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Under the Volcano

@bfbnk.bsky.social
568 followers 1.4K following 498 posts

Historian: ritual and culture, fraternal groups, symbols in culture, art, politics, etc. Writer of textbooks, college educator. Former (short term) congressional staffer, (long term) precinct worker.

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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 11h
The words that are missing in this otherwise interesting article are "con-job" as in "the President of the United States" conned crypto-traders just like he did the most* of his voters." *Other than billionaires, oil and coal companies.. wapo.st/4yIRvOd
wapo.st
Trump loses favor with crypto fans who call him out for cashing in
The president’s 2024 campaign leaned into crypto to attract young men, a demographic that is deserting Republicans in the midterms.
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S.J.💙🩵💙🦋🦓 @glimmers2.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A study in valor. Imagine testifying against the most powerful criminal on the planet?
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation ... rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, he engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power"
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
@rahmemanuel.bsky.social : disaster waiting to happen-- "In other words, if you want an advance vision of a Democratic politics shorn of the influence of “the groups” and other irksome activists, look no further than Emanuel’s plutocratic governing record in Chicago"
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Chris Ingraham @cingraham.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Earlier this evening a federal jury struck down a brazenly unconstitutional traffic stop scheme "that turned mass surveillance of American drivers into a pipeline of pretextual traffic stops and unconstitutional searches." ij.org/press-releas...
The unconstitutional program ran in five steps: First, surveillance cameras across the state and country recorded license plates and logged when and where cars went. Second, analysts and anonymous tipsters flagged ordinary travel, like driving toward the border and back, as suspicious. Third, Bexar County sheriff’s deputies invented a traffic violation to justify pulling over the flagged driver. Fourth, deputies pulled drivers into their front seats, interrogated them and asked consent to search their car. Finally, fifth, if the driver refused to consent to a search, a K-9 alert from a manipulated dog supplied the probable cause to search anyway. This practice happened for four years to countless motorists.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Better idea: build a MLB park on top of Mar A Lago: wapo.st/4AyAxDh
wapo.st
Trump administration considers building baseball park in Grand Teton National Park
Major League Baseball contacted the administration about hosting a game in a national park, with an agency official scouting Grand Teton as a possible location.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Trump: attacking America's land and heritage daily: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/19/c...
nytimes.com
How Trump Has Disrupted National Parks (Gift Article)
Maintenance projects have been put off around the country and resources diverted to the president’s favored projects in Washington.
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Blue Virginia @bluevirginia.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
There's so much horrible shit (e.g., THIS!) going on in this f'ed-up "timeline," it's hard to know where to begin. BTW, first and foremost we should protect the Chesapeake Bay NOT b/c of the "economy and seafood industries", but b/c it's intrinsically valuable. bluevirginia.us/2026/09/frid...
"This is a massive mistake. The Chesapeake Bay plays a critical role in Virginia's economy and seafood industries, and we must take steps to protect the waters and shores of the region. I'm going to do everything I can to fight this." - Sen. Tim Kaine on Trump repealing Chesapeake Bay protections
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Any time you want to see what's really going on w/finances of a non-profit—museum, charity, college, etc.—check out @propublica.org Nonprofit explorer. You'll find answers you didn't expect.
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Blue Virginia @bluevirginia.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
For the record, Trump (the cult leader of the Republican Party) likes: Flock cameras, data centers, crypto and AI. Vote accordingly (and note: Trump says he wants everything to think he is "on the ballot," so...)! bluevirginia.us/2026/09/mond...
Acyn: "President Trump tells reporters on [Air Force One] that he likes Flock cameras"
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
So that means the "Supreme Court Historical Society" doesn't mean a whole lot re: actual historical records? IOW—"imagine your own archives, sucker!" www.nytimes.com/2022/12/30/u...
nytimes.com
A Charity Tied to the Supreme Court Offers Donors Access to the Justices (Gift Article)
The Supreme Court Historical Society has raised more than $23 million in the last two decades, much of it from lawyers, corporations and special interests.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 26/08/2026
Annie Andrews: "What she [Darline Graham] said there was that her healthcare plan is, 'you should work hard until you die' ... I believe Darline's parents deserved better."
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Chase Woodruff @chasewoodruff.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
One thing that really sinks in when you spend a few days listening to politicians speechify about the Colorado River crisis is how ill-equipped the American political mainstream is to deal with the accelerating harms of climate change. They don't really even have the language to talk about it.
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Outspoken™️ @out5p0ken.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The Supreme Court just gave Trump the green light to restrict voting by mail. You can be registered to vote in your state and still be left off Trump’s new federal list. If you’re not on it, USPS can refuse to deliver your ballot. Vote in person. Vote early if you can, or on Election Day.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Mamdani's good at this. Very very good.
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Jen Taub @jentaub.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
🤢 This is more than disqualifying as a future speaker. It’s a betrayal of everything our party should stand for.  www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/u...
nytimes.com
Jeffries and Kushner Meet Privately as Midterm Attacks Fly (Gift Article)
President Trump’s son-in-law and the man in line to be speaker of a Democratic-led House discussed how Democrats and the administration could work together.
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Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Intellectual property rights of firms like Disney & academic publisher Elsevier? Inviolable. Don't even think of pirating their content or it's prison for you. Intellectual property rights of individuals like academics and artists? Don't even think of enforcing them or Sam Altman will cry about it.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The Democratic Party’s mega-donor class is horrified by the rising tide of progressive populism. Too bad. It's time they recognize the real choice is between democracy and tyranny, between an economy that works for all or one that works for a small sliver at the top.
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Mark Thompson @sonofathomp.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
A lot of Democratic leadership is meeting the moment of American Constitutional crisis with Neville Chamberlain-like appeasement.
static.klipy.com
Neville Chamberlain's Peace in Our Time Speech
Alt: Neville Chamberlain's Peace in Our Time Speech, holding appeasement papers.
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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
This person cannot become House speaker. He doesn't stand for anything except his own re-election.
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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Sorry, Carl. We only care about the national debt when Democrats are in control.
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Thom Hartmann @hartmannreport.com · 12/08/2026
From mail ballots to voting machines, his allies are identifying pressure points that could throw November into chaos… hartmannreport.com/p/never-unde...
hartmannreport.com
Never Underestimate a Cornered Rat: Trump’s Election Plot Is Taking Shape
From mail ballots to voting machines, his allies are identifying pressure points that could throw November into chaos…
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
"History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes" -1- Bill Clinton meets JFK, 1963 Abdul El-Sayed meets Bill Clinton, 2007
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
As good a dissection of the Mobster in Chief as I've read—and accurate: "Trump 's Taj Mahal, the world’s largest casino, cost $1.2 billion to build...The casino went through bankruptcy five times. Trump is doing to the country what he did to the Taj Mahal. chrishedges.substack.com/p/don-corleo...
chrishedges.substack.com
Don Corleone Trump
Trump’s White House runs a mob-style extortion racket that will bankrupt the country the way Trump bankrupted his casinos.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Fighting for the middle class & workers: "the Democrats have become the party of the millionaires." *She decided to run for Congress because "I don't want my kids and grandkids to grow up in fascism…." @bluevirginia.bsky.social @bethmacy.bsky.social www.dnronline.com/news/politic...
dnronline.com
Beth Macy fights an uphill battle to flip the 6th Congressional District
While some of the people at Beth Macy's meet and greet in Waynesboro had attended many past political events sponsored by the Waynesboro Democratic Committee, Max Wheeler of Craigsville said
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Simple question: do you want water to drink, bathe, garden, swim in, etc. or do you want multiple data centers nearby that use tens of millions of gallons a year to assist AI developers? roanoke.com/news/state-r...
roanoke.com
DEQ warns of data center impact on Eastern Virginia groundwater supply
The geologic formations that hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Virginia rely upon for their drinking water don’t hold enough water to supply the kind of large data centers developers are rush...
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Let’s do it.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Revolt of the Secret Service: Vance learned his oligarch lessons well in Silicon Valley. Meanwhile Kash Patel spending millions from FBI budget flying him & girlfriend to her concerts. www.the-independent.com/news/world/a...
the-independent.com
Vance wanted military helicopter to fly his son to a golf lesson: report
The Vice President’s family’s travel requests are reportedly irking the Secret Service
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Ashland Forest Dweller @vaforestdweller.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Rest in Peace Pat Oliphant. You will always be a God among political cartoonists.
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
"Nearly 30 percent of American adults cannot paraphrase or make inferences from a multipage text. In 2017, that number was less than 20 percent." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
The End of Reading Is Here
Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
“Macabre speculation is running rampant…” www.mediaite.com/media/news/w...
mediaite.com
‘Where is He?’ Mitch McConnell Speculation Ramps Up to 11 After Trump Pal Laura Loomer Floats Rumor That He’s Brain Dead
Macabre speculation is running rampant about former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after Laura Loomer declared McConnell is "brain dead."
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Pressure! Every day there's going to be a louder chorus of "where's Mitch?" www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/u...
nytimes.com
McConnell Has Been Hospitalized for 3 Weeks, and Aides Won’t Say Why
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Perhaps all the sucking up to Trump will rebound massively on Cook, Gates, Bezos, Musk Google, et al. "American allies have begun pushing the gas pedal on an unprecedented experiment in de-Americanization...quietly removing American tech from their systems...." www.wsj.com/world/europe...
wsj.com
‘There Is No Going Back’: The Inside Story of Europe’s Rupture With America
Trump’s tariffs, threats against Greenland spurred a rebellion by top leaders; the limits of “flattery diplomacy.”
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Blue Virginia @bluevirginia.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
"Unbelievably depressing" and also infuriating. At this point, if any Democrat/liberal/progressive/etc. doesn't hate the "mainstream media," uh...why don't they? (and yes, if this were a Democrat, the media would pound them for months/years on end) bluevirginia.us/2026/06/tues...
Centrism Fan Acct: "There was a multi-year campaign by Republicans, the media and the podcast manosphere to find some sort of corruption, ANYTHING on Hunter (and Joe Biden). Joe Rogan did entire episodes on it. In the end, all they came up with was that he got a job he was under-qualified for. "

(Responding to WaPo breaking news: "President Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto, digital tokens and related partnerships in 2025, appearing to have substantially increased his income after reentering the White House last year.")
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
A pertinent line of attack by Dems: "Trump is literally robbing the NPS for his own glory/ego and gold fixation. Like the French monarchy before peasants revolted. Your national parks are at risk. You won't have basic restrooms in Nat Parks/Forests so Trump can sit on his gold toilet in the WH"
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
"Self-enrichment" = corruption at a scale beyond any other administration in U.S. history. "Their sons were soon doing business with partners in a deal that their fathers were negotiating, continuing a pattern of self-enrichment in the second Trump administration.." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/w...
nytimes.com
As Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal, His Sons Stand to Profit
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Recipe for chaos and dysfunction: "He awakes at about 10am having been up most of the night posting on Truth Social. His bedroom has 2 TV screens. His bathroom has 1. Whatever schedule has been printed is notional at best. Aides wander in & out of the Oval Office as one meeting jumbles into another"
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Will be interested to see the effects on the senior communities. A lot of HHAs are Haitians and others affected by this ruling… (all 1.3 million immigrants from over a dozen countries who had been previously shielded from deportation.) www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
washingtonpost.com
Nursing homes, factory owners and immigrants brace for fallout from Supreme Court ruling
The high court’s decision to strip Haitians and Syrians of their protections from deportation had immediate ripple effects for both immigrants and their employers.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Because they've done so well in forcing Trump's demented authoritarian regime to change course, "centrist Democrats" are horrified at another approach! www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
politico.com
Centrist Democrats are freaking out about progressives’ winning streak
After romping in New York City, progressives are staring down more key primary tests.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Trump’s M.O. as a businessman, politician and POTUS: promise to follow the law, then completely ignore it. Delay, deny, obfuscate... www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
“A Huge Grab of Power”: Trump Is Defying Congress on Foreign Aid
Lawmakers gave specific orders to Trump officials on foreign aid spending, but officials have refused to follow many of them — likely in violation of the law, experts say. In doing so, they’re escalat...
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Rituals are key elements of political legitimacy….and delegitimization. “An exuberant crowd gathered Friday night as workers continued to assemble scaffolding along the building, currently named the Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center…“ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump news at a glance: president’s name to be removed from Kennedy Center
Appeals court in Washington DC rejected emergency appeal seeking to pause the removal of Donald Trump’s name from the building on Friday – key US politics stories from Friday 12 June at a glance
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 03/06/2026
here's what i wrote
More so than most of his predecessors, Trump strained against the limits of the presidency. He never understood that the office was bound by higher law — that his power wasn’t absolute. He never understood that he was an officer of the Constitution and a servant of the people; he never understood that he was a subject and not the sovereign.

It was because of this fundamental misunderstanding — itself tied to his bottomless solipsism — that Trump tried to twist and turn the presidency into an extension of his ego. To the extent he failed to accomplish this, it was only because he was stymied by those around him — officials who chose to honor their commitment to the Constitution over the interests of one man. Those same officials now warn that if he is given another term in office, he will rule as a tyrant.

America got lucky. It won’t get lucky again. Free of the guardrails that kept him in place the first time, affirmed by the Supreme Court and backed by allies and apparatchiks in the conservative movement, Trump will merge the office of the presidency with himself. He will shake it from its moorings in the Constitution and rebuild it as an instrument of his will, wielded for his friends and against his enemies. In doing so, he will erode the democratic assumptions that undergird our current constitutional order. And he will have the total loyalty of a Republican Party that itself is twisting and abusing the counter-majoritarian features of the American system to undermine and unravel democracy in the states it controls.
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Kurt Andersen @kurtandersen.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
The map of his popularity in January on the left, and today in the right. The last to abandon him—people in Appalachia and its Ohio extensions, and in the rural west — the Great Plains, Idaho, Nevada.
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Nathan Newman @nathansnewman.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Democrat leaders should state clearly that this fund is illegal and when Dems take the Presidency in 2029, anyone accepting payouts will be indicted for conspiracy to defraud the American taxpayer. Under False Claims Act, that would also involve triple damages for every dollar they accept.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Criminal grifting on steroids.
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
One of Roanoke's largest food pantries ran out of food last week despite the ongoing support of many organizations and individuals. Many of us rushed to resupply it but food insecurity is ongoing. This is a reminder that:
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Sometimes when looters & fascist collaborators think they've gotten away with their crimes, reality comes back to bite them…and their descendants. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Portrait looted by Nazis found in home of Dutch SS leader’s family
Toon Kelder artwork from famed Goudstikker collection resurfaces with descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt
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Under the Volcano @bfbnk.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Headline in @theguardian.com: "Donald Trump insists there are no wind farms in China."
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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
FDR’s Fireside chat on March 9, 1937 explaining his proposal to expand the Supreme Court stands up surprisingly well. “We have reached the point as a nation where we must take action to save the Constitution from the Court and the Court from itself.”/1
We have, therefore, reached the point as a nation where we must take action to save the Constitution from the Court and the Court from itself….We want a Supreme Court which will do justice under the Constitution and not over it. In our courts we want a government of laws and not of men. 
I want—as all Americans want—an independent judiciary as proposed by the framers of the Constitution. That means a Supreme Court that will enforce the Constitution as writtten, that will refuse to amend the Constitution by the artibrary exercise of judicial power—in other words by judicial say-so. It does not mean a judiciary so independent that it can deny the existence of which which are universally recognized.
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