Rik Scarce
@rikscarce.bsky.social
I'm a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park and retired sociology professor who's eager to build a better world. ("Scarce" like money: does not rhyme with "farce," although sometimes....) This is my personal account.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
30 countries use mail voting
February 12, 2026 at 9:21 PM
30 countries use mail voting
And now for something completely different:
The drama surrounding the Olympic medalist who cheated on his girlfriend is exactly why we need to keep men out of men's sports
February 13, 2026 at 3:48 AM
And now for something completely different:
t–– embraces racism. Nominees like this hateful individual can't fathom that their race purity never existed. Germans, Italians? They weren't "anglo." They were despised by the Know Nothings. "White food?" White me was raised on black-eyed peas, collards, & cornbread. There MUST be an other to hate.
Trump nominated a legit white nationalist to a top post at the State Department. I asked him some basic questions about his belief in the “erasure of white culture”. Watch this embarrassing, fumbling answer. Like he has never before been asked to explain his views.
February 13, 2026 at 3:39 AM
t–– embraces racism. Nominees like this hateful individual can't fathom that their race purity never existed. Germans, Italians? They weren't "anglo." They were despised by the Know Nothings. "White food?" White me was raised on black-eyed peas, collards, & cornbread. There MUST be an other to hate.
Ring wasted millions of dollars and untold credibility on Super Bowl Sunday, thanks to the backlash led by regular folks. We don't want our law-abiding neighbors rounded up like dogs, thank you.
Well holy fucking shit. Ring cancelled their partnership with Flock. Keep pressure on them to stop volunteering their feeds to state, local, and federal agencies, though, because that part's still going.
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
February 13, 2026 at 3:15 AM
Ring wasted millions of dollars and untold credibility on Super Bowl Sunday, thanks to the backlash led by regular folks. We don't want our law-abiding neighbors rounded up like dogs, thank you.
Perfectly worded.
BREAKING: Judge Nancy Brasel, a Trump appointee, has issued a TRO in the Minnesota access-to-counsel case about treatment at Whipple.
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
February 13, 2026 at 3:13 AM
Perfectly worded.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
This is important. The head of CBP says here that his agency did NOT provide the assessment that led DHS to label Alex Pretti a terrorist looking to inflict mass casualties.
That appears to contradict Stephen Miller's claim that the initial assessment was based on CBP reports:
That appears to contradict Stephen Miller's claim that the initial assessment was based on CBP reports:
February 12, 2026 at 5:37 PM
This is important. The head of CBP says here that his agency did NOT provide the assessment that led DHS to label Alex Pretti a terrorist looking to inflict mass casualties.
That appears to contradict Stephen Miller's claim that the initial assessment was based on CBP reports:
That appears to contradict Stephen Miller's claim that the initial assessment was based on CBP reports:
I can't believe I'm liking and reposting this clip, not only because it's Rand Paul but because he forced ICE officials to admit that basic Constitutional rights still exist and I think we need to be reminded of them.
under questioning by Rand Paul, ICE officials confirm that yelling at officers is not assault and recording officers is not a crime
February 12, 2026 at 5:15 PM
I can't believe I'm liking and reposting this clip, not only because it's Rand Paul but because he forced ICE officials to admit that basic Constitutional rights still exist and I think we need to be reminded of them.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
BREAKING
Judge Boasberg ORDERS the Trump admin to facilitate the return of the more than 100 men spirited out of the country last year without notice or a hearing.
Plaintiffs may also submit habeas petitions from abroad, he says.
Doc buff.ly/rccakD7
Judge Boasberg ORDERS the Trump admin to facilitate the return of the more than 100 men spirited out of the country last year without notice or a hearing.
Plaintiffs may also submit habeas petitions from abroad, he says.
Doc buff.ly/rccakD7
February 12, 2026 at 4:04 PM
BREAKING
Judge Boasberg ORDERS the Trump admin to facilitate the return of the more than 100 men spirited out of the country last year without notice or a hearing.
Plaintiffs may also submit habeas petitions from abroad, he says.
Doc buff.ly/rccakD7
Judge Boasberg ORDERS the Trump admin to facilitate the return of the more than 100 men spirited out of the country last year without notice or a hearing.
Plaintiffs may also submit habeas petitions from abroad, he says.
Doc buff.ly/rccakD7
Thank you. Exactly! The NRA's Big, Awful, Deadly, Lie has been exposed by t––'s authoritarianism.
For 50 years the right has been telling us that the appropriate response to this is to open fire on these goons. They say we need assault weapons as a bulwark against a tyrannical government snatching people off the streets.
In Portland, Oregon, masked ICE GOONS abducted and vanished US citizen Gonzalo Catalan last week. Tragically, his family remains unaware of his whereabouts and has not received any communication from him as of today.
February 12, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Thank you. Exactly! The NRA's Big, Awful, Deadly, Lie has been exposed by t––'s authoritarianism.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
Big news tonight: Federal judge Tim Kelly has BLOCKED Bondi & Trump's attempt to transfer 20 men to an infamous super-max prison.
Biden granted these men clemency, and Trump has been trying to retaliate by plunging them in a place that people describe as a "living hell," as Bolts reported here:
Biden granted these men clemency, and Trump has been trying to retaliate by plunging them in a place that people describe as a "living hell," as Bolts reported here:
Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Brace for "Living Hell" Under Trump - Bolts
Trump officials are retaliating by imposing the harshest conditions in the entire federal prison system, including near total isolation.
boltsmag.org
February 12, 2026 at 5:26 AM
Big news tonight: Federal judge Tim Kelly has BLOCKED Bondi & Trump's attempt to transfer 20 men to an infamous super-max prison.
Biden granted these men clemency, and Trump has been trying to retaliate by plunging them in a place that people describe as a "living hell," as Bolts reported here:
Biden granted these men clemency, and Trump has been trying to retaliate by plunging them in a place that people describe as a "living hell," as Bolts reported here:
Reposted by Rik Scarce
This is incredible. Like the previous few years, near all of the electricity capacity added to the grid was clean energy. The Inflation Reduction Act helped this - it made solar & wind cheaper but it also for the first time had a standalone incentive for grid storage. Look at the growth in storage!
Final EIA-860 is out, and 2025 really did it: 54 GW of new U.S. electric capacity, 96% clean. Solar again carries the offense, and we built more storage in 2025 than the cumulative total through 2023. More and more and more additions... but also record low retirements.
February 12, 2026 at 4:38 AM
This is incredible. Like the previous few years, near all of the electricity capacity added to the grid was clean energy. The Inflation Reduction Act helped this - it made solar & wind cheaper but it also for the first time had a standalone incentive for grid storage. Look at the growth in storage!
Conservation–"efficiency," here–matters, and it needs to be mandated. We're skipping along like electricity production is all that needs to be attended to, which is preposterous. There isn't an endless amount of energy out there to be used, as each new shock–crypto, now AI–shows. Tight CA, leaky TX:
Despite CA having 2x the electricity price as TX, Texans pay 28% more per capita for electricity yearly because TX uses 2.7x the elec per capita as CA (vs 2.1x in 2001, so nothing to do with weather) even with 2 mil more EVs in CA than TX
Why? Stronger effic & building standards & more BTM PV in CA
Why? Stronger effic & building standards & more BTM PV in CA
February 12, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Conservation–"efficiency," here–matters, and it needs to be mandated. We're skipping along like electricity production is all that needs to be attended to, which is preposterous. There isn't an endless amount of energy out there to be used, as each new shock–crypto, now AI–shows. Tight CA, leaky TX:
Want a legal primer on just how extremely illegal ICE's actions are? Here you go....
Meanwhile, DHS shows its contempt for the judiciary in a different way. In dozens, likely now thousands, of cases, DHS openly defies court orders.
Minnesota courts enter orders forbidding ICE from moving noncitizens who’ve filed habeas petitions out of Minnesota. They move them anyway.
16/
Minnesota courts enter orders forbidding ICE from moving noncitizens who’ve filed habeas petitions out of Minnesota. They move them anyway.
16/
February 12, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Want a legal primer on just how extremely illegal ICE's actions are? Here you go....
Reposted by Rik Scarce
“Congressional Democrats introduced legislation on Tuesday that they said would eliminate the statute of limitations that has shielded sex traffickers such as the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.”
The proposal—Virginia's Law—is named after the late Virginia Giuffre: www.reuters.com/world/us/dem...
The proposal—Virginia's Law—is named after the late Virginia Giuffre: www.reuters.com/world/us/dem...
Democrats introduce 'Virginia's Law' alongside Epstein victims
Congressional Democrats introduced legislation that they said would eliminate the statute of limitations that has shielded sex traffickers.
www.reuters.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:28 AM
“Congressional Democrats introduced legislation on Tuesday that they said would eliminate the statute of limitations that has shielded sex traffickers such as the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.”
The proposal—Virginia's Law—is named after the late Virginia Giuffre: www.reuters.com/world/us/dem...
The proposal—Virginia's Law—is named after the late Virginia Giuffre: www.reuters.com/world/us/dem...
IN THE WHITE HOUSE!
February 12, 2026 at 1:10 PM
IN THE WHITE HOUSE!
Reposted by Rik Scarce
So DOD risked civilian airspace to obliterate some fucking balloons; when FAA found out and asked them to stop they refused; FAA did what it had to keep people safe; when the public rightly freaked out, DOD relented, lied, and blamed the FAA.
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
February 11, 2026 at 10:58 PM
So DOD risked civilian airspace to obliterate some fucking balloons; when FAA found out and asked them to stop they refused; FAA did what it had to keep people safe; when the public rightly freaked out, DOD relented, lied, and blamed the FAA.
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Reposted by Rik Scarce
This raid didn’t get much press at the time because it’s Idaho. But it’s truly shocking.
And it shows that these policies work like we’ve alleged in Alabama.
The scale just makes it so much harder to minimize the harm of a show-me-your papers regime. These people weren’t let go “promptly.”
And it shows that these policies work like we’ve alleged in Alabama.
The scale just makes it so much harder to minimize the harm of a show-me-your papers regime. These people weren’t let go “promptly.”
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 2:32 AM
This raid didn’t get much press at the time because it’s Idaho. But it’s truly shocking.
And it shows that these policies work like we’ve alleged in Alabama.
The scale just makes it so much harder to minimize the harm of a show-me-your papers regime. These people weren’t let go “promptly.”
And it shows that these policies work like we’ve alleged in Alabama.
The scale just makes it so much harder to minimize the harm of a show-me-your papers regime. These people weren’t let go “promptly.”
Annnnnd the president has pretty much completely dismantled what little the U.S. was doing to combat climate change. The next Congress is going to have a lot on its plate. All we have is hope that restoring climate sanity to federal policy is way up high on its list.
We don't know what's happening, but there's no good news here. As long as we keep burning fossil fuels, the world will continue to become more dangerous and chaotic.
Scientists thought they understood global warming. Then the past three years happened.
The fastest warming period since 1880 occurred in the past 30 years, according to a Washington Post analysis of NASA data.
wapo.st
February 11, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Annnnnd the president has pretty much completely dismantled what little the U.S. was doing to combat climate change. The next Congress is going to have a lot on its plate. All we have is hope that restoring climate sanity to federal policy is way up high on its list.
Crazy thing is, I was tussling with a FB friend over immigration a few weeks ago, and he provided no data to support his assertions yet tried to win the argument by speculating how my 401(k) must be soaring. He, too, was rude and condescending. They must be offering classes somewhere.
Invoking wealthy class solidarity to excuse sex crimes against children is sorta the Epstein Class in a nutshell
Bondi crashes out over Epstein: "The Dow is over 50,000 dollars! I don't know why you're laughing. You're a great stock trader as I hear, Raskin. The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P at almost 7,000, and the Nasdaq smashing records. That's what we should be talking about."
February 11, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Crazy thing is, I was tussling with a FB friend over immigration a few weeks ago, and he provided no data to support his assertions yet tried to win the argument by speculating how my 401(k) must be soaring. He, too, was rude and condescending. They must be offering classes somewhere.
Reposted by Rik Scarce
Invoking wealthy class solidarity to excuse sex crimes against children is sorta the Epstein Class in a nutshell
Bondi crashes out over Epstein: "The Dow is over 50,000 dollars! I don't know why you're laughing. You're a great stock trader as I hear, Raskin. The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P at almost 7,000, and the Nasdaq smashing records. That's what we should be talking about."
February 11, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Invoking wealthy class solidarity to excuse sex crimes against children is sorta the Epstein Class in a nutshell
Reposted by Rik Scarce
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 4:46 PM
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
Take a look at this thread! Republican policies are bad for workers. Really, really bad. (And insanely good for the wealthy.) Trickle-down economics does not work.
We now have data from Trump's first full year in office. Let's review the performance of Trump and the two parties since 1989 and a new age of globalization began.
However you cut the data Trump continues to have worst jobs record of last six Presidents. 1/
However you cut the data Trump continues to have worst jobs record of last six Presidents. 1/
February 11, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Take a look at this thread! Republican policies are bad for workers. Really, really bad. (And insanely good for the wealthy.) Trickle-down economics does not work.
What a wonderful discovery--and a sad reminder of our history. There's a decent chance that this hiding place was made necessary because of a new Fugitive Slave Act enacted in 1850 directing U.S. Marshals to aide enslavers hunting self-emancipated people.
A dresser inside a museum in New York City has been discovered as a secret stop on the Underground Railroad — the first of its kind discovered in Manhattan in over 100 years
February 11, 2026 at 2:12 PM
What a wonderful discovery--and a sad reminder of our history. There's a decent chance that this hiding place was made necessary because of a new Fugitive Slave Act enacted in 1850 directing U.S. Marshals to aide enslavers hunting self-emancipated people.
It took efforts to climb out of the Great Depression and wars to juice the economy like the deluded t–– claims he'll do.
The annual change in GDP topped 15% in only five years since 1929 -- four times under FDR and once under Truman.
Conservatives at the time, and since, denounced those presidents for practicing "socialism," which Trump claims is the top problem constricting the economy today.
Conservatives at the time, and since, denounced those presidents for practicing "socialism," which Trump claims is the top problem constricting the economy today.
TRUMP: We can grow at 15 percent. I think more than that!
KUDLOW: Well, 15 is a big number sir
TRUMP: But Larry, you can do it. We used to grow at 15 percent because we had spirit. Today we have a lot of communism
KUDLOW: Well, 15 is a big number sir
TRUMP: But Larry, you can do it. We used to grow at 15 percent because we had spirit. Today we have a lot of communism
February 11, 2026 at 2:05 PM
It took efforts to climb out of the Great Depression and wars to juice the economy like the deluded t–– claims he'll do.