Nicholas Grossman

https://bsky.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/nicholasgrossman.bsky.social

International Relations prof at U. Illinois. Editor of Arc Digital. Author “Drones and Terrorism.” Politics, national security, and occasional nerdery.

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Last Notes

2026-11-01 20:23:37 UTC

Wow, the Democratic Party is in array. Remarkably arrayed.
You all can see that, right? One Democrat out of array, and it’s met with widespread objection, as figures across the coalition speak up, and the party’s heavy hitters go stand with the nominee.
What a good sign heading into the election.

2026-11-01 17:02:11 UTC

Haley Stevens might end up the last person to get on the MAGA train, when it was already half way off the cliff.
It's nice to see that so many Democrats—and pro-democracy Americans more broadly—have lined up behind Dem nominees that this contrasting example stands out.
Bigger things are happening.

2026-10-31 14:21:50 UTC

“The news media should tell its audience true things, in proportion to their importance, with no concern for how anyone feels about it.”
I’ve never seen a media defender address this critique directly. Something like “one of the most important things happening today is two Dan Sullivans because __”
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ig5djks6d6e6kyet32abh5zs/post/3mz5b7koy2k2n
#note1zyn…fx26

2026-10-31 12:28:42 UTC

Trump and Republicans are trying in the Alaska Senate race to do what they hoped to do in the 2020 Pennsylvania presidential election: lie, pretend there’s something illegal, then insist the result doesn’t count, at minimum creating delays to exploit.
And the NYT editors apparently decided to help.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2amnkge5a6hplfwyesmxqkfl/post/3mz4hyxvj6c2w

2026-10-30 16:21:41 UTC

Oh please. Elon Musk's biggest concerns are:
1) His illegal activities will be investigated and exposed
2) A more responsible US government will cancel contracts with his companies
3) He will see more people of color around than he'd like, and will have to interact more with people he doesn't pay
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:movn6xzezospl7lnkhy7nzpt/post/3mz44g6pb7k2a
#note1xcy…gyrw

2026-10-26 14:59:51 UTC

The powerful executives who cozied up to Trump didn't oops accidentally forget about pendulum swings. They either:
1) Like the fascism
2) Calculated it was here to stay, so going along was savvy
3) Saw no real downside, no consequences when the pendulum swung
Crucial to show them 3 was a mistake
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:kdphmaoqeaouax2kis27556e/post/3myrww3i2722b

2026-10-26 14:11:08 UTC

The US is not about to have a free and fair election. The state has put its thumb on the scale to favor the ruling party in multiple ways.
It's a mostly free, somewhat unfair election. But still one where the ruling party can be overwhelmed by numbers. Hence the term "competitive authoritarianism."
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jp6kosbeb3bkbadjr2ttznbu/post/3myru3bqqes2s

2026-10-24 12:49:29 UTC

Elon Musk is spending hundreds of millions to elect Republicans, an unprecedentedly huge amount from one person, and it’s a lot less than the value of contracts his companies got from this government he paid to elect and worked in.
Many reports say “his own money,” few note unprecedentedly corrupt.

2026-10-19 19:57:36 UTC

The Trump regime’s window to get Russia a victory in Ukraine without Congress exposing the corrupt personal payments Trump and Co. will get from Russia if they pull it off is down to three months. Hence the big push now.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:urhsekai2yuumlw54arx6taf/post/3myalb2lrck2j

2026-10-19 00:04:30 UTC

Can't help but notice that this isn't "I deleted that tweet because it was misleading" or an even more accurate "because I wrongly claimed the video showed the opposite of what it actually showed."
Just a version of "guess who just got yelled at."
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:oyijun4tunao777bpfxlpxvr/post/3my665mbupk2u

2026-10-18 21:28:30 UTC

How did personal injury lawyers decide that the way to market their business is to try to become local celebrities?
TV ads and billboards feature their faces and names, along with personalized contact info like 1-800-NICKWINS.
No other industry does this, at least not to such an extent.

2026-10-17 03:17:11 UTC

The US and the West welcomed Russia into the community of nations after the Cold War. Investment poured in. The G7 turned into G8.
The idea that Poland, Estonia, etc. forming their own foreign relations was so unfair to Moscow that Russia is entitled to murder Ukrainians 20 years later is insane.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mxzrl7o7u22u

2026-10-14 21:11:52 UTC

Musk says he didn’t cut services to thwart Ukrainian self-defense, the US govt did.
A senior US official says the Trump White House had nothing to do with that, implying Musk did it.
A problem is they’re both serial liars, Putin sympathizers, and anti-democracy, so who knows.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:43fdk46qa5gsokzygzildsaq/post/3mxugojbh752q

2026-10-14 14:49:42 UTC

The US knows Ukrainian air defense relies on US early detection of Russian launches.
Without telling Ukraine, the Trump White House (and Elon Musk's SpaceX) withheld that info and hindered countermeasures.
The US just facilitated a Russian attack on Ukraine, making it more effective and deadlier.

2026-10-14 12:31:30 UTC

Can’t Allow Elon Musk the Power to Intervene in Wars
No individual should be able to disrupt military ops like Musk did with Ukraine’s.
I wrote that when he did it in 2023. Was told the problem was contract rules.
Nope. Happened again. The problem is too much power, esp for an enemy of democracy.
[The U.S. Government Can’t Allo...](https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-government-cant-allow-elon-musk-the-power-to-intervene-in-wars )

2026-10-12 17:04:47 UTC

Oracle, 29th largest company in the world, led by Larry Ellison, books looking bad, bet huge on AI, tens of billions in negative cash flow, and if the company goes down, there’s a good chance it takes the AI bubble and Skydance down with it.

2026-10-12 14:26:18 UTC

DHS raid on Rep. Omar is a great example of very bad by rule-of-law democracy standards, pretty good by consolidated authoritarianism standards.
Deeply wrong, with lies, bigotry, harassment, abuse of power. AND a sign of weakness, limited capacity, failure to make the dictatorship of their dreams.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:svawqo4jxobyyuqmixplvcux/post/3mxokhle4as2m

2026-10-12 13:05:32 UTC

Really unpopular things:
-data centers
-overt bigotry
-CSAM
-billionaires trying to buy elections
-Hitler salutes
-stealing people’s personal data
-South African Apartheid
-causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of children
Fighting against Elon Musk is a political winner
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:cnpe7qvcyjrhm6w7w7e4atur/post/3mxohb7b2l22n

2026-10-12 03:51:33 UTC

If someone really likes a social network and the community on it, wouldn’t they spend their time there, rather than going on other social media sites to insist their preferred website isn’t bad?
If not employed by or invested in a site, “better than you think”-type marketing seems like insecurity.

2026-10-11 23:40:42 UTC

David Brooks pearl-clutching over John Ossoff calling a white nationalist a “white nationalist,” as if the problem with violent white nationalism is people objecting to it, illustrates this point as well as humanly possible.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne/post/3mxhzc6qpgs2u
#note1tjn…xdk9

2026-10-11 19:51:46 UTC

Uh oh, did someone’s website and personal account experience a big drop in activity after Ukraine hit a Russian data center?
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreibqmogo7gdcwwnqptify5455jg6czq3ygnhb6a4327qx26leyc4b4

2026-10-11 12:34:52 UTC

The "Party of Reagan" has the United States siding with Russian aggression against NATO allies and a brutal war on a European democratic US partner.
Yes, the whole party. If they didn't, they would impeach and remove the president who is blatantly breaking US law to help fund Russia's war effort.

2026-10-11 12:15:57 UTC

If Trump were working directly for Putin this whole time, people ask, taking orders to destroy US democracy and the Western alliance, would anything look different?
Yes. Trump would be more subtle about it.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mxkrbbrd6x2g

2026-10-10 12:43:57 UTC

Trump’s plan to save the midterms is…help Russia.
The Trump-Vance-Kushner-Witkoff approach to the war has always been weaken Ukraine so they bow down to Putin. It hasn’t worked.
With nearly two years of this, Ukraine has shown it can thwart ground offensives and strike Russian oil without US help.
[US warns Kyiv that strikes on ...](https://www.ft.com/content/7fd4dffc-8adf-4ad8-9fba-333e1ced991d?syn-25a6b1a6=1 )

2026-10-09 22:24:37 UTC

Ossoff is acting like Trump/MAGA/GOP and what they’ve done to the country is Actually Bad.
Charismatic and well spoken, which sure helps. But no “my friends across the aisle,” no acting like the imaginary “Baileys” are the only ones who matter, no “don’t talk values, only kitchen table.” That’s it.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:t6ylzujdaa3f6mlpxn6gjqf5/post/3mxh3pkpdok2y

2026-10-09 20:38:49 UTC

- reply

Russia has shortages, long lines, and imposed limits.
Ukraine has knocked out about 1/2 (!) of Russia's refining capacity.
And they're going to export a million tons of diesel?
Yes, Trump is again siding with Russia against Ukraine, Europe, law, and democracy. But that won't make fuel appear.
[Moscow Gas Stations Reimpose F...](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/08/19/moscow-gas-stations-reimpose-fuel-limits-as-second-wave-of-shortages-hits-russia-a93531 )

2026-10-09 20:35:12 UTC

- reply

Trump said it, yes. The Kremlin is saying it too. Neither's word has value.
I'll believe tons of fuel go from Russia to the US when I see it.
But getting Russia to say this, hoping that'll ease prices for a bit, like Trump has touted foreign promises to buy American that don't happen? Plausible.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ty42uz67qbam52si5yduwwaa/post/3mxhscok7xs2n

2026-10-09 20:30:37 UTC

I doubt Russia has tons of diesel to export. They're in a fuel shortage crisis.
It'd be illegal, violating sanctions. And awful strategy while Russia is attacking Ukraine, menacing NATO allies, and helping Iran target Americans.
But looks like Trump trying to jawbone markets before the midterms.

2026-10-07 17:57:55 UTC

In the presidential immunity case, the court considered a hypothetical of a president ordering Navy Seals to assassinate an American political rival. Trump's lawyer argued unambiguously yes, since it'd be an "official act."
The Roberts Court ruled in his favor, 6-3. Why wouldn't Trump believe this?
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mxciowktpy2d

2026-10-06 12:31:30 UTC

Article 1 is Congress. The presidency comes second, in Article 2, and explicitly requires the president to faithfully execute the law as passed by Congress. But that structure implies that the president can break laws without consequence. Or, well, at least this one can.
-Sam Alito, paraphrased
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:nvfposmpmhegtyvhbs75s3pw/post/3mx7fenhhhk2y

2026-10-04 15:17:58 UTC

AI is now the biggest investment in all of US history as a percentage of GDP.
Datacenter construction is up, all other construction is down.
"AI Is Squeezing Out the Rest of the Stock Market," reported WSJ 2 days ago.
We basically bet the whole economy on the most optimistic visions panning out.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:x4qyokjtdzgl7gmqhsw4ajqj/post/3mx2oktgvbk2c

2026-10-03 12:07:01 UTC

Putin apologists of the right (eg Tucker Carlson) and left (eg Noam Chomsky) got what they wanted: a U.S. government that treats the war as not Russia’s fault, cuts military support for Ukraine, and pressures Ukraine to give up land in exchange for the Kremlin’s word.
It has not resulted in peace.

2026-09-30 12:51:56 UTC

Some of the wrongest in politics are “popularists,” who say public opinion can’t be changed, so politicians should never try to lead, only follow polls.
This meant treating 2024 as permanent, conceding on immigration and other things.
But as [@gregsargent.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy](https://bsky.brid.gy/ap/did:plc:2amnkge5a6hplfwyesmxqkfl ) writes, the opposite’s working.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2amnkge5a6hplfwyesmxqkfl/post/3mwq7pm2dt226

2026-09-22 12:49:17 UTC

The US president imploring Ukraine to stop hitting Russian refineries because Ukraine’s campaign is showing signs of success—while asking nothing of Russian aggressors, natch—is so pathetic.
They’re not abandoning their own self-defense to help cover for your failed war elsewhere. Weak loser stuff.

2026-09-18 13:17:57 UTC

There have always been humans who thought:
1) The world will end soon
2) It will happen in a cool, exciting way
3) It’ll happen to me personally
4) I’ll be a martyred prophet, or a warlord, or otherwise special
5) People who don’t see this are lesser
“Sexy apocalypse” is a great phrase for that
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mod67y6i5h2mxit7xahnvguz/post/3mvovss33us25

2026-09-18 00:14:11 UTC

The US already got a do over. A mulligan. A second chance.
Much of the world, especially US allies, were ready to write off Trump’s first term as a fluke.
The American people’s choice to put him back in power—as a convicted felon, after an openly bigoted, anti-democracy campaign—showed it was not.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:xpgujbkkrjevueb53vpgnetz/post/3mvpvatta6c2o

2026-09-13 13:44:54 UTC

He defends Russia for helping Iran kill Americans.
He defends China for helping Iran kill Americans.
He pretends Iran hasn’t killed Americans. And his strategy for the clearly failing war he started is to lie about it.
He says Canada is bad, an enemy, while North Korea is good.
What can’t he do!
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mvfoyzgh3c2n

2026-09-13 12:34:09 UTC

It’s amazing (extremely negative) how U.S. diplomacy is focused on getting the aggressor a win, trying to find some way to secure gains for Russia that the Russian military has failed — for over 4.5 years and counting! — to achieve on the battlefield.
What an awful, consequential, damaging change.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:nb6uhiglzowsdcbgwv2itwa7/post/3mvfe6inbn22p

2026-09-12 20:03:29 UTC

- reply

My take on AI discourse—both in the industry and in broader society—is there's way too much focus on hypothetical science fiction stuff that would require new technological leaps to reach, if it's even possible, and not enough on the effects and implications of the technological leap that now exists
[The Third Algorithm](https://www.arcdigital.media/p/the-third-algorithm )

2026-09-12 19:59:10 UTC

The evil AI copied itself onto the internet! No stoping it now!
That's just Skynet or Ultron. Those stories rely on magic, and the audience suspends disbelief because the plot is cool.
Makes no sense for AI that needs giant datacenters or live connections to them. Can we deal with reality, please?

2026-09-11 17:26:59 UTC

Two of the 18 US service members killed in the Iran war were Iowans: Sgt. Declan Coady and Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien.
Iowans among the injured as well.
And Iowa of all places feels the rises of fertilizer and diesel prices due to the war.
Plus, you know, there's caring about the country and the world.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mvavdpgpd22w

2026-09-08 12:35:03 UTC

We already knew Egyptian intelligence warned Israel ahead of Oct. 7 and the Netanyahu govt dismissed it. Now we learn UAE leader MBZ warned Bibi directly that Hamas was about to try something big. He dismissed that too.
One of the worst security failures in history. And followed by so much awful.
[Netanyahu got an explicit warn...](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-09-08/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/netanyahu-got-an-explicit-warning-before-oct-7-he-didnt-brief-security-chiefs/000001a0-7a3b-d7d5-a9fc-7eff3d0f0000 )

2026-09-07 13:34:00 UTC

Unpopular opinion: When someone is factually wrong about something important—eg vaccination—telling them that they’re wrong is treating them with respect. The condescending thing to do is indulge them, act like they have a point, as if the thing you know to be wrong might be at least somewhat right.

2026-09-06 14:00:23 UTC

Regime change!
OK, no regime change. Unconditional surrender!
OK, no surrender. Nuclear deal!
OK, no nuclear deal. But we control Hormuz!
OK, we don’t control Hormuz. But we’re squeezing them economically into concessions!
OK, no concessions. But maybe a future president can get something, IDK.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3muu4k42ue22e

2026-09-05 14:44:00 UTC

Crucial to separate the MAGA cultists, who eagerly live inside a lie and will back him no matter what, from the millions of inflation, anti-incumbent, and vibes voters who put Trump over the top.
And writing this out I realized that it's basically Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" argument.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2amnkge5a6hplfwyesmxqkfl/post/3murhxlicsk2i

2026-08-13 14:29:23 UTC

Twitter at its heyday was smaller than other social networks, but had outsized influence because it functioned like a hub-and-spoke clearinghouse for discourse.
Bluesky, by its users and not styfling links, similarly punches above its weight. If not, no one off Bluesky would complain about Bluesky.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bzy5rjjduvvkxno5xe3evl3f/post/3msxody2fa22l

2026-08-07 11:24:58 UTC

Trump restarted bombing, and what did he get for it?
-Hormuz closed, more economic damage
-Lost Oman, which was working with the US before
-A vote of no confidence from Saudis
-Worsened munitions shortage
-More US casualties
-No concessions from Iran
-Now poised to surrender
My latest, in [@ms.now@bsky.brid.gy](https://bsky.brid.gy/ap/did:plc:ofbkqcjzvm6gtwuufsubnkaf )
[Opinion | Iran’s Hormuz deal w...](https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-iran-oman-deal-hormuz-surrender )

2026-07-30 16:15:26 UTC

The initial response to COVID-19 is similar to the withdrawal from Afghanistan, in that the crisis management was far from perfect and a serious after-action analysis would highlight valuable lessons learned, but any effort to do so is dwarfed by conspiracy theorists and liars trying to exploit it.

2026-07-19 05:14:27 UTC

I think a movie about how aggressive war launched on a pretext and increasing rejection of kindness to strangers can make societies fall apart has some current relevance, even if it takes place in a mythologized past.

2026-07-18 13:10:45 UTC

The US built the greatest talent magnet ever, attracting the smart, skilled, and striving. They’d come to study, then stay and build things here, or leave with positive impressions and fruitful connections. Helped make the US wealthy and powerful.
Then America chose to throw it away. And for what?
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7hxgf2va34yccuy3devkfqlj/post/3mqsj5425nc2p

2026-07-18 11:26:15 UTC

Preventing some Iranian villagers from getting drinking water does nothing to prevent the IRGC from firing missiles and drones.
Water is a red line. I know those of you who hate the US military and US foreign policy won’t care about the difference, but it’s significant, with very bad implications.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:movn6xzezospl7lnkhy7nzpt/post/3mqw4ihoj5s2t
#note10qp…tf2u

2026-07-13 11:14:58 UTC

Now this is money corrupting politics.
Many conceive of money in politics as bribery, where someone makes a donation then politician does whatever the donor wants.
But a lot of times, it’s this: politicians choosing passivity because they fear action will prompt big money donations against them.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:yobyqjt4hs5icoihvaombhhn/post/3mqjhleaeam2h

2026-07-11 17:14:58 UTC

A loud subset of white leftists really, really want the world to match their theories, where only materialism and class matter, except the real world keeps showing that non-material factors such as racism matter a great deal, but the theory can't be wrong, so they blame Black people for caring.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:kd4cyu4rpkgjbym3gckhrivz/post/3mqeu7abwlk2v
#note1fgt…r80h

2026-07-09 15:47:38 UTC

The US is bombing Iran again, saying the ceasefire is over.
Iran is bombing Gulf countries again, saying the ceasefire is over.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell and stock indices ticked up, continuing the still-not-disproven theory that everything's fine and physical reality does not matter.

2026-07-03 12:40:14 UTC

“We’re a republic, not a democracy” isn’t good faith confusion. The US is clearly both, a democratic republic with elected representatives, and this isn’t hard to understand. As Steven Taylor explains, the phrase has always been an assertion of minority rule, a slogan of slavers and segregationists.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ifsuximqaivczh4fie2opnuk/post/3mppfw3cvuk2g

2026-07-01 14:10:40 UTC

MAGA really is a movement for ethnic cleansing. Lying about law and history to overturn birthright citizenship makes it plain. As do calls for "remigration."
The counterargument is that these voters didn't want what their signs called for, and don't feel about it what their facial expressions show.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2amnkge5a6hplfwyesmxqkfl/post/3mplja4mmjc26
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreigvgzyjzmswkrtllpqjootg7a6uzfj2p6qhjnn7e2aaqmyqlwcoui

2026-05-25 23:50:07 UTC

The U.S. just bombed Iran again, striking targets around the port city of Bandar Abbas.
Apparently the terms to describe this are “ceasefire” and “peace deal nearly completed.”

2026-05-25 15:26:08 UTC

The United States is at war with Cuba.
A blockade is an act of war, imposed by military force. The goal is to cause widespread suffering to get the target to capitulate. If the Chinese navy blockaded Taiwan in an attempt to overthrow the Taiwanese government, that'd be an act of war. So is US-Cuba.

2026-05-24 15:31:46 UTC

Complaints about Bluesky are almost always either:
1) Complaints about the fracturing of the information space, not about Bluesky per se
2) "I don't get much engagement on X anymore, I miss trolling you, maybe I can claim to be victim by using screenshots of Bluesky replies, that'll get clicks."

2026-05-03 20:48:55 UTC

We're now down to begging Iran to let ships through the Strait of Hormuz to benefit other countries, calling it "Humanitarian," as if that will trick them into it.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:u4o26nximjdtgooqshfz45zr/post/3mkxzdwotss2z

2026-04-22 14:40:17 UTC

<taps sign, rather frustratingly>
(written a month ago in [@liberalcurrents.com](https://bsky.brid.gy/ap/did:plc:ifsuximqaivczh4fie2opnuk ), full piece here: [www.liberalcurrents.com/what-if-iran...](https://www.liberalcurrents.com/what-if-iran-doesnt-want-the-war-to-end-yet/ ))
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreie2ebkixynct6jvwiax24pb2uxagc7f2irkbf6tvbhqhacb6j6l2i

2026-04-09 13:49:21 UTC

The ceasefire is on Iran's terms, promising to lift sanctions and accept Iran's control of Hormuz, and getting nothing.
So in this article I ask: is this America's worst loss ever? 1812 and Korea were more like draws. Vietnam and Afghanistan didn't make any big concessions to geopolitical rivals.
[Trump Surrenders to Iran](https://www.liberalcurrents.com/trump-surrenders-to-iran/ )

2026-04-05 00:24:29 UTC

Ah, too bad.
Great run, Illini.

2026-03-26 12:31:45 UTC

Am I crazy, getting ahead of myself, or is the Iran war already shaping up to be systemically significant?
Unless the US gets a military victory or clear concessions—not looking good—then Iran keeping Hormuz closed breaks the post-WWII US military dominance in the Gulf, with wide reverberations.
[What If Iran Doesn’t Want the ...](https://www.liberalcurrents.com/what-if-iran-doesnt-want-the-war-to-end-yet/ )

2026-03-21 16:07:13 UTC

Americans' sympathy for Palestinians is higher than Americans' sympathy for Israelis for the first time ever.
Is that because of big spending by the Palestine lobby?
Or is it possible that money isn't everything in politics, and millions of Americans form opinions based on reaction to events?
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreifhlqcnpooikbdgatxgvgxdhip63rier4znonqa5ft677azkctfbq

2026-03-10 13:19:16 UTC

Long-time buddies Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were out for a pleasant van drive in Oklahoma when, all of a sudden, their lives would change.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mauyb6lpeigsu7ddlvjs5dzg/post/3mgpg7q63l227

2026-03-07 22:33:57 UTC

Good visual reminder that war not only has large human and economic costs, it can have environmental impacts as well.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:gvda6fem6r7selm4gzjjww4a/post/3mgipjydllc2e
#note13ct…k09e

2026-03-06 15:26:42 UTC

"Unconditional surrender" is what the Union got from the Confederacy, what Putin demands from Ukraine, and what Trump thought he got from Venezuela, so that's what the US is demanding now from Iran. It sounds tough on TV, you see.

2026-03-04 14:07:58 UTC

I think war is serious business, real life-and-death stuff, and should be taken seriously by people who initiate and prosecute it.
Sorry to get so partisan, but that’s how I feel.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mgaebx7jud23

2026-03-04 14:05:20 UTC

Americans love blaming any increase in gas prices on the president, and it’s usually not the president’s fault—because no one controls gas prices—but this time the increase in gas prices really is the president’s fault, directly caused by his entirely unnecessary policy choice.

2026-02-26 00:08:22 UTC

The Founders were so concerned about bribery that the Constitution forbids it three separate times (the two emoluments clauses and as the only name impeachable offense besides treason).
Exactly for this reason. A US president pocketing funds from foreign govts leads to actions against US interests.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:y77n77kdqzhbg647blkfypyr/post/3mfnbzu7nhs2k

2026-02-06 18:40:04 UTC

VA Gov. Spanberger (moderate, was in CIA) and NYC Mayor Mamdani (left, is in DSA) both taking steps to block local law enforcement from helping ICE as it violently violates people's rights is a good example of how the relevant divide in the Dem coalition isn't center-left, it's fight-don't fight.

2026-02-06 17:27:43 UTC

No, no, the White House explained, the president isn't an egregious racist posting egregiously racist stuff. He just gives others control of his public communications, including egregiously racist staffers he chose to hire then not fire after they communicated egregiously racist stuff on his behalf.

2026-01-29 16:18:43 UTC

If it's true Iran has killed tens of thousands or protesters in the last month—hard to know in the chaos, especially from the outside, but multiple estimates put it that high—that's a faster rate of civilian killing than recent cases in Ukraine or Gaza, topped only by El Fasher in Sudan.
[Disappeared bodies, mass buria...](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/27/iran-protests-death-toll-disappeared-bodies-mass-burials-30000-dead )

2026-01-28 15:35:17 UTC

Ah, imaginary whataboutism, the best whataboutism.
You're asking me about a bad thing that really happened? Well, whatabout a different bad thing that didn't actually happen, something I've imagined? Whatabout that, huh? I'm a victim here.
OK, now that these things are balanced out, let's move on.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mdijvytrce2d

2026-01-19 02:22:26 UTC

I’m sorry, but I don’t think the top priority for the opposition party in Congress should be appealing to a white middle-aged couple Chuck Schumer imagined who think everything is basically fine-to-good except groceries should be a bit cheaper.
I accept that many on this website disagree with me.

2026-01-18 01:19:04 UTC

I don’t understand how that wasn’t a catch and down by contact. Or maybe an incomplete pass. How is the ball alive through the defender wrestling it away from a receiver who is down?

2026-01-15 16:35:06 UTC

NATO countries deploying forces to deter and if necessary defend against aggression from the United States seems like a watershed moment. A line that can't be uncrossed.
The Western alliance had a good run. Maybe a version can be reconstituted some day.

2026-01-14 13:23:16 UTC

The United States needs military access to Greenland, which it already has, to defend the Arctic, which it already does, from Russian and Chinese ships, which aren’t actually there, and this is so important we should destroy the Western alliance to get it, do I have that right?

2026-01-10 17:03:11 UTC

It's a website, not an ancestral home occupied by foreign invaders. Just log off that one and log on somewhere else, which reduces the network effects attracting people to the first one.
The perverts and pedophiles relegated to a fringy echo chamber with no one to harass sounds bad because... ???
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:of56nmyuqzvjta7qlf7gwht6/post/3mc3fh4hyd22c

2026-01-08 14:56:19 UTC

No one who treated "wear a mask when you enter this store" as horrific tyranny actually believe in deference to state authority.
It's Schmittian friend-enemy politics all the way down. "We" should be able to do whatever we feel like without consequence. "They" should be harassed, repressed, killed.

2026-01-07 21:09:12 UTC

"Secret police" is often misunderstood to mean a force that operates covertly, with all their operations secret.
But a secret police force's actions are often public. The secret part is hiding their identities, because they're breaking laws to hurt politically disfavored people, and fear reprisals.

2026-01-01 17:36:27 UTC

Big protests going in Iran, and the state is trying to put them down with force, already killing 3.
I don't know where this is going, and the Iranian government has survived big protests before. But whatever happens, it's admirably brave when people take on violently repressive regimes.
[At least 3 reported killed dur...](https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-economy-israel-us-nuclear-8533eacbc3c502ccc5f5339ae4384399 )

2025-12-20 13:00:45 UTC

Americans in their 20s and 30s may not feel that they’re richer than their equivalents 60 years ago, but they’re objectively wrong.
It’s fascinating how important it is to some people not to say “I’m struggling, it’s hard” or “I need help”—objectively true—but to instead insist they have it worse.
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreifazjm7icgzedbeir4sia7f3krnfe44zfftvubvrkvwmuequtmpha

2025-12-14 14:51:31 UTC

But David French, the guys flipping out over Drag Queen Story Hour are the weak men creating hard times.
If they think something has gone terribly wrong, and that the thing is people reading books to kids at a voluntary family event, that's insanely weak. And an excuse to act on irrational hatred.
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreihy6ex6ziysmhkcwuxlpi3xhrg7w536wqlc5cdszr3hv7usqw46ai
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreidqyplizmzdu37oxh2c5atwolu2ktxj5at5yemkajgexquh7h3xma

2025-12-11 02:44:13 UTC

Stuff with the US and Venezuela is bad and likely to get worse, but this seized tanker is reportedly owned by a Russian oligarch, and was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 due to suspected involvement in illegal oil smuggling with Iran. Plus breaking maritime law re: flags.
Not piracy. Not war.

2025-12-08 00:39:18 UTC

The president who watched Jan. 6 violence on TV and responded to Kevin McCarthy's desperate call from inside the Capitol with "well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you" doesn't think death threats against anyone even a little in his way is a bad thing?
Huh.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3m7gr557pae2m

2025-12-06 14:59:48 UTC

41 minutes of watching two shipwrecked men trying to flip a boat and signaling for surrender/help before firing on them again reminds me of the 9.5 minutes Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck, in that it’s an agonizingly long time to be killing helpless people who clearly posed no threat.

2025-12-06 00:24:33 UTC

The only legitimate judicial response to challenges to birthright citizenship is “what, are you kidding, it’s in the Constitution.”
Though that also was the only possible legitimate response to claims that the president is above the law and cannot face punishment for crimes he definitely committed.

2025-12-05 20:59:25 UTC

“Stick to sports” means the NFL should punish Colin Kaepernick for quietly kneeling in protest of police violence and that FIFA should give Donald Trump an award for geopolitical actions that aren’t real.

2025-12-05 20:09:31 UTC

Regarding Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plans to run for the Democratic presidential nomination on a platform of Americans who still support Donald Trump matter more than everyone else and must be catered to:
[an elderly man with a mustache...](https://media.tenor.com/FSqCg1YAcOAAAAAC/shrug-good-luck.gif?hh=312&ww=460 )

2025-12-05 17:44:04 UTC

Trump's hateful rant and violently repressive action targeting Somali-Americans, ending free national park admissions on MLK day and Juneteenth, and an NSS calling for Europe to be whiter—all this week.
No doubt it's extremely racist. The only question is whether Americans think that's good or bad.

2025-12-05 16:39:16 UTC

BREAKING: Insurrectionist who planted pipe bombs in Washington DC during Trump's lie-based coup attempt is a Trump supporter who believed Trump's lies and used violence to try and advance his attempted coup.
Once again, it turns out to be exactly what it looked like.
[Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he ...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/pipe-bomb-suspect-told-fbi-believed-2020-election-conspiracy-theories-rcna247544 )

2025-12-05 16:24:16 UTC

Remember, some prominent media figures believe they personally are the most important thing in US politics and possibly the whole world. The real Biden Old accusation was "acting older than a White House staffer told me." So when Trump falls asleep on camera, that's no biggie, because media sees it.

2025-12-05 15:14:58 UTC

What a strange public figure Nikki Haley is. Supports US leaders who are trying to help Russia defeat Ukraine—strongly endorsed them, in fact, when their pro-Putin stance was clear—while continuing to say factually accurate, anti-Russia, pro-Ukraine things, as if no one will notice the combination.
https://inkcap.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:756gaaeewovgn4axja34ajne&cid=bafkreie7yyw6ivmaax3h2twgxnpdtwuhhy3tanuuxzjlj3qxa55j4to32a

2025-12-05 14:42:59 UTC

The US govt is screaming—in words, actions, and now a strategic document—that America has switched sides in the world, preferring authoritarians and a transnational white nationalism over liberal democracy.
Like Russia, a US foreign policy goal is to undermine the EU.
Will Europe finally listen?
[‘Civilisational erasure’: US s...](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/civilisational-erasure-us-strategy-document-appears-to-echo-far-right-conspiracy-theories-about-europe )

2025-12-05 13:30:36 UTC

Netflix getting Warner Bros. is bad for art, but right-wing oligarchs not getting it is bad for fascism.
The Ellisons already got Paramount and Fox-ified CBS, plus a big stake in TikTok USA and more.
On balance, avoiding more Orban-style media consolidation is a good outcome.
Such are the times.

2025-12-05 03:47:40 UTC

Nothing in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the drone campaign was like this, directly killing such unambiguously nonthreatening people on direct orders from the very top, who openly celebrated it after.

2025-12-05 03:08:01 UTC

I think everyone can stop debating if the U.S. government is controlled by fascists.
It was apparent a while ago, but there’s should be no doubt now.

2025-12-04 15:16:01 UTC

Wow, Adm. Holsey didn't leave of his own accord, Hegseth pushed him out. What looked like the SOCOM head resigning rather than do war crimes now looks like SecDef canning him to facilitate war crimes.
Congress should have him testify, and would've already if war-crime-sympathetic GOP didn't run it.
[Exclusive | Hegseth Asked Top ...](https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-asked-top-admiral-to-resign-after-months-of-discord-9e7b357f )