Gus Orviston
@orviston.bsky.social
Bibliophile, perpetual grad student, fan of democracy, cats, and the Oxford comma. Episcopalian, but not great at it. Foxes over hedgehogs.
Pinned
Gus Orviston
@orviston.bsky.social
· Nov 7
Do not stop trying to be a good person just because you see bad people winning. Virtue matters.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
It's really incredible how the norm against the deployment of the military against Americans at home has completely degraded. What this man is describing is a flagrant violation of Posse Comitatus.
Rep. Pat Harrigan: "I have asked Josh Stein, our governor, to consider working with President Trump to allow the National Guard to come into Charlotte ... use the National Guard as a force multiplier and they can a lot of load off the Charlotte PD."
November 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
It's really incredible how the norm against the deployment of the military against Americans at home has completely degraded. What this man is describing is a flagrant violation of Posse Comitatus.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
The thing the military will have to reconcile is the tacit agreement among the two political parties that the us military would be used domestically would only be in extraordinary circumstances and not in a partisan manner and one of the two parties is like, “ya fuck that”
Mike Johnson: "I cannot for the life of me understand how the Democrats think this is some kind of winning political message. Yield man! Let the troops come into your city and show how crime can be reduced."
September 9, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The thing the military will have to reconcile is the tacit agreement among the two political parties that the us military would be used domestically would only be in extraordinary circumstances and not in a partisan manner and one of the two parties is like, “ya fuck that”
Elon is a danger to democracy.
November 12, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Elon is a danger to democracy.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
Saying you inadvertently backed the US into a “National Security Event” isn’t the flex he thinks it is.
November 11, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Saying you inadvertently backed the US into a “National Security Event” isn’t the flex he thinks it is.
Decline is a choice. In this case, it was a choice made by American voters in November of 2024.
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Decline is a choice. In this case, it was a choice made by American voters in November of 2024.
Heh. My initial read of this was to wonder what her doctor did to make him deserve going to jail.
Got it now, we're good
Got it now, we're good
From a Washington Post story titled "How women feel about Trump’s presidency"
November 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Heh. My initial read of this was to wonder what her doctor did to make him deserve going to jail.
Got it now, we're good
Got it now, we're good
Ilhan Omar wouldn't have to tell Trump what the Constitution says if he was capable of reading and understanding it on his own. Maybe it's just me, but I think that the fact that POTUS doesn't understand or respect the Constitution in any meaningful way should be a bigger news story.
Trump on Ilhan Omar: "I look at somebody who comes from Somalia...and she comes in and tells us how to run our country. 'The Constitution says this, the Constitution says that.' The whole thing is crazy."
November 11, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Ilhan Omar wouldn't have to tell Trump what the Constitution says if he was capable of reading and understanding it on his own. Maybe it's just me, but I think that the fact that POTUS doesn't understand or respect the Constitution in any meaningful way should be a bigger news story.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
There's arguably no effective way for any future administration to undo the strategic damage being done to the U.S.'s relations with these and other states.
No matter what we do, the U.S. will be seen as an untrustworthy, craven & mercurial "partner"—something simply to be endured or hedged.
No matter what we do, the U.S. will be seen as an untrustworthy, craven & mercurial "partner"—something simply to be endured or hedged.
November 11, 2025 at 12:51 PM
There's arguably no effective way for any future administration to undo the strategic damage being done to the U.S.'s relations with these and other states.
No matter what we do, the U.S. will be seen as an untrustworthy, craven & mercurial "partner"—something simply to be endured or hedged.
No matter what we do, the U.S. will be seen as an untrustworthy, craven & mercurial "partner"—something simply to be endured or hedged.
This is exactly why I would be a terrible burglar
November 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM
This is exactly why I would be a terrible burglar
Reposted by Gus Orviston
I missed this awful detail in the Senate deal: helping politicians who conspired against America as part of Trump's coup hide their phone records.
That's right, as ICE brutally violates rights in ways that leave people with no recourse, the Senate found time to protect their colleagues from justice.
That's right, as ICE brutally violates rights in ways that leave people with no recourse, the Senate found time to protect their colleagues from justice.
Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Shutdown Deal Would Let Senators Sue Over Jack Smith Searches
Senators whose phone records were sought by Special Counsel Jack Smith would gain authority to sue for millions in damages under a provision buried in the Senate-advanced deal to reopen the government...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:18 PM
I missed this awful detail in the Senate deal: helping politicians who conspired against America as part of Trump's coup hide their phone records.
That's right, as ICE brutally violates rights in ways that leave people with no recourse, the Senate found time to protect their colleagues from justice.
That's right, as ICE brutally violates rights in ways that leave people with no recourse, the Senate found time to protect their colleagues from justice.
Reminder not to shake this dude's hand
November 10, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Reminder not to shake this dude's hand
I get why they did it. I don't think it was correct.
like this is basically it, the melts melted under pressure
November 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM
I get why they did it. I don't think it was correct.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
But what he can do is bring bogus federal charges against any state official who dares prosecute them.
Trump’s pardon attorney Ed Martin claims Trump is pardoning his Georgia co-defendants and other “alternate electors.”
Note: Trump’s Georgia co-defendants are charged under state law. The president can’t pardon people for state crimes.
Note: Trump’s Georgia co-defendants are charged under state law. The president can’t pardon people for state crimes.
November 10, 2025 at 5:47 AM
But what he can do is bring bogus federal charges against any state official who dares prosecute them.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
I am so weary of running around explaining contemporary politics to Democratic senators but Trump has taken the power of the purse from Congress and has made good on his promise to not fund anything he doesn't want to so "guaranteeing a vote in the Senate" is not a thing.
November 10, 2025 at 12:24 AM
I am so weary of running around explaining contemporary politics to Democratic senators but Trump has taken the power of the purse from Congress and has made good on his promise to not fund anything he doesn't want to so "guaranteeing a vote in the Senate" is not a thing.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
Teaching the Trump administration that disrupting air travel gets them what they want would be a bad idea. They’d pull that lever again.
November 10, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Teaching the Trump administration that disrupting air travel gets them what they want would be a bad idea. They’d pull that lever again.
One of the problems - not the largest problem, in my opinion - with Donald Trump is that he is very stupid.
With a “WOW!,” President Trump posts a claim about DOGE and “royalties linked to Obamacare” that originated on a satirical website. That site’s own About section reads: “Everything on this website is fiction… If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.”
November 9, 2025 at 6:10 PM
One of the problems - not the largest problem, in my opinion - with Donald Trump is that he is very stupid.
Patrick addresses this specifically to Catholics, but I think it’s applicable to any church that is part of orthodox Christianity.
November 9, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Patrick addresses this specifically to Catholics, but I think it’s applicable to any church that is part of orthodox Christianity.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
DHS and the White House pushed out sadistic videos celebrating this. The United States kidnapped people and dumped them in a foreign torture prison without any sort of process, and many of whom likely committed no serious crime. People in government need to be prosecuted for this.
Our reporters interviewed 40 of the men the Trump administration sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador: They described being beaten, sexually assaulted by guards and driven to the brink of suicide. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:32 AM
DHS and the White House pushed out sadistic videos celebrating this. The United States kidnapped people and dumped them in a foreign torture prison without any sort of process, and many of whom likely committed no serious crime. People in government need to be prosecuted for this.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
Reposted by Gus Orviston
Reposted by Gus Orviston
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:20 AM
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
Reposted by Gus Orviston
this, but not a joke, is a huge part of my theology. the busy work is tending to the people. baking a casserole, taking out the trash, picking up the communion cups after the service... these are all the 'busy work' of God, and doing them--without protest, without fanfare--is beautiful.
Local Woman Devotes Life To Doing God's Busy Work https://theonion.com/local-woman-devotes-life-to-doing-gods-busy-work-1819570211/
September 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
this, but not a joke, is a huge part of my theology. the busy work is tending to the people. baking a casserole, taking out the trash, picking up the communion cups after the service... these are all the 'busy work' of God, and doing them--without protest, without fanfare--is beautiful.
Reposted by Gus Orviston
oh so these people do pay attention to who politicians follow on social media, they just don’t care that the vice president follows a bunch of actual neo-nazis
Axios tried to bust James Talarico for following adult content creators on Instagram and I'm genuinely impressed by his campaign's response
November 8, 2025 at 4:39 PM
oh so these people do pay attention to who politicians follow on social media, they just don’t care that the vice president follows a bunch of actual neo-nazis
Reposted by Gus Orviston
And let’s be real here Trump’s own cognitive issues were a massive boon to him on the campaign trail
A lot of his support came not in spite of his dementia-fueled incoherence but because of it
A lot of his support came not in spite of his dementia-fueled incoherence but because of it
Biden’s biggest problem was his life long speech impediment, Trump’s greatest strength his ability to lie with a straight face.
November 8, 2025 at 6:32 AM
And let’s be real here Trump’s own cognitive issues were a massive boon to him on the campaign trail
A lot of his support came not in spite of his dementia-fueled incoherence but because of it
A lot of his support came not in spite of his dementia-fueled incoherence but because of it