John Ma 🇺🇦
@nakhthor.bsky.social
Chinese-American anc historian, Columbia. Antiochos III & the Cities of W Asia Minor (1999), Statues & Cities (2013), Aršāma and his World (2020, co-ed), Polis: A New History (2024). Guggenheim Fellow.
Pinned
Jfc
This article heavily implies that ICE is being used in a custody dispute to help Karoline Leavitt's brother get his son and have the mother locked up in ICE detention
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
November 26, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Jfc
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
This article heavily implies that ICE is being used in a custody dispute to help Karoline Leavitt's brother get his son and have the mother locked up in ICE detention
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
![REVERE, Mass. —
A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts.
The woman, Bruna Ferreira, has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt's brother.
Ferreira migrated with her family to the United States from Brazil as a child and is currently in custody at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
Michael Leavitt released a statement, saying that his "only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of [his] son."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x4qyokjtdzgl7gmqhsw4ajqj/bafkreiacyzixchgacpjse7wyra342opgjsvdxzqdrkxq55zzqah65zyeae@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 4:24 AM
This article heavily implies that ICE is being used in a custody dispute to help Karoline Leavitt's brother get his son and have the mother locked up in ICE detention
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
I assume that getting steak and lobster dinners with 20,000 calories of appetizers for your whole family delivered by personal chauffeur is inexpensive again now that Uncle Joe Brandon is out of the White House at least
November 26, 2025 at 6:17 AM
I assume that getting steak and lobster dinners with 20,000 calories of appetizers for your whole family delivered by personal chauffeur is inexpensive again now that Uncle Joe Brandon is out of the White House at least
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
The Mark Kelly thing is wild because even if they had a case against him and even if he wasn't probably immune from prosecution under the speech and debate clause, Hegseth has already ruined it by exerting undue command influence
November 26, 2025 at 6:15 AM
The Mark Kelly thing is wild because even if they had a case against him and even if he wasn't probably immune from prosecution under the speech and debate clause, Hegseth has already ruined it by exerting undue command influence
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
This is a man with a normal amount of fluids
November 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM
This is a man with a normal amount of fluids
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Between voter suppression and ballot manipulation, they appear to have been _just_ successful enough to install him. No wonder he has to brag so hard about his performance. He‘s not trying to convince others. He’s trying to convince himself.
November 25, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Between voter suppression and ballot manipulation, they appear to have been _just_ successful enough to install him. No wonder he has to brag so hard about his performance. He‘s not trying to convince others. He’s trying to convince himself.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Trump never had a fan base.
He had an army of bots who sold his racism and misogyny and xenophobia to uneducated Americans who took voting advice from bald eagle profiles posting Tweets from Eastern Europe.
It’s as stupid as it sounds.
He had an army of bots who sold his racism and misogyny and xenophobia to uneducated Americans who took voting advice from bald eagle profiles posting Tweets from Eastern Europe.
It’s as stupid as it sounds.
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Trump never had a fan base.
He had an army of bots who sold his racism and misogyny and xenophobia to uneducated Americans who took voting advice from bald eagle profiles posting Tweets from Eastern Europe.
It’s as stupid as it sounds.
He had an army of bots who sold his racism and misogyny and xenophobia to uneducated Americans who took voting advice from bald eagle profiles posting Tweets from Eastern Europe.
It’s as stupid as it sounds.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Yeah, I see this reaction play out again and again from scarred little man-toddlers who can't deal with any woman (or really non-straight-presenting-male) having expertise on anything.
One of the most annoying constants on the internet and in modern life.
One of the most annoying constants on the internet and in modern life.
November 24, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Yeah, I see this reaction play out again and again from scarred little man-toddlers who can't deal with any woman (or really non-straight-presenting-male) having expertise on anything.
One of the most annoying constants on the internet and in modern life.
One of the most annoying constants on the internet and in modern life.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Though the online ur-text for this that remains Undefeated is probably @pptsapper.bsky.social 's "Stop Calling Us Warriors."
angrystaffofficer.com/2016/12/14/s...
angrystaffofficer.com/2016/12/14/s...
Stop Calling Us Warriors
If you’ve been in the Army longer than five minutes, you’ve probably been called “warrior” already. Or maybe “hero,” usually used sarcastically when referring to…
angrystaffofficer.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Though the online ur-text for this that remains Undefeated is probably @pptsapper.bsky.social 's "Stop Calling Us Warriors."
angrystaffofficer.com/2016/12/14/s...
angrystaffofficer.com/2016/12/14/s...
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
I'm hardly the only one, but I've been warning against the 'warrior' language and symbolism for years (foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/19/u...)
November 24, 2025 at 8:05 PM
I'm hardly the only one, but I've been warning against the 'warrior' language and symbolism for years (foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/19/u...)
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
He's also facing legal resistance in the lower courts, in some cases verging on jury nullification. Efforts to prosecute political enemies keep failing.
In short, the attempts to actually exercise arbitrary, autocratic power keep being rebuffed.
In short, the attempts to actually exercise arbitrary, autocratic power keep being rebuffed.
November 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM
He's also facing legal resistance in the lower courts, in some cases verging on jury nullification. Efforts to prosecute political enemies keep failing.
In short, the attempts to actually exercise arbitrary, autocratic power keep being rebuffed.
In short, the attempts to actually exercise arbitrary, autocratic power keep being rebuffed.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
I suspect this is true - the humanities will go back to being a status marker. Rich kids and the elect get to study Homer, but the middle class must settle for adjunct-taught mega-lectures before STEM classes.
A grim destination, but right now that is the road the voters keep choosing.
A grim destination, but right now that is the road the voters keep choosing.
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
November 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I suspect this is true - the humanities will go back to being a status marker. Rich kids and the elect get to study Homer, but the middle class must settle for adjunct-taught mega-lectures before STEM classes.
A grim destination, but right now that is the road the voters keep choosing.
A grim destination, but right now that is the road the voters keep choosing.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
We regret to inform you that Ron Paul is entirely correct here.
November 25, 2025 at 7:08 PM
We regret to inform you that Ron Paul is entirely correct here.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
The Trump Administration Wants To Review Tens Of Thousands Of Refugees Who Entered Under Biden
www.huffpost.com
The Trump Administration Wants To Review Tens Of Thousands Of Refugees Who Entered Under Biden
twp.ai
November 26, 2025 at 3:33 AM
The Trump Administration Wants To Review Tens Of Thousands Of Refugees Who Entered Under Biden
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
DOGE is going to be a litmus test for the Democrats.
If we end up with a Democratic president and a majority in the Senate or House in 2028, and they don’t go back and hold Musk and entire operation accountable…I’d have to conclude they secretly supported DOGE.
If we end up with a Democratic president and a majority in the Senate or House in 2028, and they don’t go back and hold Musk and entire operation accountable…I’d have to conclude they secretly supported DOGE.
November 25, 2025 at 12:37 PM
DOGE is going to be a litmus test for the Democrats.
If we end up with a Democratic president and a majority in the Senate or House in 2028, and they don’t go back and hold Musk and entire operation accountable…I’d have to conclude they secretly supported DOGE.
If we end up with a Democratic president and a majority in the Senate or House in 2028, and they don’t go back and hold Musk and entire operation accountable…I’d have to conclude they secretly supported DOGE.
Must read
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
November 26, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Must read
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
6/ of masters who made that happen was silly. The Russians really know influence operations, subversion, espionage, manipulation. They're particularly good at it. But most Great Powers are pretty good at that stuff. It's part of the Great Power job description. Who's operating at ...
November 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
6/ of masters who made that happen was silly. The Russians really know influence operations, subversion, espionage, manipulation. They're particularly good at it. But most Great Powers are pretty good at that stuff. It's part of the Great Power job description. Who's operating at ...
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Apropos of the Witkoff thing, recently it occurred to me that Bondi and Patel are chattering abt polygraphing and canning non-MAGA FBI agents and all other such stuff. Meanwhile people in the FBI keep leaking every time Kash gives his wannabe country music girlfriend some new chunk of public ...
November 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Apropos of the Witkoff thing, recently it occurred to me that Bondi and Patel are chattering abt polygraphing and canning non-MAGA FBI agents and all other such stuff. Meanwhile people in the FBI keep leaking every time Kash gives his wannabe country music girlfriend some new chunk of public ...
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
I think everyone knows this but just to be clear: the only purpose of mass deportations is white supremacy. There’s no economic, crime/safety, “rule of law” purpose somewhere at the heart of the thing, no fair process at the root. It’s just racism.
November 25, 2025 at 10:52 PM
I think everyone knows this but just to be clear: the only purpose of mass deportations is white supremacy. There’s no economic, crime/safety, “rule of law” purpose somewhere at the heart of the thing, no fair process at the root. It’s just racism.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Yep. I've been waiting for EU spooks to start reminding Trump that they've got their own capabilities.
Three things about the Witkoff tapes:
1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.
2) This Ukraine "deal" was all Witkoff's idea.
3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.
1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.
2) This Ukraine "deal" was all Witkoff's idea.
3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
November 25, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Yep. I've been waiting for EU spooks to start reminding Trump that they've got their own capabilities.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Now, remind me again that non-Americans should mind their own business.
November 25, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Now, remind me again that non-Americans should mind their own business.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
Reposted by John Ma 🇺🇦
Tonight on Ken Burns's American Revolution, Rick Atkinson is going is going to tell you:
"Muskets are mostly inaccurate beyond 80 yards...so a lot of the killing is done with the bayonet... this is really eyeball to eyeball."
The trouble is, this just isn't true. 🧵1/16
"Muskets are mostly inaccurate beyond 80 yards...so a lot of the killing is done with the bayonet... this is really eyeball to eyeball."
The trouble is, this just isn't true. 🧵1/16
November 19, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Tonight on Ken Burns's American Revolution, Rick Atkinson is going is going to tell you:
"Muskets are mostly inaccurate beyond 80 yards...so a lot of the killing is done with the bayonet... this is really eyeball to eyeball."
The trouble is, this just isn't true. 🧵1/16
"Muskets are mostly inaccurate beyond 80 yards...so a lot of the killing is done with the bayonet... this is really eyeball to eyeball."
The trouble is, this just isn't true. 🧵1/16