD Egypt.
November 17, 2025 at 5:32 PM
149 of 200
"Dad, just sent you a basket of figs and 25 nice apples. I put a label with your name on the basket so you see it's yours from me. Take care and write me back!" 100AD Egypt.
"Dad, just sent you a basket of figs and 25 nice apples. I put a label with your name on the basket so you see it's yours from me. Take care and write me back!" 100AD Egypt.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
Here’s the coming-out letter I shared with my friends and family on Facebook eight years ago. Maybe something in there will resonate for you. True story at the end there.
November 20, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Here’s the coming-out letter I shared with my friends and family on Facebook eight years ago. Maybe something in there will resonate for you. True story at the end there.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
this guy has like 100 videos exactly like this. all too wimdy to hear him say anything and I love every one of them. might be the pinnacle of norwegian comedy
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
this guy has like 100 videos exactly like this. all too wimdy to hear him say anything and I love every one of them. might be the pinnacle of norwegian comedy
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
I bet fliers would be in a better mood if the Trump administration didn’t just rip away rules that make airlines compensate people for canceled and delayed flights.
Trump's Transportation Secretary on how to improve air travel:
"People dress up like they're going to bed when they fly... We want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up"
"People dress up like they're going to bed when they fly... We want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up"
November 20, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I bet fliers would be in a better mood if the Trump administration didn’t just rip away rules that make airlines compensate people for canceled and delayed flights.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
Santa Fe is now the first city to tie the minimum wage to the cost of rent.
The Santa Fe City Council voted to raise its minimum wage from $15/hr to $17.50 by 2027 — but they also added another provision.
Future increases will factor in inflation, and the price of housing.
The Santa Fe City Council voted to raise its minimum wage from $15/hr to $17.50 by 2027 — but they also added another provision.
Future increases will factor in inflation, and the price of housing.
With new ordinance, Santa Fe becomes first city to tie minimum wage to rental costs
SANTA FE — The Santa Fe City Council voted on Wednesday to raise its minimum wage from $15 an hour to $17.50 in 2027, eliciting praise from workers’ rights advocates
www.abqjournal.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Santa Fe is now the first city to tie the minimum wage to the cost of rent.
The Santa Fe City Council voted to raise its minimum wage from $15/hr to $17.50 by 2027 — but they also added another provision.
Future increases will factor in inflation, and the price of housing.
The Santa Fe City Council voted to raise its minimum wage from $15/hr to $17.50 by 2027 — but they also added another provision.
Future increases will factor in inflation, and the price of housing.
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
*Lil Jon Voice* States' Rights to What
October 10, 2025 at 12:26 AM
*Lil Jon Voice* States' Rights to What
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
Yosemite yesterday:
(Photo by Kevin Nguyen)
(Photo by Kevin Nguyen)
November 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Yosemite yesterday:
(Photo by Kevin Nguyen)
(Photo by Kevin Nguyen)
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
1. It’s illegal to immigrate to the US in 99% of cases and even then it takes years.
2. They are abducting people at legal immigration appointments.
3. Immigration is a human right
4. Borders are fake.
5. Abolish ICE/CBP
2. They are abducting people at legal immigration appointments.
3. Immigration is a human right
4. Borders are fake.
5. Abolish ICE/CBP
November 20, 2025 at 3:26 PM
1. It’s illegal to immigrate to the US in 99% of cases and even then it takes years.
2. They are abducting people at legal immigration appointments.
3. Immigration is a human right
4. Borders are fake.
5. Abolish ICE/CBP
2. They are abducting people at legal immigration appointments.
3. Immigration is a human right
4. Borders are fake.
5. Abolish ICE/CBP
Reposted by Jeff Johnston
Important: House Dem leaders just said Trump's call for execution of Dems has prompted them to contact US Capitol Police and House Sergeant at Arms to "ensure the safety of these members and their families."
Treat Trump like an unhinged menace. He's weak and in deep political trouble. Don't let up.
Treat Trump like an unhinged menace. He's weak and in deep political trouble. Don't let up.
November 20, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Important: House Dem leaders just said Trump's call for execution of Dems has prompted them to contact US Capitol Police and House Sergeant at Arms to "ensure the safety of these members and their families."
Treat Trump like an unhinged menace. He's weak and in deep political trouble. Don't let up.
Treat Trump like an unhinged menace. He's weak and in deep political trouble. Don't let up.