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Craig Franson

@craigfranson.bsky.social
339 followers 372 following 727 posts

English professor/democracy enthusiast--18/19th century, popular culture, critical theory, writing & rhetoric. Sometime podcaster & substacker at #AmericanId, former photojournalist & actor, Idaho expat. #Politics #Romanticism #PopCulture #Tolkien #Buffy+

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Reposted by Craig Franson
Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Just reading about the millions in direct oil & gas $$$ going to the pols most vocal in deflecting blame for wildfire onto “forest management.” My representatives signed this. You can check if yours did, too, or if they’re getting paid to incinerate the future. nofossilfuelmoney.org
nofossilfuelmoney.org
No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge
It’s past time for our politicians and political candidates to reject support from the fossil fuel industry and protect the health of our families, our climate, and our democracy.
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Molly Knight @mollyknight.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This is the natural evolution of Zuckerberg’s first project, harassing college girls by putting their faces next to each other and having the campus rate who was hotter.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
1920s-30s fascists called themselves the "Third Way"--a nationally unifying "middle path" between the evil extremes of communism & capitol. Fascists won elections because liberals, democratic socialists, & communists fought each other, rather than their common enemy.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Hasan Piker's antisemitism is building a bridge to the far right.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Mike, stop trying to make 'Bircher' happen. It's not going to happen.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Tom Emanuel has a new piece debunking fascist appropriations of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Strongly recommend.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Finally watched The Order (2024). Better than I'd heard, though not so good as I'd like. A mostly realistic depiction of a forgotten story that led us to now. The landscapes are exceptional, as is the cultural reconstruction the Pacific NW in 1983-84. I kept feeling like I actually knew Jude Law.
theguardian.com
The Order review – Jude Law does solid work in vehement account of white supremacists’ takedown
Nicholas Hoult plays a wannabe far-right martyr, and Law and Tye Sheridan the feds on his tail, in a well-cast if anticlimactic true-crime tale
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
@jvl.bsky.social & @jonlovett.bsky.social just had a great, big-picture discussion of JVL’s “Unified Theory of Trumpism.” Sharp intuitions worth some further thought. I hope they spend more time plumbing the depths together. (analysis in thread) audioboom.com/posts/893500...
audioboom.com
A Unified Theory of Trumpism
Jonathan V. Last, editor of The Bulwark, stops by the show to talk to Lovett about his "Grand Unified Theory of Trumpism" — that Trump's opponent "will always choose surrender over ...
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
How did the hippies lose their hold on J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth? Part of the answer is William F. Buckley Jr.'s National Review.
americanid.substack.com
America’s Heartland… Middle-earth?
My 2019 paper for the Popular Culture Association conference
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Posted a few preliminary thoughts on Andy Serkis in a longish Substack note. May circle back with a fully-formed piece. substack.com/@americanid/...
substack.com
Craig Franson (@americanid)
Breanne gives a great response to Andy Serkis’s clumsily racist interview with the BBC. Be sure to read it if you’re thinking about wading into the social media fray. If you’re happily NOT on X thes...
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Posted a few preliminary thoughts on Andy Serkis in a longish Substack note. May circle back with a fully-formed piece. substack.com/@americanid/...
substack.com
Craig Franson (@americanid)
Breanne gives a great response to Andy Serkis’s clumsily racist interview with the BBC. Be sure to read it if you’re thinking about wading into the social media fray. If you’re happily NOT on X thes...
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
More context for those unsettled by the fash-net's enthusiasm for Serkis's clumsy evocation of a Middle-earth whitopia.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
An important piece to think through before you jump in to defend Serkis's take on race in The Hunt for Gollum. #Tolkien #LOTR #TolkienStudies
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Anti-Fascism and Far Right @ffrafaction.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Idaho labor economist ran anonymous accounts promoting pro-Russian, far-right views Online researchers recently identified Wolkenhauer as the anonymous poster behind large Substack & X accounts that often traffic in Nazi imagery and amplify far-right organizations. cdapress.com/news/2026/ju...
cdapress.com
Idaho labor economist ran anonymous accounts promoting pro-Russian, far-right views
Sam Wolkenhauer ran anonymous accounts that generated thousands of dollars in subscriptions while posting pro-Russian commentary, slurs and Nazi imagery
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Looks like a must read.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Dude with a totenkopf on his chest has skeletons in his closet & we're surprised? Dems have a serious will to ignorance...
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
If you wanted to build a single rule designed to eradicated the humanities & social sciences, kill all private liberal arts colleges, & completely disempower your work force for generations, this is how you'd do it.
ed.gov
U.S. Department of Education Issues Final Rule to Hold All Colleges and Universities Accountable for Low-Earning Programs
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced a final rule establishing a long-overdue postsecondary education accountability framework. Under the new Student Tuition and Transpar...
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Seriously, what is wrong with Dem. leadership?
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Research quandary for the day: why don't we talk more about all the Nazi & neofascist skeletons US conservative luminaries had in their closets?
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
theatlantic.com
Conservatives Want the Antebellum Constitution Back
The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments are in trouble.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
The center does not hold.
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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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
It’s great how this administration has hired people to create explicitly white nationalist propaganda for them, and then simply mentioning this fact in a classroom can get you fired.
Tom Sauer
@thomasbsauer•6h
X
How have I never heard this song before, and why is it the most based thing I've ever listened to?
Been playing it on loop this morning and now Natalie is getting annoyed, so I turned up the volume.
(h/t@no_one_quits)
WE'LL HAVE OUR HOME AGAIN
JOIN.ICE.GOV
旦x
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L> 474
2.6K
ıhl 95K
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Posting to read later. Understanding Schmitt is essential for understanding the post-liberal wing of the new American right. www.theargumentmag.com/p/the-nazi-p...
theargumentmag.com
The Nazi philosopher behind the postliberal right
Carl Schmitt wrote the legal justifications for Hitler's seizure of power. His ideas are now in the White House.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Just submitted (long overdue) final revisions on my upcoming chapter on J.R.R. Tolkien's Italian, far-right readership. Reception history with a body count.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Musk is a global menace.
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
And too often we see this as putting the U.S. at a disadvantage, as if some other country will do all the research instead. Much of it won’t get done. It’s planetary loss.
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
This doesn't "resemble" nazism, as is sometimes said of salutes and tattoos. It's full bore death's head fascism, men in skull masks attacking houses door to door. That's what's being celebrated here. That's what's desired here.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
@dissentmag.bsky.social
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Can democratic reps & media leaders please stop using "Epstein class?" It instrumentalizes antisemitism (& feeds it). Follow @jimmykimmel.com & bond the crime to the president with "Trump-Epstein class." @housedemocrats.bsky.social @democrats.senate.gov @ms.now
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Best summary of the plan, yet.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
To no one's surprise, the SD mosque shooters appear to be neo-Nazis, demonstrating once again that it's impossible to disentangle the knots of far-right hate. We desperately need more syncretic approaches to antiracism (incl. anti-Islamicism, anti-feminism, anti-LGBT+, & antisemitism).
splcenter.org
Document by San Diego mosque shooters reveals neo-Nazi beliefs
Two teenagers in San Diego appeared to have been inspired by leaders and figureheads associated with the now defunct Atomwaffen Division.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Trump trades a whopping 40 stocks a day on average. I've read aggressive day traders typically make 1-5 trades a day. Why is the president trading stocks 8 to 40 times more often than Wall Street bandits? What does he know that they don't?
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Posting me a reminder to check this out.
drsheenahoward.shop
Why Wakanda Matters (E-Book)
✊🏾 This Book Was a Clue on Jeopardy! Now I Get to Sell It Directly—But Only 100 Digital Copies. Price: $14.99 (If you add on the signed Physical copy, we are in the U.S.A and we do ship to Canada, Aus...
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Reminding myself to check this out soon.
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Isaac G. Bryan @ib2real.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Thousands are marching in Selma calling for a full restoration of the voting rights act.
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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
An exceptional journalistic long read
aljazeera.com
How the far right got its name
The far right has gone from fringe to mainstream - but political scientists say the term is often misused.
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Reposted by Craig Franson
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15/05/2026
this is obviously stupid but also "i should not have to see a black person in a position of power or influence" is a guiding belief of the trump administration
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Carly Goodman @carlygoodman.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Roots is a bicentennial jawn so in 50 years we went from groundbreaking miniseries watched by the whole country to banning copies of the book
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Reposted by Craig Franson
Molly Crabapple @mollycrabapple.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The same people who told you Trump was anti war are now trying to tell you Tucker and MTG are anti war
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
University administrators & boards who cut Black Studies programs are facilitating the White-power movement's restoration of Jim-crow rule. It's that simple. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
The Dismantling of Black Studies
Everyone committed to democracy, intellectual freedom, and the rule of law should be alarmed at what is happening—and prepared to act.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Disengage, don't reward with rage-boosts.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
When one side plays liberalism & the other plays authoritarianism, authoritarianism wins.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
The Jim-Crow court.
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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
To slightly adapt Orwell: The Supreme Court told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was its final, most essential command.
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BluesMusic @bluesmusic.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Eric Gales🎸🎶 #bluesjam #bluesmusic #blues
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Life should be livable for everyone.
washingtonpost.com
Six transgender residents sue Idaho over strict new bathroom ban
Six transgender Idaho residents are suing the state over a strict new bathroom ban
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Billionaires shouldn't be.
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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
The conspiracy theories on this side about the most recent assassination attempt on Trump are a reminder to also carefully curate your experience here.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
The clear aim of Patel's Justice Department is to safeguard the American white power movement. That's a through-line across the entire administration.
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Craig Franson @craigfranson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Sometimes, the enemy of my enemy is still just my enemy.
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