MBR
@flame89.bsky.social
Can’t say too much about my job these days but international affairs (especially Asia) is my specialty. I love films, novels, and history. Opinions are entirely my own. He/him
created November 11, 2024
1,135 followers 770 following 3,333 posts
view profile on Bluesky Posts
Bill Kristol (@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social) reposted
"It’s surreal to witness the nascent elements of a similar authoritarian takeover in Washington DC, the capitol of supposedly the world’s leading democracy. It may not yet be at the stage of an actual coup, but the groundwork is being laid." bylinetimes.com/2025/08/29/d...
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Well well well…
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
For all the talk about Trump’s health (which, to be sure, is not great), the most likely outcome is that, like Kim il-Sung or Castro, Trump won’t die until he’s so old that it has little political importance in terms of the life expectancy of the regime. The regime is embedding itself very deep.
BeijingPalmer (@beijingpalmer.bsky.social) reposted
Ever since we gave him the vaccine my dog has been non-verbal
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Well that’s for sure.
Bill Kristol (@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social) reposted
“There are those who would try to refuse the worker any effective power to bargain collectively, to earn a decent livelihood and to acquire security. It is those shortsighted ones who threaten this country with class dissension…” — Franklin Roosevelt, Sep. 6, 1936 www.thebulwark.com/p/labor-day-...
Lupita Nihongo (@otsumamiboy.bsky.social) reposted
If you say 'heteronormative' or 'unhoused person' or 'food insecurity' you're basically talking gibberish and nobody can understand you but if you say you can see inflammation in children at the airport and that vaccines lower IQ or that germs are a myth you get to fire all the scientists.
Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd.bsky.social) reposted
Mass shooters since 2018 who were transgender, total of 4. Mass shooters since 2018 who were not transgender, total of more than 4,000. Transgender folks are 1.0% of the population and they make up less than 0.1% of the mass shooters.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Sure feels like the Union won the war and lost the peace at the moment
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
Post a meme made by you
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Despicable
Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋 (@yaqiu.bsky.social) reposted
The Trump administration moves to fire most of VOA journalists.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
Ahhh fuck. William T. Vollmann has cancer. Everything sucks. Fuck cancer.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
It’s not even red flag in my book. It’s disqualifying.
Senator Mark Warner (@markwarner.bsky.social) reposted
Clean energy isn’t “woke.” It’s an essential part of our energy future and saves us all on power bills. This administration’s war on offshore wind and solar is just going to raise Americans’ utilities.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
I’m no expert but I think Mina Kimes has your answer
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Me too! I love it too. I also just treasure We Did It. Best song under 60 seconds I’ve ever heard. Her lyrics are just like living in this whole little world sometimes.
Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
To be clear, when will the Republicans who control Congress start doing their jobs….
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
Yeah, those of us who follow Chinese politics are very familiar with this. Xi has disappeared numerous times and there are usually rumors and then disappointed people in the diaspora.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
@ryanahunt.bsky.social ❤️
Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) reposted
Lots of right-wing political pastors and charlatans about to get rich from FEMA money.
Joshua J. Friedman (@joshuajfriedman.com) reposted
What a cursed sentence (gift link) “The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.”
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
I agree. But I also think people built Fetterman into something he wasn’t during the primaries. The guy chased a black man around with a shotgun on the basis of a rumor. That’s not what progressive heroes do.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
My god… Hadas has been kidnapped.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
They love Big Brother.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Tim Onion (@bencollins.bsky.social) reposted
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
I believe I have the right policy ideas; we all do. But I have no belief that they are or will ever be popular or easily salable. I’m happy to discuss them with anyone. I have plenty of reasons for them. But I have no abiding belief that any critical mass of people can be convinced of them.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
The biggest difference between me and most of the leftists I encounter (especially online) isn’t policy. A lot of those differences on domestic policy are really very small. The difference is I lack the belief that my policies are automatically popular and therefore campaigns are easy to win.
Joe Stieb (@joestieb.bsky.social) reposted
Everything this guy posts:
Waldo Jaquith (@waldo.net) reposted
I seriously doubt that Donald Trump has ever visited any Smithsonian museums. There is no chance whatsoever that he has walked through and looked at exhibits. This is all an abstract concept to him.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
It’s um… pretty bad over here…
BeijingPalmer (@beijingpalmer.bsky.social) reposted
no no, it was "Don't! Be Evil!"
Charlotte Clymer (@charlotteclymer.bsky.social) reposted
Ashli Babbitt was a grown ass adult who chose to break into an unauthorized area during an insurrection against the repeated warnings of law enforcement. She ignored those warnings and got killed through no one's fault but her own. She was a traitor. She doesn't deserve full military honors.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
You have a paper to write? You better start posting more? These are rookie numbers so far
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Knitting! Main benefit: It won’t be replaced by AI. Drawbacks: Actual market participation at scale will lead you to conclude that Bangladeshi women are basically the master race. Extra benefit as you practice: greater insights into early modern artisanal labor, feminism, and invisible labor! Fun!
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Everything’s insane here now. There’s corruption at a level people don’t even understand.
Melissa Chan (@melissakchan.bsky.social) reposted
“Covert influence operations.” Straight up China shenanigans, now MAGA shenanigans.
Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋 (@yaqiu.bsky.social) reposted
While Trump is firing and investigating his enemies in front of everyone’s eyes, Xi is quietly making his disfavored deputies disappear en masse. Trump must envy Xi the silence. www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
“Never let ‘em know your next move/ Don’t you know bad boys move in silence and violence?/ Take it from your highness…”
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
❤️❤️❤️
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Oh you think the sandwich man not getting indicted is a laugh riot? Well let me tell you something that’s not so funny! Right now Jeanine Pirro is at home crying like a little girl!
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
But you gotta pay the troll toll youtu.be/bOGQPTdoRPc?...
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
@ryanahunt.bsky.social A tale of a false prophet…
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
How about letting him ride the comet, since he’s so sure it’s aliens?
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reposted reply parent
A lot of the single people in my life were messaging me with this kind of energy
Hadas Weiss (@hadas.bsky.social) reposted
single women in their 40s reading about how taylor getting engaged in her 30s to a man who can't spell gives hope
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
A lot of the single people in my life were messaging me with this kind of energy
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Definitely. And it shouldn’t be a surprise, either. He said it during the campaign multiple times in public.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Amazing that it was sold by Harley
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Also editors:
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
It doesn’t matter. He’s a moderate.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
This this this this this
Brendan Nyhan (@brendannyhan.bsky.social) reposted
An example of how democratic erosion cumulates. These events are not happening independently; they reinforce each other.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Seems like par for the course since we can’t even communicate clear (never mind wise) policy to other postal services.
Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) reposted
In Texas v Johnson in 1989 the Supreme Court deemed flag burning a form of speech protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. No law enforcement officer is obligated to carry out a blatantly illegal order.
Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal.bsky.social) reposted
It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this is - for the economy (ours and globally), for the rule of law, and for the proper and efficient function of government. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) reposted
Sen. Warren on Trump's attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook: "The illegal attempt to fire Lisa Cook is the latest example of a desperate President searching for a scapegoat ... It's an authoritarian power grab that blatantly violates the Federal Reserve Act, and must be overturned in court."
Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) reposted
Pritzker: To the members of the press who are assembled here today and listening across the country, I am asking for your courage to tell it like it is. This is not a time to pretend here that there are two sides to this story.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
Jesus. He fired Lisa Cook and he didn’t even wait until Friday.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (@whitehouse.senate.gov) reposted
More fossil fuel thuggery, this time aimed at Brown University, in the service of climate denial. “Shut up your researchers or we’ll sic the Trump administration on your funding.” Classy.
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) reposted
Walz: "It boggles my damn mind that in the midst of a military takeover of our cities, the flaunting of the rule of law, that the press finds the need to talk about, 'Oh, there's a division in the Dem Party.' There's a division in my damn house & we're still married and things are good. That's life"
Annastasia (@annastasia77.bsky.social) reposted reply parent
It pisses me off each and every damn day that THIS could have been our VP. But nooooo we got a couch humping, eyeliner temu bought nutcase, who only takes vacation on our tax dollars!
Charlotte Clymer (@charlotteclymer.bsky.social) reposted
For those unaware, Uganda has basically been a movement laboratory for American evangelicals. They've poured a massive fortune into the country and directly influenced its politics in a socially conservative direction. President Yoweri Museveni has a long relationship with American evangelicals.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Sure. I’m just telling you, having traveled to towns in Pennsylvania seven times last year to canvass, called voters in every swing state, and grown up in a rural area, I don’t think the fact that Dems in universities sometimes use jargon was any kind of proximate cause for our electoral outcome.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
But Zach! Kamala said something bad about the police! That means she’s even worse!
Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋 (@yaqiu.bsky.social) reposted
The hypocrisy is outrageous. One the one hand, these United Front operatives claim it is "Chinese culture" to bribe journalists; one the other hand, they cry "discrimination" the moment their CCP ties are exposed. (Screenshots from NYT investigations.)
The New York Times (@nytimes.com) reposted
Chinese-backed social clubs have actively meddled in New York elections, targeting politicians who challenged the authoritarian state, including a congressional candidate, a state senator who met with Taiwan's President, and a City Council candidate supporting Hong Kong democracy. nyti.ms/3UL7oRG
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
This is a masterpiece if you ever have a chance to see it
Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋 (@yaqiu.bsky.social) reposted
For the umpteenth time, a United Front figure is conflating "the CCP" with "Chinese people," and crying "discrimination" to deflect from their CCP ties. It cheapens the concept of anti-Chinese discrimination, which is increasingly a real problem in America. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/n...
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Money is a drug youtu.be/p9HtZeu6AZ8?...
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social)
Me when someone asks me what I think about the Cracker Barrel logo.
Tamsin Shaw (@professorshaw.bsky.social) reposted
Peter Thiel thinks technological progress has stalled. But what if we’d bribed Einstein, Gödel, Bohr, Turing, to drop out of college, run startups, and try to be billionaires? What if they’d had that as their aim rather than scientific understanding? Maybe tech bro values are part of the problem?
Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) reposted
One aspect of personalist regimes is that they will prioritize going after dissidents from within their own coalition. Trump appointee Bolton targeted this week, now Trump's former debate prep partner.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
On that, at least, I think we all agree!
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Like, if a kid asks what he could have done differently after he got turned down when he asked someone to the prom, the first answer isn’t “Well you should have been taller. Fix that.” That doesn’t help them. This kind of internecine flagellation is a mug’s game, and a divisive one too.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
And we can analyze that and talk about the implications of that and how it came to be, sure. But if we’re discussing how to get better electoral outcomes, don’t you think it’s better to focus on the things that are actual choices, not the things that no leader could change even if they wanted to?
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
But that’s a very different thing than saying “Don’t use these words [she didn’t actually use] because those words are the thing that makes you seem too extreme.”
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
I mean, sure, if you want to have a general conversation about whether the democratic field got too far left during the primaries in 2020, and that harmed Kamala in the shortest campaign in history, fair enough. We can have that discussion. I’m not saying we can’t.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
But it does matter because if it’s not something Democratic politicians are actually saying, then even if it’s true that that weighs them down, it’s not something that can be changed by a decision in Washington.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Show me Kamala using heteronormative, cultural appropriation, patriarchy, microaggression, or safe space at any point in the campaign trail and then we can draw these kinds of connections. Until then, it’s reasonable to question the analysis of a group that seeks to sway Democratic policy choices.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Thank you!
Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) reposted
There isn't a city, state, or county across this nation that doesn't have issues that make it far from perfect. None of that justifies military dictatorship as a governing solution.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
💯 What I’m wearing rn before I head to a protest:
Miss Aja (@brat2381.bsky.social) reposted
All Folks Had To Do Was Vote For The Super Qualified Black Lady… With A Degree In Economics
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
He lamented the loss years later, saying “The swine who took him from me doesn’t know what he did to me… I liked him so much. He only obeyed me.” 2/2
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
He showed affection for his dogs but even that wasn’t true friendship, which is of course generally based upon some foundation of a mutual sense of equality and complementarity. He had a dog, Foxl, for a time during WW1 that got lost or stolen as his unit was preparing to relocate. 1/2
BeijingPalmer (@beijingpalmer.bsky.social) reposted
the entire UK media, with a couple of exceptions, seems to have decided that the people *literally calling for refugees to be burnt out* are the good guys. it is shockingly evil.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Wow, this and the tracked changes one…
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
What if the thing you decry, the care for how our choices can impact even the smallest groups and minorities, is also the reason why our party, for all its faults, didn’t go authoritarian and the one you chose as a young person did?
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
If you find me one instance of a nationally elected Democrat (Congress, senate, president, VP) or Democratic governor using the term chest feeding, I’ll acknowledge this is an issue. Until then, it’s just a distraction meant to induce a particular policy framework in the non-authoritarian party.
BeijingPalmer (@beijingpalmer.bsky.social) reposted
Blatter and Infantino both being Swiss isn't a coincidence; it's a country deeply mired in international corruption that maintains a domestically tranquil image over its institutional racism and sexism.
James (@gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social) reposted
Gonna level with you. I'm not really sure it's a civ-mil problem so much as a "one party views their political opponents as enemies to be cowed into submission through the threat of force" problem. It's sort of a different lane tbh.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Plus the head of DIA got fired
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Ok, you’re right. Here are my keys. You have the jiggle the side door one a little. Come and go as you please.
Senator Mark Warner (@markwarner.bsky.social) reposted
D.C. has more residents than two U.S. states. They pay more per capita in federal taxes than any other state. But they don’t get a serious seat at the table to decide how they’re governed. D.C. statehood now.
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
Just plain rude
MBR (@flame89.bsky.social) reply parent
The Atlantic specializes in junk like this