Cole Cloyd

Not to be too dark, but this has been something that's irked me about discussions of recent extremism: claims that it's happening purely because internet culture rots the brain.

We know online technologies are bad for us in a variety of ways, but -

Some would challenge whether these precise conclusions are ultimately *true*, but hard to argue with Posner's read of the media *narratives* here.

To put a religion spin on it:

Hero to young Dems: a pluralist Muslim

Hero to young GOPers: a white nationalist & self-described Christian nationalist

Absolutely disgusting response from Turning Point USA's spokesperson here, who targeted some random teachers and rained hell on their lives because he couldn't fathom not trying to squeeze some more engagement bait out of his dead boss.

This is wild.

The full quote is: “I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration and I’m sure they would be interested in this matter.”

Just a…straight-up threat against a media outlet implying that the federal government would retaliate against them?

021: Who the Hell is Nick Fuentes? feat. Amanda Moore Podcast Episode · Posting Through It · 06/09/2025 · 2h 8m

Maybe you saw that Tucker Carlson interview with Nick Fuentes and you’re wondering “who the hell is that guy?” Well, we have a podcast episode for you, feat @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

Delayed thing about this: The pastor who was shot in the head with pepper balls is from the PC(USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S.

You know who else used to be a member of that tradition?

Donald Trump.

But in 2020, he stopped IDing that way, saying he's now non-denominational.

I’m not afraid to admit it’s probably my favorite season of the Wire. No other season is like it

036: Who the Hell Was Charlie Kirk? Podcast Episode · Posting Through It · 09/13/2025 · 1h 31m

OUT NOW: @michaelehayden.bsky.social and I made one of our “Who the Hell?” episodes for Charlie Kirk to counter the gross revisionism and lies in mainstream press. We covered how he died and how he lived — honestly

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4Pxo...

Kirk's widow is live from the TPUSA studio and it's live on the local networks rn. She says that AmericaFest will still happen in Phoenix this year and Kirk's podcast will continue without him.

What is “transgender and antifascist ideology?” I know the debate about platforming the words of killers, but this is not really helpful if we only have that nebulous description to go off of

Don't be surprised if whoever killed Charlie Kirk has no coherent political ideology, didn't do it for any particular reason, and doesn’t fall anywhere neat on the left/right paradigm.

If I have any credibility with you from 20 years of reporting on rightwing & fascist movements, please listen when I beg you not to celebrate Charlie Kirk getting shot. Leave aside morality: this isn’t a match in dry grass, it’s a torch. We do not want what this could ignite & we would not win.

I know jumping to politically-advantageous conclusions is just what we do now, but its still striking how many right wing folks have immediately jumped to "violent leftist," as if there hasn't been a sustained, decadelong hate campaign against Charlie Kirk from those to his right.

Very, very bad stuff coming from leading right-wingers

From the radical 'dissident Right' to mainstream MAGA operatives & White House staffers, major figures on the Right are thirsting for state repression & political retribution against Democrats & the Left after the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk

BREAKING: Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, died this afternoon after being shot at a Utah college event, according to multiple sources.

On Monday, we're dropping another installment in Posting Through It's "Who the Hell?" series.

This excruciating deep-dive is about Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports. Our guest is @robertsilverman.bsky.social, who practically wrote the episode with his own reporting on Barstool.

“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States As the White House redirects counterterrorism personnel and funds toward mass deportations, a state-level scramble is on to preserve efforts once supported by Washington. The result is a patchwork app...

NEW: As the White House redirects counterterrorism personnel and funds toward mass deportations, a state-level scramble is on to preserve efforts once supported by Washington.

The result is a patchwork approach that leaves many areas uncovered.

By @hannahallam.bsky.social

016: How X Became 'Unusable for Normal Humans' feat. Hannah Gais & Steven Monacelli Three years after Elon Musk first moved to purchase Twitter, we reflect on the state of the platform today and who has benefited most from its transformation

It’s been three years since Elon Musk moved to buy Twitter and remold it into a MAGA propaganda machine. @hannahgais.bsky.social and @stevanzetti.bsky.social joined the show to chat about the site’s transformation and who benefited most from it.

postthroughit.substack.com/p/016-how-x-...

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, a devastating event that changed Americans' mutual trust. It also changed our understanding of terrorism, for a time, thought it remained easier to believe this event was a fluke and our "real" enemy sat plotting outside our borders.

Look, I love these sites & I get how politics works & why they're doing it, but every single one makes exactly the same error universities have been making for years:

Research DOES NOT JUST MEAN STEM.

Look around. If you think we also don't need social science & humanities research, look harder.

Podcast platforms host Jake Shields’ antisemitism bigotry and racism Content warning: This article contains references to graphic antisemitic, racist, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ+ language. Reader discretion is advised. A former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter turned ...

Podcast platforms host Jake Shields’ antisemitism, bigotry and racism

Inside Turning Point USA’s Pastors Summit Below is a guest report from Matthew Boedy, a professor at the University of North Georgia.

In many ways, Turning Point is claiming through events like these that the Seven Mountains Mandate should outlive the Trump presidency.

publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/inside-tur...

“They Don’t Care About Civil Rights”: Trump’s Shuttering of DHS Oversight Arm Freezes 600 Cases, Imperils Human Rights The closure of the 150-person office, which protected the civil rights of both immigrants and U.S. citizens, strips Homeland Security of its internal guardrails as the Trump administration turns DHS i...

NEW: The shuttered DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties “was one of the very few tools we had to check ICE, to hold ICE accountable,” immigration lawyer Sophia Genovese said. “Now you see them speeding to complete authoritarianism.”

By @davidmcswane.bsky.social & @hannahallam.bsky.social

📣 Join us for Religion, Democracy and Truth: A Conversation with @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social, New York Times columnist and bestselling author.

🗓️ April 9
⏰ 7-8:30 p.m.
🔗 registration required: asuevents.asu.edu/french

New research from me and @profsamperry.bsky.social in @sfjournal.bsky.social finds the more Americans affirm Christian nationalist views the more likely they are to oppose taxation across a range of measures, with findings consistent across multiple datasets. Why might this be?

Will Religion’s Remarkable Winning Streak at the Supreme Court Continue? The court, which has been receptive to claims from religious groups, particularly Christian ones, will hear three major cases in the coming weeks.

The Supreme Court will soon consider three important, First Amendment religion-related cases.

The Roberts court has ruled in favor of religious people over 83% of the time -- mostly Christians. In the past the court was more focused on protecting minorities

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/u...

Patrick Crusius believed he was fulfilling Trump’s wishes in El Paso attack, his attorney says Patrick Crusius told his attorney that he massacred people in an El Paso Walmart because President Donald Trump wanted him to stop a Hispanic invasion.

The white supremacist gunman who murdered 23 people at an El Paso WalMart in 2019 believed he was acting at the direction of President Trump, his defense lawyers say. "“He thought he had to stop the invasion because that’s what his president was telling him."