Travis Millman

Our authoritarianism is run on clichés borrowed from the Eastern Europe of twenty years ago. Paid protestors, disloyal cities, evil Soros, vast conspiracies — it was all tiresome then and there, and now it’s pathetic.

Calling all scientists and science supporters! You have a crucial role to play in countering the authoritarian threat we currently face in this country. Learn more about how you can stand up for the facts and truth that are essential for a free and democratic society. blog.ucs.org/gretchen-gol...

After his trial runs in LA and DC, Trump is now reportedly planning to permanently keep 600 National Guard troops on standby to deploy into any American city facing protests. 

This is the stuff fascism is made of.

About the best pre-game take I’ve seen on tomorrow’s “summit” in Alaska.

its crazy how dominant germany was in science (especially chemistry) in the 19th century, it was basically the international language for scientists, people came from all over the world to train at heidelberg etc, and then....

May Day Strong: We are the Many · May Day Strong This is a local companion action to the big May Day Strong rally in Foley Square at 5 p.m. for folks who can't make it to the city but want to make their voices heard and have a visible presence in ou...

I'm attending May Day Strong's event, “May Day Strong: We are the Many” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/mayday/event...

Tariffs will raise prices. But the climate crisis is the real inflation risk | Mark Blyth and Nicolò Fraccaroli As temperatures rise and countries back off their decarbonization efforts, we must confront a reality central banks can’t correct

Bracing reading. Though Agent Orange’s tariff and mass deportation policies will accelerate inflation, other less discretionary forces, with climate change being the big one, will likely keep it moving higher…
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A little?!

US to revoke student visas over ‘pro-Hamas’ social media posts flagged by AI – report State department launches AI-assisted reviews of accounts to look for what it perceives as Hamas supporters

US to revoke student visas over ‘pro-Hamas’ social media posts flagged by AI – report www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This is really chilling.

Is it a peace process? (short video) Five quick tests for the US in a two-minute video

The wise and understated Timothy Snyder on why Trump’s “peace initiative” is not serious. 5 simple tests in 2 minutes of video. Incisive. open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

Canceled my Washington Post subscription. No thanks, meddling oligarchs!

The "Fraud" Fraud How DOGE destroys

The ever clear-eyed and insightful Timothy Snyder nails MuskTrump’s use of “fraud” as a political tool to delegitimize government. Must read. open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

MUST WATCH: Sikorski in brutal and beautiful takedown of Putin and Trump. OMG, we needed that. The Polish Foreign Minister's speech in the U.N. yesterday is the strongest, most ‘efficient’, in parts even poetic, political rhetoric I have heard for decades. Thank you, Radek.

open.substack.com/pub/twogrump...

Bracing words from Poland’s eloquent Foreign Minister. We Americans should be ashamed to the core that our previous role as an advocate of order and (mostly) reliable defender of democracy and justice has been terminated.

Israel Delays Prisoner Release After Hamas Frees 6 Hostages: Live Updates Israel was supposed to release 620 Palestinian prisoners soon after the hostages were handed over. Officials gave no reason for the delay.

Why are the headlines NOT “Israel violates ceasefire agreement”?! While the facts detailed in these two stories more or less tell the same story, the headlines fail to accurately identify which party is violating the agreement.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

It’s like insane asylum level crazy clown makeup… 🤡

What a despicable bully.

Holy New Mexico Sunset!

Inspiring and reassuring protest today in and around Union Square Park. Thousands turned out in spite of the cold to express their disgust with grifter Trump and his unelected billionaire sponsor Musk.

Justice officials tell prosecutors to drop charges against N.Y. Mayor Eric Adams A top Justice official said New York Mayor Eric Adams should not have to face trial given his reelection campaign and the fight against crime and illegal immigration.

How about the lunatics don’t get to run the asylum instead? How about criminal behavior is addressed BEFORE elections so that people can vote accordingly? Grifters gonna grift. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Opinion | To Obey Trump or Not to Obey The voluntarily surrender of the public’s power is how autocracies are built.

History, perspective, wisdom, and just a little bit of hope from the incomparable M Gessen. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/o...

This is who these people are. JD Vance and Elon Musk should be ashamed, but that's part of the Catch-22 here. They have no shame. Also, note the clown in the bronze face paint. How is walking around like that not considered certifiably crazy?
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/e...

Eric Topol on Substack An update with latest data available for graph of life expectancy vs health care expenditures per capita for 20 countries and one outlier.

It’s really bracing to see just what an outlier the US healthcare system is for all the wrong reasons. substack.com/@etopol/note...

Marco Rubio Pulls Out of G20 Summit Over ‘Very Bad’ Focus on DEI and Climate The secretary of state is skipping one of the biggest events in the diplomatic calendar because it’s too woke.

Intentionally destroying the international order the US helped to build. #ForShame

www.thedailybeast.com/marco-rubio-...

In major policy shift, Trump says the US should take over Gaza and does not rule out using US troops (USA Today) WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday ahead of a meeting with Israel's prime minister that Palestinians living in Gaza should want to relocate dur...

Note to world. The xenophobic buffoon is not acting in the best interests of the US or the world and does not speak for us. l.smartnews.com/p-iDPNDrb/Yk...

Trump promises to turn Gaza into ‘the Riviera of the Middle East.’ The president met with the Israeli prime minister at the White House, his first in-person meeting with another world leader since returning to power.

So Trump is openly talking about an active role by the US in perpetrating ethnic cleansing in Gaza. #NotInOurName #ForShame

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...

At a local service shop getting my car inspected. Fox News on the tv, ofc. An anchor interviewing a rightwing sane-washing “economist” carefully (ie w maximum positive spin) acknowledging the potentially catastrophic impact of Trump’s incredibly self and other destructive imposition of tariffs .

Don't Believe Him Podcast Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 02/02/2025 · 14m

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The Logic of Destruction And how to resist it

And now for something rather more bracing from the clear-eyed Timothy Snyder who minces no words as he describes the ongoing Coup. open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

Hello world! Shutting down by enshitified Meta accounts and coming over where the sky is bluer. Here’s a little something I saw last night to celebrate the shift.

Hey @emollick.bsky.social, long-time reader, first-time commenter. Thank you for your always enlightening and provocative (in a good way!) work. From an assessment POV, a wide variety of ecologically valid benchmarks would be truly meaningful. How about an open source benchmarking collaborative?