Real Mel Valentin
@melvalentin.bsky.social
I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere. Writer-for-hire. SF-based film critic (Cinapse, Screen Anarchy, That Shelf). Pragmatic progressive.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Keep this in mind when people claim cars mean business — closing Central #Madrid to cars over holidays resulted in a 9.5% boost in retail spending on its main shopping street: STUDY.
There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.
Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople
There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.
Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople
Closing Central Madrid To Cars Resulted In 9.5% Boost To Retail Spending, Finds Bank Analysis
City of Madrid significantly boosted the takings of its shops and restaurants last Christmas by banning cars from the CBD, finds an analysis by Spain's second largest bank.
www.forbes.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Keep this in mind when people claim cars mean business — closing Central #Madrid to cars over holidays resulted in a 9.5% boost in retail spending on its main shopping street: STUDY.
There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.
Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople
There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.
Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
it just seems plainly clear to me that if you serve the country in any capacity, civil or military, and you are not a conservative white man, the Trump administration wants to make the workplace as hostile an environment as possible so you remove yourself
November 20, 2025 at 11:42 PM
it just seems plainly clear to me that if you serve the country in any capacity, civil or military, and you are not a conservative white man, the Trump administration wants to make the workplace as hostile an environment as possible so you remove yourself
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
JP Morgan knew about Epstein's sex trafficking, but didn't report it so they could keep doing business with him.
EPSTEIN BOMBSHELL: my staff is releasing a new report showing JPMorgan Chase executives – all the way to the top – enabled Epstein's sex trafficking operation. You're going to want to read this.
Wyden Presses for Investigation Into JPMorgan Chase and Epstein
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:25 PM
JP Morgan knew about Epstein's sex trafficking, but didn't report it so they could keep doing business with him.
Evergreen tweet, unfortunately.
Omg everything is so stupid.
November 21, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Evergreen tweet, unfortunately.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
November 20, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
PSA: The President of the United States is a dangerous stochastic terrorist.
🧵1/6
🧵1/6
November 20, 2025 at 11:44 PM
PSA: The President of the United States is a dangerous stochastic terrorist.
🧵1/6
🧵1/6
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Leavitt: Why aren't you talking about what these members of congress are doing to encourage violence…. They're literally saying to 1.3 million active duty service members not to follow lawful orders
Reporter: Actually they said illegal orders.
Reporter: Actually they said illegal orders.
November 20, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Leavitt: Why aren't you talking about what these members of congress are doing to encourage violence…. They're literally saying to 1.3 million active duty service members not to follow lawful orders
Reporter: Actually they said illegal orders.
Reporter: Actually they said illegal orders.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Maybe it wasn’t really about Zelensky’s suit after all? 🤨
November 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Maybe it wasn’t really about Zelensky’s suit after all? 🤨
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
In related news, the claim ‘the Tooth Fairy does not actually take lost baby teeth from under pillows’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that magical beings are secretly thieving teeth in the dead of night…”
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
CDC backpedals on vaccines and autism, despite earlier assurances from RFK Jr.
The CDC, under the direction of an unqualified health secretary, is now promoting claims that flunk Logic 101.
www.ms.now
November 20, 2025 at 8:43 PM
In related news, the claim ‘the Tooth Fairy does not actually take lost baby teeth from under pillows’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that magical beings are secretly thieving teeth in the dead of night…”
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
tl;dr:
The United States
House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution effectively declaring Senator Lindsey Graham to be a ridiculous twit
The United States
House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution effectively declaring Senator Lindsey Graham to be a ridiculous twit
November 20, 2025 at 3:41 AM
tl;dr:
The United States
House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution effectively declaring Senator Lindsey Graham to be a ridiculous twit
The United States
House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution effectively declaring Senator Lindsey Graham to be a ridiculous twit
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
It looks like Lindsey Halligan misled a grand jury, prosecutorial conduct equivalent to committing perjury, in order to manufacture an indictment against James Comey for…
wait for it…
perjury.
wait for it…
perjury.
November 19, 2025 at 11:38 PM
It looks like Lindsey Halligan misled a grand jury, prosecutorial conduct equivalent to committing perjury, in order to manufacture an indictment against James Comey for…
wait for it…
perjury.
wait for it…
perjury.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Borders Czar Tom Homan just announced he’s ramping up ICE operations in NYC.
Same playbook we’ve been seeing in LA, DC, Chicago & Charlotte. They aren’t hunting criminals, they’re targeting workers and people who are part of the community. Families. Neighbors. The people who keep the city running.
Same playbook we’ve been seeing in LA, DC, Chicago & Charlotte. They aren’t hunting criminals, they’re targeting workers and people who are part of the community. Families. Neighbors. The people who keep the city running.
November 19, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Borders Czar Tom Homan just announced he’s ramping up ICE operations in NYC.
Same playbook we’ve been seeing in LA, DC, Chicago & Charlotte. They aren’t hunting criminals, they’re targeting workers and people who are part of the community. Families. Neighbors. The people who keep the city running.
Same playbook we’ve been seeing in LA, DC, Chicago & Charlotte. They aren’t hunting criminals, they’re targeting workers and people who are part of the community. Families. Neighbors. The people who keep the city running.
Why do i feel attacked by this post? Why?
Adds something to my bookmarks knowing full well that I will never see it again
November 19, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Why do i feel attacked by this post? Why?
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
man we should bring back the pamphlet
Hey historians 🗃️: Do you know of presses that publish short books (around 30K words / 90 pages plus notes)? I have been working on an article project that could easily turn into an great micro-history of that length, but I'm not sure it would make it to the usual full 60-90K words...
November 19, 2025 at 3:48 AM
man we should bring back the pamphlet
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Medicare for All would save $450B a year.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
November 18, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Medicare for All would save $450B a year.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Sadly, she's every Trump voter: Someone who, wittingly or unwittingly, voted for their own abuser.
Epstein survivor Jena-Lisa Jones: "Trump really ran his campaign on this. This is why I voted for him. The release of these files has been so important for me for so long that when he run on that, I really had some hope that someone would do something about it."
November 19, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Sadly, she's every Trump voter: Someone who, wittingly or unwittingly, voted for their own abuser.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
Despicable.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 19, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Despicable.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
If the President can impose his own taxes and use the proceeds to spend on his own projects, all without Congress, we have a dictatorship not a constitutional republic.
BREAKING: Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair said the administration is eyeing ways to give millions of Americans $2,000 dividend checks from tariff revenue without congressional approval, per Bloomberg.
November 19, 2025 at 2:46 AM
If the President can impose his own taxes and use the proceeds to spend on his own projects, all without Congress, we have a dictatorship not a constitutional republic.
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
So you mistakenly dismembered a journalist?
MBS claims the murder of Khashoggi was "a huge mistake and we're our doing our best that this doesn't happen again."
November 18, 2025 at 6:12 PM
So you mistakenly dismembered a journalist?
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
New — I wrote about the myriad ways journalism’s moral rot manifests, and how our crumbling institutions have created the conditions for it to fester:
Moral rot in elite journalism is killing the whole field
The Nuzzi/RFK Jr. mess and the revelation of Esptein's journo pals lay bare a profound moral absence at the heart of our free press.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
New — I wrote about the myriad ways journalism’s moral rot manifests, and how our crumbling institutions have created the conditions for it to fester:
Reposted by Real Mel Valentin
i will kind of accept this from some random person who barely pays attention. ben shapiro though? he's just lying
Ben Shapiro: “When the president said deport all the illegal immigrants, I never thought that he meant that literally”
November 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
i will kind of accept this from some random person who barely pays attention. ben shapiro though? he's just lying