Patrick Fessenbecker
@pfessenbecker.bsky.social
Teaching writing and ethics to engineers, writing a book on George Eliot.
Pinned
So I write a weekly newsletter for our indivisible chapter, and each week I profile a left journalist operation. If you’re struggling to build an audience for your thing and think you can speak to a lefty ex-hippie inner-ring Madison suburb that’s very into good apples, get in touch.
Reposted by Patrick Fessenbecker
On the Punnett square of "The Iraq war was/wasn't done for oil" and "And that's good/bad" he is the only person on God's green, brown, blue, white and gold Earth who falls in the "It wasn't/And that's bad" quadrant, the most proactively imperialistic position possible.
Hero of the antiwar movement!
Hero of the antiwar movement!
November 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
On the Punnett square of "The Iraq war was/wasn't done for oil" and "And that's good/bad" he is the only person on God's green, brown, blue, white and gold Earth who falls in the "It wasn't/And that's bad" quadrant, the most proactively imperialistic position possible.
Hero of the antiwar movement!
Hero of the antiwar movement!
Yall are going to be very surprised what this in response to.
The damned in hell are not more powerful for the fact that the fires do not consume them; it is part and parcel of their torment.
November 23, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Yall are going to be very surprised what this in response to.
Here's the question: do I at least learn how to remove bamboo?
(there's a very cool couple I'd like to be friends with and they're fighting bamboo)
(there's a very cool couple I'd like to be friends with and they're fighting bamboo)
November 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Here's the question: do I at least learn how to remove bamboo?
(there's a very cool couple I'd like to be friends with and they're fighting bamboo)
(there's a very cool couple I'd like to be friends with and they're fighting bamboo)
I recognize the case for pulling Larry Summers out of his classes, but aside from the fact that firing tenured professors for odious things they wrote in personal emails is a bad precedent, a stage in front of Harvard undergrads right now has to be more of a pillory than a platform.
November 18, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I recognize the case for pulling Larry Summers out of his classes, but aside from the fact that firing tenured professors for odious things they wrote in personal emails is a bad precedent, a stage in front of Harvard undergrads right now has to be more of a pillory than a platform.
Reposted by Patrick Fessenbecker
the hangry undersecretary went hangrily to the apothecary,
in hand a suede satchel and periodical perched precariously
in hand a suede satchel and periodical perched precariously
November 18, 2025 at 12:36 PM
the hangry undersecretary went hangrily to the apothecary,
in hand a suede satchel and periodical perched precariously
in hand a suede satchel and periodical perched precariously
I’d say this goes too far, but Far, go! was clearly the point.
First off, my suspension has ended. Got a little harsh with a post a few days ago but I didn’t have my feet on the ground and I’m sorry if I offended anyone. Will try to be more chipper. Knock on wood!
November 18, 2025 at 10:38 AM
I’d say this goes too far, but Far, go! was clearly the point.
“inferior writers are absolutely fascinating. The worse their rhymes are, the more picturesque they look. The mere fact of having published a book of second-rate sonnets makes a man quite irresistible. He lives the [journalism] that he cannot write.”
November 18, 2025 at 2:23 AM
“inferior writers are absolutely fascinating. The worse their rhymes are, the more picturesque they look. The mere fact of having published a book of second-rate sonnets makes a man quite irresistible. He lives the [journalism] that he cannot write.”
Reposted by Patrick Fessenbecker
to have an affair with one longshot presidential candidate twice your age that you’re profiling may be regarded as a misfortune; to have two looks like carelessness
November 18, 2025 at 1:44 AM
to have an affair with one longshot presidential candidate twice your age that you’re profiling may be regarded as a misfortune; to have two looks like carelessness
I once saw the brilliant John Shelton Reed talk through a series of maps of different ways of defining the South—certain states, but also maps of cities with lots of Elvis impersonators, with barbecue restaurants, with economic connections to Atlanta, etc. Quick thread /1
November 17, 2025 at 9:02 PM
I once saw the brilliant John Shelton Reed talk through a series of maps of different ways of defining the South—certain states, but also maps of cities with lots of Elvis impersonators, with barbecue restaurants, with economic connections to Atlanta, etc. Quick thread /1
I think the subtext here is that Kelly is voicing the conservative moral intuition that preferring women who are thin, passive, underdeveloped, lacking established careers or commitments, and much younger than their husbands is not merely morally tolerable but good and rational.
WHAT TWISTED DEPRAVED SICK LOGIC MEGYN KELLY HAS 🤬 #ReleaseTrumpEpsteinFiles 🤬
November 17, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I think the subtext here is that Kelly is voicing the conservative moral intuition that preferring women who are thin, passive, underdeveloped, lacking established careers or commitments, and much younger than their husbands is not merely morally tolerable but good and rational.
My theory is that the utterly nonsensical speculation about a race that's still three years away is a way for political journalists to avoid dealing with politics as they actually are.
This is some weapons-grade nonsense
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
November 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
My theory is that the utterly nonsensical speculation about a race that's still three years away is a way for political journalists to avoid dealing with politics as they actually are.
Arguing with a dear friend about whether Kamala concentrated on identity stuff, the evidence he had was her 2016 VP acceptance speech (which mentions being a black woman). IMO everyone's priors about what a Harris campaign *must* be were too powerful to be overcome by her actual campaign.
a take which I thought was too basic to write up but I clearly should have written up lol was that one underrated success of the 2024 Trump campaign was to manage to make it *look* like the Kamala campaign was back-to-back culture wars, they did a very good job on that front!
Pundits: Why didn't Kamala Harris run on kitchen table issues?
Kamala Harris's campaign speeches:
Kamala Harris's campaign speeches:
November 17, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Arguing with a dear friend about whether Kamala concentrated on identity stuff, the evidence he had was her 2016 VP acceptance speech (which mentions being a black woman). IMO everyone's priors about what a Harris campaign *must* be were too powerful to be overcome by her actual campaign.
it is the curse of our times that center right voters are deeply stupid and cannot take yes for an answer. Given everything they could ask for as proof that the left isn’t making kids transgender, they’re still fas-curious.
matt yglesias' primary claim about politics is that to win elections, democrats should adopt the strategy which has given starmer a 13% approval rating in the UK
November 17, 2025 at 12:32 PM
it is the curse of our times that center right voters are deeply stupid and cannot take yes for an answer. Given everything they could ask for as proof that the left isn’t making kids transgender, they’re still fas-curious.
Come major in English at Harvard! Your job will still be emailing billionaries, but we'll teach you to do it with em dashes.
did not have Harvard English professor Elisa New emailing Jeffrey Epstein about Lolita on my 2025 bingo card
November 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Come major in English at Harvard! Your job will still be emailing billionaries, but we'll teach you to do it with em dashes.
License to parent.
Birth control in the water.
Being paid to learn Spanish.
Civics classes in every church.
Free music lessons every Saturday morning.
Birth control in the water.
Being paid to learn Spanish.
Civics classes in every church.
Free music lessons every Saturday morning.
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 14, 2025 at 1:34 PM
License to parent.
Birth control in the water.
Being paid to learn Spanish.
Civics classes in every church.
Free music lessons every Saturday morning.
Birth control in the water.
Being paid to learn Spanish.
Civics classes in every church.
Free music lessons every Saturday morning.
This chart really brings out the hard “r” in “crime.“
we have an addiction in America when we have a crime syndicate in control of the federal government and people still think they are the ones who are tough on crime.
November 13, 2025 at 10:23 PM
This chart really brings out the hard “r” in “crime.“
A little odd to call this piece reassuring, but it is—
I scribbled down all my shutdown-related intrusive thoughts and put them in a blog post.
open.substack.com/pub/davekarp...
open.substack.com/pub/davekarp...
The Shutdown Surrender
I just... I mean... Whatever.
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
A little odd to call this piece reassuring, but it is—
Maybe also worth saying that "shutting down the government to protect health care" is a good PR strategy, but "shutting down the government to end the filibuster" is a terrible one.
Something I’ve realized over the course of the last forty eight hours was the only concession even possibly in play was the end of the filibuster, which is worth a lot but won’t solve any problems immediately.
November 10, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Maybe also worth saying that "shutting down the government to protect health care" is a good PR strategy, but "shutting down the government to end the filibuster" is a terrible one.
Reposted by Patrick Fessenbecker
Brilliant point.
I was saying this on The Argument live show: Dems saw "I'd Take Some Mean Tweets and $2 Gas Right Now!" bumper stickers for four years and said: Okay, motherfuckers, we can not care about scandals too.
I was saying this on The Argument live show: Dems saw "I'd Take Some Mean Tweets and $2 Gas Right Now!" bumper stickers for four years and said: Okay, motherfuckers, we can not care about scandals too.
November 5, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Brilliant point.
I was saying this on The Argument live show: Dems saw "I'd Take Some Mean Tweets and $2 Gas Right Now!" bumper stickers for four years and said: Okay, motherfuckers, we can not care about scandals too.
I was saying this on The Argument live show: Dems saw "I'd Take Some Mean Tweets and $2 Gas Right Now!" bumper stickers for four years and said: Okay, motherfuckers, we can not care about scandals too.
Periodic reminder that the degree "electrical engineering" did not exist when Thomas Edison called himself an "electrical engineer"
yet somehow we never bother to put that in scare quotes.
yet somehow we never bother to put that in scare quotes.
It is worth saying that putting “Africana studies” in scare quotes as if it’s a ridiculous concept is not a political argument. It’s just racism. “Africa is not worthy of a major” is the implication. Yeah dude you’re just racist. (From Gerard Baker at the WSJ today)
www.wsj.com/opinion/mamd...
www.wsj.com/opinion/mamd...
November 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Periodic reminder that the degree "electrical engineering" did not exist when Thomas Edison called himself an "electrical engineer"
yet somehow we never bother to put that in scare quotes.
yet somehow we never bother to put that in scare quotes.
Reposted by Patrick Fessenbecker
So I write a weekly newsletter for our indivisible chapter, and each week I profile a left journalist operation. If you’re struggling to build an audience for your thing and think you can speak to a lefty ex-hippie inner-ring Madison suburb that’s very into good apples, get in touch.
November 3, 2025 at 9:46 PM
So I write a weekly newsletter for our indivisible chapter, and each week I profile a left journalist operation. If you’re struggling to build an audience for your thing and think you can speak to a lefty ex-hippie inner-ring Madison suburb that’s very into good apples, get in touch.
So I write a weekly newsletter for our indivisible chapter, and each week I profile a left journalist operation. If you’re struggling to build an audience for your thing and think you can speak to a lefty ex-hippie inner-ring Madison suburb that’s very into good apples, get in touch.
November 3, 2025 at 9:46 PM
So I write a weekly newsletter for our indivisible chapter, and each week I profile a left journalist operation. If you’re struggling to build an audience for your thing and think you can speak to a lefty ex-hippie inner-ring Madison suburb that’s very into good apples, get in touch.
Okay this labeler is incredible
November 2, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Okay this labeler is incredible
For my Bobby costume, may daughter made me a Huntr/x tshirt
November 2, 2025 at 12:56 AM
For my Bobby costume, may daughter made me a Huntr/x tshirt