alex 🐦‍⬛

Zohran Mamdani shows how Democrats can defeat authoritarians like Trump | Isabella Weber Democrats have two choices: fight to make life affordable again for ordinary people or watch voters embrace authoritarians

If guaranteeing essentials sounds radical in 2025, it speaks to how far we’ve drifted from democracy’s core promise. Markets will not save democracy.

My new piece for @theguardian.com:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Live-Evil on repeat all day

ICE Still Won't Answer Questions About Prosecutor with White Supremacist X Account Congressman Marc Veasey arrived at an ICE facility Monday in his latest attempt to follow up on the Observer's reporting.

NEW: ICE remains mum regarding prosecutor exposed as white supremacist.

"They want to signal to the other white supremacists...out there that under this administration things are going to be different and you’re not going to have to worry about losing your job"
www.texasobserver.org/ice-white-su...

Stephen Miller ‘Plenary Authority’ Remark Sparks Controversy The Trump aide sparked suspicion when he stopped speaking after he mentioned the President’s “plenary authority,” though CNN blamed a technical issue.

Stephen Miller invoked "plenary authority," which "Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute defines as 'power that is wide-ranging, broadly construed, and often limitless for all practical purposes.'" time.com/7324096/step...

Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties. Johnson said he was left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours before agents finally let him go. “I asked [agents] why they were holding me if I was an American citizen, and they said I had to wait until they looked me up,” Jones said. “I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer. They never brought one.”

What DHS pulled in Chicago on Tuesday is wildly unconstitutional. They smashed down almost every door in the building, dragged entire families into the street, and detained people for hours ("Kavanaugh stops").

Ms. Fisher was held for five hours and another senior citizen was held for three hours.

Former DHS Chief of Staff @milestaylor.bsky.social warning Trump’s NSPM-7 order “could become the central nervous system of Trump’s surveillance state against the political opposition,” calling it “Orwellian beyond belief.” www.treason.io/p/must-read-...

Trump's NSPM-7 represses freedom of speech & association, investigating any organization with "anti-capitalism" or "anti-American" views. I ran a primary in 2003 against the Patriot Act & war in Iraq. NSPM-7 is a greater infringement on freedoms than the Patriot Act.

What is NSPM-7? Over 3,000 nonprofits sound alarm on new Trump directive The directive sparked concerns from law firms and nonprofits, more than 3,000 of have signed onto an open letter rebuking it.

Lee Rowland, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship: “Radical ideas designed to change policy outcomes are also known as political speech at the very core of the First Amendment. Period, full stop.” www.newsweek.com/what-is-nspm...

Trump’s NSPM-7 Alarms Law Firms While Congress Is Silent Domestic terror watchlist to double, sources say

FBI's domestic terror watchlist expected to DOUBLE in size as a result of NSPM-7, the new presidential directive targeting "anti-Christian," "anti-capitalism" and "anti-American" speech:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp...

YouTube video by MSNBC Lina Khan on media, mergers, & muzzling dissent

Khan: “This is actually a pretty old lesson. Even after World War II, the US government commissioned studies to figure out what was it that allowed the rise of nazism in Germany. And they found that industrial monopolists actually helped facilitate the rise of Hitler" www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUP1...

"One might think that if a candidate starting at 2% in the polls gets 50,000 volunteers, creates enormous excitement, gets young people involved in the political process, gets nontraditional voters to vote, Democratic leaders would be jumping up and down."

The Political Upset That Should Haunt Zohran Mamdani This isn’t the first time the Democratic establishment has tried to torpedo a democratic socialist upstart.

"This isn’t the first time the Democratic establishment has tried to torpedo a democratic socialist upstart." www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Running out of ways to creatively say “this is Nazi shit”

Times pushed ahead to avoid being scooped on Mamdani Columbia story The paper reported that the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee marked himself as both “Asian” and “Black or African American” on an admissions form.

NYT rushed to publish their story on Mamdani out of fear they’d be scooped by Chris Rufo lmao

www.semafor.com/article/07/0...

Wow: Zohran Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo 56-44 (!) in the final vote count

The Case for Zohranomics As some Wall Street billionaires melt down over Zohran Mamdani’s policy platform, a prominent progressive economist argues that it meets the moment.

Zohranomics is an effective form of antifascist economic policy. The crisis of economic security that comes with basic questions of dignity & identity is being used by the far right. An agenda laser-focussed on the needs of ordinary people is the way out.

Little Man with Gun in His Hand Minutemen · Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat · Song · 1983

a woman’s love, a woman’s touch
strong mind, strong body
all the things he couldn’t have
all the things he couldn’t see
Little man with a gun in his hand
open.spotify.com/track/3rx424...

Deerhoof! 🦌🦶

Very, Very Hungry Brian Eno, David Byrne · My Life in the Bush of Ghosts · Song · 1981

Mind-blowing that Brian Eno and David Byrne made these beautiful, still futuristic-sounding sampling innovations as early as 1979, before Talking Heads’ Remain in Light was recorded. open.spotify.com/track/738Xfk...

The Eyes in Season Black Moth Super Rainbow · Soft New Magic Dream · Song · 2025

Happy new Black Moth Super Rainbow day open.spotify.com/track/4nGdCc...

My first time seeing Nick Reinhart (@nickreinhart.bsky.social) and Rob Crow (@robcrow.bsky.social) reunited since Goblin Cock’s 2016 world tour/crusade for Necronomindonkeykongimicon.

Missing all the B.C. Rich Warlocks though 🫡.

Space 6 Nala Sinephro · Space 1.8 · Song · 2021

Square wave synth brain massage around 2:55 🤤
Nala Sinephro - Space 6 open.spotify.com/track/0jqUHZ...

King Mountain The Flashbulb · Kirlian Tapes · Song · 2022

Oof, these textures from the Flashbulb (@bennjordan.bsky.social). Like sun-baked cassette tape marinated in liquified vitamin D. open.spotify.com/track/2Ak9nU...

Squid Squid Squid

Yeah:

YouTube video by Alex Ball The Synths Behind Don't You Want Me

A meticulous analysis and recreation of the Human League's 'Don't You Want Me.' Reveals the alchemy of turning early sequenced synth jank into an innovative Schedule I pop gem. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR4W...

The Free Houdini Deluxe Themselves · Album · 2019 · 20 songs

This Themselves mixtape is an addictive ADHD hall of mirrors. Chameleon production tying together sizzling vocal fry, tinny FM synthesis, bitcrushed compression, and field recording freestyle into a coherent avant-garde hip-hop whole. open.spotify.com/album/0zKuw3...

Musk’s attacks on federal workers pose an existential threat to the whole labor movement, all workers, and the broad Left

It’s alarming that most people don’t yet understand the stakes 🧵

Faiz Shakir: “Most importantly, we have to strategically pick big fights with the elite and selfish oligarchs now entering government ‘service’ not just to decry their looting but to paint the picture of how we would wield power in a very different way.” medium.com/@fshakir/why...