Sign in

Arlene Stein

@ajoystein.bsky.social
1.7K followers 713 following 995 posts

Sociologist thinking and writing about authoritarianism, democracy, LGBTQ issues, feminism. Author of The Stranger Next Door, Unbound, other books. Child of immigrants. Never Again for Anyone. #KnittyGrittyJC

PostsRepliesMedia
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Heroes! www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/u...
nytimes.com
John Roberts Retreated to His Island. Supreme Court Critics Found Him.
After decades of potlucks and paddle-boarding on Maine’s midcoast, rising anger and protests have left the Supreme Court’s chief justice more isolated than ever.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Avoidance will just get us in deeper trouble by ceding control to those who profit from it, so I hope we won’t choose quietism or escape. I’m hard at work volunteering in this fall’s midterm elections, for instance; we simply can’t tune out. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m Exhausted. You’re Demoralized. We Weren’t Built for a World Like This.
A greatly underappreciated virtue of other presidents was that you could forget about them for weeks at a time.
010
Reposted by Arlene Stein
TheMoxinator @themoxinator.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Because "Gilded Age" billionaire nepos should be the only voters. archive.is/VAH7d
archive.is
011
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The sexual morals of the Christian right seem to have evaporated as soon as the nation heard Donald Trump utter the words “grab ‘em by the pussy.” Now, an ostentatious lasciviousness reigns. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
In its push to subordinate women, the American right is embracing raunch
Conservatives long promoted a politics of sexual prohibition. Now such morals have been shed in favor of male domination
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
G.O.P. Billionaire Pulls Back His Money From Senate Republicans because they didn't go far enough in gutting voting rights. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...
nytimes.com
Timothy Mellon, a G.O.P. Billionaire, Pulls Back His Money From Senate Republicans
Timothy Mellon, one of the party’s biggest donors in 2024, has so far withheld his midterm donations for Republican senators because he is unhappy about the failure to pass a key Trump priority.
151
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The US has granted protection to some four million asylum seekers and refugees since 1980. Now, the Trump administration is not only shrinking the space for those seeking safety in the United States. It’s threatening the entire notion of global protection. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | They Had No Connection to Costa Rica. America Sent Them There Anyway.
The Trump administration’s policy of deporting migrants to third countries is undermining a bedrock notion of international law for the past 75 years.
020
Reposted by Arlene Stein
The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 19/09/2026
The Kennedy Center crowd is singing America The Beautiful. This is what democracy looks like.
453244606018
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Panic Won’t Fix the Looming A.I. Threat. Politics Will. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/19/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Panic Won’t Fix the Looming A.I. Threat. Politics Will. (Gift Article)
The threats from A.I. are real — and they’re ones we know how to deal with.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Important read. For Trump, Jews Are Proving to Be a Very Useful Tool www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | For Trump, Jews Are Proving to Be a Very Useful Tool
Debates about Jews are never just about Jews.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
For Trump, Jews Are Proving to Be a Very Useful Tool www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | For Trump, Jews Are Proving to Be a Very Useful Tool (Gift Article)
Debates about Jews are never just about Jews.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We’re on the edge of a precipice with an utter idiot leading us to self-destruction. Trump Says a Smart President Is All That’s Needed to Rein In A.I. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Rejects Talk of A.I. Regulation and Calls Out Anthropic’s CEO
The president again rejected calls to try to regulate the industry, even as some of its leaders are speaking more openly about the risks of rapidly developing artificial intelligence.
110
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Why Scandals Don’t Bring Down Politicians Anymore www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/w...
nytimes.com
Why Scandals Don’t Bring Down Politicians Anymore (Gift Article)
It’s about more than just shamelessness.
000
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“Mass literacy is a recent phenomenon,” Marriott writes. “So is mass democracy. We simply don’t know whether one can survive without the other.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Warning: our democracy won’t survive the death of reading. Read on if you still can | John Harris
While fascists protest in UK ports and purvey nonsense and poison online, ever fewer people have the perspective or analytical tools to challenge them, says Guardian columnist John Harris
012
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“Mass literacy is a recent phenomenon,” Marriott writes. “So is mass democracy. We simply don’t know whether one can survive without the other.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Warning: our democracy won’t survive the death of reading. Read on if you still can | John Harris
While fascists protest in UK ports and purvey nonsense and poison online, ever fewer people have the perspective or analytical tools to challenge them, says Guardian columnist John Harris
012
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Ok, then step aside and put us out of our collective misery. Trump’s Grand Midterm Convention Finale: ‘I’m a Little Bit Tired of Politics’ www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Grand Midterm Convention Finale: ‘I’m a Little Bit Tired of Politics’
The president made clear as his convention wrapped up that he wants to carry his party through a tough midterms. He just won’t go too far out of his way to do it.
002
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
An important read. For liberals and Democrats to wrest this country from the grip of the 1980s, they need to learn from four decades of conservative success. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Blame Ronald Reagan
We are suffering the consequences of the conservative revolution that began in the 1980s.
001
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
We have watched as people with previously quite marginal belief systems have moved to the center of power and gained very powerful roles in government. Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Say the End of the World Is Now on the Table www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/m...
nytimes.com
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Say the End of the World Is Now on the Table (Gift Article)
In a new book, the writers argue that a powerful coalition of “end times fascists” is just fine with the earth’s demise.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
An important read. For liberals and Democrats to wrest this country from the grip of the 1980s, they need to learn from four decades of conservative success. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Blame Ronald Reagan
We are suffering the consequences of the conservative revolution that began in the 1980s.
001
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Ok, then step aside and put us out of our collective misery. Trump’s Grand Midterm Convention Finale: ‘I’m a Little Bit Tired of Politics’ www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Grand Midterm Convention Finale: ‘I’m a Little Bit Tired of Politics’
The president made clear as his convention wrapped up that he wants to carry his party through a tough midterms. He just won’t go too far out of his way to do it.
002
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Horrors! A Lesbian Picnic! Ambassador Who Removed Kehinde Wiley Work Described It as a Lesbian Picnic www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/a...
nytimes.com
Ambassador Who Removed Kehinde Wiley Work Described It as a Lesbian Picnic
Trump officials recently removed a painting from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic without explaining why. An interview by Ambassador Leah Campos shed some light.
011
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
yes. Supreme Court Again Blocks Republican-Backed Missouri Voting Map www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/u...
nytimes.com
Supreme Court Again Blocks Republican-Backed Missouri Voting Map
The map had been drawn to give Republicans an advantage in the midterm elections. It was not immediately clear how Missouri would proceed.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Arora said the church had to challenge the “sinful idolatory” and “twisted theology” of so-called Christian nationalists, saying they were using the cross of Christ as a fashion accessory, with no understanding of Jesus’s message of love. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Fascism on the rise in the UK, Anglican bishop says
Arun Arora, bishop of Kirkstall in Leeds, condemns ‘twisted theology’ of groups who demonstrated at south coast ports at weekend
001
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
More, please! Denver Sues to Block Armed ICE Agents at Voting Sites www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/u...
nytimes.com
Denver Sues to Block Armed ICE Agents at Voting Sites
The City of Denver and civil rights groups argued that sightings of ICE agents at polling places are having a chilling effect.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
TIme to bring out the old call-them-communists trick. Down in the Polls, Republicans Embrace a Familiar Tool: Fear www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/u...
nytimes.com
Down in the Polls, Republicans Embrace a Familiar Tool: Fear
At an unusual midterm gathering, President Trump and his allies painted Democrats as dangerously un-American.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
As Democrats work to claw back power in the midterms, they should also reckon with how they can better position themselves as the political force that can decisively replace MAGA. Voters Have Spoken. Why Aren’t Democrats Listening? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Voters Have Spoken. Why Aren’t Democrats Listening?
Less than two years after a catastrophic election, the Democratic brand remains unpopular, and the party is still in the grip of a divisive identity crisis.
110
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Far-Right Victory in German State Sends a Signal to Europe www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/w...
nytimes.com
AfD Victory in Saxony-Anhalt Sends a Signal to Europe
A vote in eastern Germany has given fresh momentum to hard-right parties hoping to win elections across Europe next year, analysts said.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Far-Right Victory in German State Sends a Signal to Europe www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/w...
nytimes.com
AfD Victory in Saxony-Anhalt Sends a Signal to Europe
A vote in eastern Germany has given fresh momentum to hard-right parties hoping to win elections across Europe next year, analysts said.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Important read. What Gloria Steinem Can Teach Us www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Gloria Steinem Can Teach Us
Steinem has died at the end of a decade that undid some of what she struggled for.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Almost two-thirds of the city’s inflation-adjusted income growth went to the top 1 percent of earners between 2019 and 2024 New York’s Top .001 Percent Have Grown Even Richer www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/n...
nytimes.com
New York’s Top .001 Percent Have Grown Even Richer
Income inequality is as entrenched as ever, according to a new report by New York City’s comptroller.
000
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“Leaving Maga requires more than distancing yourself from the president; you have to actively renounce Maga’s underlying conspiracy theories and also commit to building democracy that understands we as Americans agree on important issues more than we disagree.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Life after Maga: the group offering an ‘exit ramp’ for rightwingers questioning Trumpism
The non-profit Leaving Maga is built on the premise that abandoning the Trump-built movement is like fighting a disease or breaking an addiction
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos signals a rupture within Maga | Moira Donegan
The far-right provocateur helped galvanize a movement that no longer needs him. Now his imitators are claiming victory
000
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
There are more of us than there are of them.
221
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
There are more of us than there are of them.
221
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Instead of doomscrolling, we can organize our neighbors, work at local polling places or join community groups. We must not be satisfied with watching the decline of American democracy from our phones. Stop Doomscrolling. Do Something. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Our Democracy Is at Stake. Stop Waiting for a Savior. (Gift Article)
The greatest power we have is our own.
116
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Hero! www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/u...
nytimes.com
Ed Markey Defends Transgender Athletes in Massachusetts Senate Race
Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts has emerged as a vocal defender of transgender rights as he tries to fend off a primary challenge from Representative Seth Moulton.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
America’s Shame www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/w...
nytimes.com
Deportees Sent to Liberia Recount Harrowing Details of U.S. Expulsion and Treatment by ICE
Ten deportees said they experienced or witnessed what they called abusive or violent treatment by ICE. They spent months in detention, they said, before being sent to nations where they had no ties.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
More, please! www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/u...
nytimes.com
Judge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Stanford Students Who Criticized Israel
The ruling was a win for Stanford’s student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, and it followed another court victory for students targeted by the Trump administration last year.
010
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Billionaires donating money to elect candidates that will help make them trillionaires, while the rest of us struggle. Meet the Megadonors Who Have Poured $1.2 Billion Into the Midterms www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Meet the Megadonors Who Have Poured $1.2 Billion Into the Midterms
The leaderboard of the top 20 donors is dominated by the tech industry and ultrawealthy Republicans.
001
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Billionaires donating money to elect candidates that will help make them trillionaires, while the rest of us struggle. Meet the Megadonors Who Have Poured $1.2 Billion Into the Midterms www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Meet the Megadonors Who Have Poured $1.2 Billion Into the Midterms
The leaderboard of the top 20 donors is dominated by the tech industry and ultrawealthy Republicans.
001
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
New Jersey and New Mexico have seen arrests double, despite both states passing laws this year that restrict government cooperation with ICE ICE Arrests Soar as People With No Criminal Record Are Increasingly Targeted www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
ICE Arrests Soar as People With No Criminal Record Are Increasingly Targeted
As immigration arrests hit record highs, ICE appears closer than ever to meeting its goal of 2,000 daily arrests.
010
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Trump's initial Ukraine negotiator, Gen Kellogg, speaks frankly about the utter incompetence of the team that replaced him, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. uatv.ua/en/witkoff-a...
uatv.ua
“Witkoff and Kushner Don’t Understand the War; Their Participation in the Talks Is a Mistake.” — Kellog - Freedom
Former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg criticized the involvement of ...
28341
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Agents have fanned out under orders to make 2,000 immigration arrests a day — roughly double the pace from this spring. They Opened the Door and Pulled Us Out’: How ICE Descended on a Town www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/n...
nytimes.com
‘They Opened the Door and Pulled Us Out’: How ICE Descended on a Town
One summer morning, immigration agents swooped in and detained 18 immigrants at a store in Lakewood, N.J., plunging the town into fear.
000
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
If Dems take back the House, Hakeem Jeffries must not become Speaker. The Dem Party, the entire country, needs a Speaker who will meet this moment. By meeting with Jared Kushner, Jeffries proved he cannot meet this moment. Give this a read.👇 socialcontractwithjoewalsh.substack.com/p/hakeem-jef...
socialcontractwithjoewalsh.substack.com
Hakeem Jeffries Must Not Become Speaker
This Week’s Monday Missive
1032107872932
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A must read.. “Societies in which there is an extreme division between the wealthiest and the rest tend to be politically unstable ones as well.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | We’re in a New Era of Class Warfare. History Points to a Way Out. (Gift Article)
The class-based violence of the past was part of a broader struggle. Today, the violence is the end in itself.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Kushner is not an elected official. Jeffries should not be meeting with him.
2155
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
The administration that insists “there are only two genders” seems determined to make it only one. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Barbie Backlash
‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Barbie’ show a zeitgeist shift that goes beyond Hollywood: The hero’s narrative is corroding our political and public life.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Criminal. Trump Administration Moves to Allow Logging in National Forests www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol...
nytimes.com
Video: Trump Administration Moves to Allow Logging in National Forests
The Trump administration on Tuesday advanced a plan that would pave the way for road construction and logging in nearly 45 million acres of wilderness in national forests.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Trump’s Broken Promises, in 11 Charts www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump’s Economic Record Doesn’t Come Close to His Campaign Promises
The president likes to boast about the “greatest economy we’ve ever had.” His record falls far short.
010
Arlene Stein @ajoystein.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
“Arms dealers don’t give their kids land mines,” she explains. Silicon Valley Executives Are Tech Fans. Just Not for Their Own Kids. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/t...
nytimes.com
Silicon Valley Executives Are Tech Fans. Just Not For Their Own Kids.
At home, moderation and restraint are the rule for tech parents. Boredom is exalted. Maybe they’re onto something.
010
Reposted by Arlene Stein
Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Donald Trump is a crook. And he’s trying to steal American taxpayers blind. It will take the overwhelming turnout of American voters—who have eyes to see this theft—to stop this non-stop criminal operation.
851908519