Thomas Effing Paine
@tom-effing-paine.bsky.social
Dr. Bryan Register
Professionally philosophical, highly historical, avidly antifascist, gleefully gaming, merrily movieviewing. ATX.
Scalawag fighting the long Civil War. (Views not those of employer or expressed in the classroom.)
Professionally philosophical, highly historical, avidly antifascist, gleefully gaming, merrily movieviewing. ATX.
Scalawag fighting the long Civil War. (Views not those of employer or expressed in the classroom.)
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
In his "finest hour" speech, Churchill didn't just do grandiose defiance, he went on to explain "the solid, practical grounds" for continuing the war, and why "there are good and reasonable hopes of final victory." That part was just as important, and of course he was right about it all.
November 30, 2025 at 10:56 PM
In his "finest hour" speech, Churchill didn't just do grandiose defiance, he went on to explain "the solid, practical grounds" for continuing the war, and why "there are good and reasonable hopes of final victory." That part was just as important, and of course he was right about it all.
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
The most precious commodity you have is your attention. You don’t have to waste it on poor-faith debates or arguments with strangers if you don’t think they’ll be productive. You can prioritize the things that matter to you and make your life richer.
November 30, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The most precious commodity you have is your attention. You don’t have to waste it on poor-faith debates or arguments with strangers if you don’t think they’ll be productive. You can prioritize the things that matter to you and make your life richer.
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.
November 30, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
"Don't follow illegal orders" would be more meaningful if Democrats had prosecuted literally any of the prominent war criminals of the last 30 years instead of, you know, fucking campaigning with them
November 30, 2025 at 3:21 AM
"Don't follow illegal orders" would be more meaningful if Democrats had prosecuted literally any of the prominent war criminals of the last 30 years instead of, you know, fucking campaigning with them
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
🧵I often get mobbed when I say this, but it was a mistake for liberals & leftists to cede "western civilization" to the fascists. "The West" and "Western" are important political identities. Abandoning them is no smarter than refusing to offer a positive vision of American national identity.
November 28, 2025 at 7:04 PM
🧵I often get mobbed when I say this, but it was a mistake for liberals & leftists to cede "western civilization" to the fascists. "The West" and "Western" are important political identities. Abandoning them is no smarter than refusing to offer a positive vision of American national identity.
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
The guy shot two random people with a gun, I don't think you can say he wasn't assimilating into our culture
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 3:23 PM
The guy shot two random people with a gun, I don't think you can say he wasn't assimilating into our culture
🎸 ...Pete Hegseth's a fuckin' douche... 🎸
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 AM
🎸 ...Pete Hegseth's a fuckin' douche... 🎸
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
"Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea" -- @davelevitan.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea" -- @davelevitan.bsky.social
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
“Texas desperately needs a place where we can tell our stories, where we can be ourselves, mourn our losses, and celebrate our victories,” writes @kitoconnell.com.
Meet our newest newsletter writer and contributor, who’ll be spearheading our queer coverage 💕
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/25/t...
Meet our newest newsletter writer and contributor, who’ll be spearheading our queer coverage 💕
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/25/t...
I’m a Trans Journalist Choosing to Live in Texas. Here’s Why That Matters.
My name is Kit O’Connell. I’ll be covering queer and trans life in Texas for Big & Bright — The Barbed Wire’s first underwritten vertical.
thebarbedwire.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:14 PM
“Texas desperately needs a place where we can tell our stories, where we can be ourselves, mourn our losses, and celebrate our victories,” writes @kitoconnell.com.
Meet our newest newsletter writer and contributor, who’ll be spearheading our queer coverage 💕
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/25/t...
Meet our newest newsletter writer and contributor, who’ll be spearheading our queer coverage 💕
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/25/t...
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
It’s not just a problem with LLMs. People pushing skills over content drive me crazy. If students never develop domain knowledge, all of the analytical skills don’t matter much because they don’t have a basis for analysis.
November 24, 2025 at 4:47 PM
It’s not just a problem with LLMs. People pushing skills over content drive me crazy. If students never develop domain knowledge, all of the analytical skills don’t matter much because they don’t have a basis for analysis.
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
In Monrovia, California, protesters are purchasing 17¢ ICE scrapers from Home Depot and immediately returning them to create long lines and slow down the entire store. Their aim is to disrupt sales and convey a message opposing ICE raids occurring in their neighborhood.
November 23, 2025 at 11:37 AM
In Monrovia, California, protesters are purchasing 17¢ ICE scrapers from Home Depot and immediately returning them to create long lines and slow down the entire store. Their aim is to disrupt sales and convey a message opposing ICE raids occurring in their neighborhood.
Words fail.
Grok: "The real Final Solution was the friends we gassed along the way"
November 21, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Words fail.
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
"An army of principles will penetrate where an army
of soldiers cannot — It will succeed where diplomatic
management would fail — It is neither the Rhine, the
Channel, nor the Ocean, that can arrest its progress —
It will march on the horizon of the world, and it will
conquer." - Thomas Paine
of soldiers cannot — It will succeed where diplomatic
management would fail — It is neither the Rhine, the
Channel, nor the Ocean, that can arrest its progress —
It will march on the horizon of the world, and it will
conquer." - Thomas Paine
November 21, 2025 at 2:44 AM
"An army of principles will penetrate where an army
of soldiers cannot — It will succeed where diplomatic
management would fail — It is neither the Rhine, the
Channel, nor the Ocean, that can arrest its progress —
It will march on the horizon of the world, and it will
conquer." - Thomas Paine
of soldiers cannot — It will succeed where diplomatic
management would fail — It is neither the Rhine, the
Channel, nor the Ocean, that can arrest its progress —
It will march on the horizon of the world, and it will
conquer." - Thomas Paine
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
This Texas woman developed preeclampsia, leading to still-birth. She DIED, leaving her young son behind.
This happens while an all-male panel in South Carolina is deciding whether women should be charged w/ murder for their pregnancies.
Abortion is healthcare.
How many more women have to die?
🧪
This happens while an all-male panel in South Carolina is deciding whether women should be charged w/ murder for their pregnancies.
Abortion is healthcare.
How many more women have to die?
🧪
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:17 PM
This Texas woman developed preeclampsia, leading to still-birth. She DIED, leaving her young son behind.
This happens while an all-male panel in South Carolina is deciding whether women should be charged w/ murder for their pregnancies.
Abortion is healthcare.
How many more women have to die?
🧪
This happens while an all-male panel in South Carolina is deciding whether women should be charged w/ murder for their pregnancies.
Abortion is healthcare.
How many more women have to die?
🧪
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
Wow. That early.
Ponied up for a month of newspapers.com, went right to the New York Daily News and quickly found this gem from Feb 16, 1936.
November 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Wow. That early.
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
I don’t want to hear about norms, I don’t want to hear about looking forward not back, I don’t want to hear about “bipartisanship”
I want the filibuster gone, the court packed, new states, and a top to bottom cleaning of the federal government that ends with a lot of people in jail
I want the filibuster gone, the court packed, new states, and a top to bottom cleaning of the federal government that ends with a lot of people in jail
November 18, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I don’t want to hear about norms, I don’t want to hear about looking forward not back, I don’t want to hear about “bipartisanship”
I want the filibuster gone, the court packed, new states, and a top to bottom cleaning of the federal government that ends with a lot of people in jail
I want the filibuster gone, the court packed, new states, and a top to bottom cleaning of the federal government that ends with a lot of people in jail
I don't know what an olivia nuzzi is and I need y'all to stop trying to make me learn.
November 18, 2025 at 4:32 AM
I don't know what an olivia nuzzi is and I need y'all to stop trying to make me learn.
Trump angrily says to a reporter, "Quiet! Quiet, piggy!"
Here's a link to the whole video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LcB...
Here's a link to the whole video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LcB...
November 18, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Trump angrily says to a reporter, "Quiet! Quiet, piggy!"
Here's a link to the whole video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LcB...
Here's a link to the whole video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LcB...
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
Always great to see my friend and fellow historian Scott Hancock reminding Gettysburg residents during its annual Remembrance Day Parade that Confederates "fought for slavery." 🗃️
November 15, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Always great to see my friend and fellow historian Scott Hancock reminding Gettysburg residents during its annual Remembrance Day Parade that Confederates "fought for slavery." 🗃️
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
WW2 era sex education was so crazy
November 16, 2025 at 7:44 PM
WW2 era sex education was so crazy
Marvelous!
A new vending machine at Durham Food Hall sells zines about different aspects of Durham's history and culture — from urban foraging to the best spots in the city to cry in public.
www.wunc.org/arts-culture...
www.wunc.org/arts-culture...
This vending machine will feed you zines about Durham's history and culture
Artist Kelsey Graywill recently installed the Hyperlocal Durham vending machine at Durham Food Hall, which sells zines about different aspects of Durham's history and culture — from urban foraging to ...
www.wunc.org
November 16, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Marvelous!
Reposted by Thomas Effing Paine
One of the true glories of a citizen-army (air force) is that you get kids that name their planes after Thomas Paine.
November 15, 2025 at 11:04 PM
One of the true glories of a citizen-army (air force) is that you get kids that name their planes after Thomas Paine.
Not to bury the lede, but the Lewinsky jokes are bullshit, people.
November 15, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Not to bury the lede, but the Lewinsky jokes are bullshit, people.