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Pittsburgh Dave

@davetarrant.bsky.social
481 followers 557 following 1.2K posts

Writer. Former newspaper reporter. Currently narrative nonfiction. Pittsburgh guy in Texas, hiking Hill Country. Irish & US citizen. #Steelers, #HereWeGo, #Sober, ENFJ.

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Reposted by Pittsburgh Dave
Terri Langford @tlangford.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified www.texastribune.org/2026/09/28/h...
texastribune.org
ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified
The federal government has withheld his identification, even as major state and local law enforcement agencies across the country typically identify officers involved in shootings on the job soon afte...
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Can you explain how taxpayers are paying for Trump’s ads?
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
He lost the couches.
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Reposted by Pittsburgh Dave
Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
30 incarcerated men presented a $4,267 donation to a northwest Kansas school district to pay down the district's unsettled lunch debt The donation was to be "utilized to help local children fuel their day and stay focused and energized this school year"
actionnews5.com
Prison inmates help to pay down school lunch debt
A school district's unsettled lunch debt was substantially paid down by a group of inmates.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
God forbid we should only judge people by their policy and character.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Ok, that's hilarious.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
"My sense is that, more and more, people aren’t showing up in some generic self-congratulatory way, but with the understanding that we need one another, that we are reliant on each other, and that policies of cruelty and exclusion will only lead the country into a cul de sac of fascism."
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
This essay might be your best and strongest yet. It's hard to tell, though. They're all great.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Yes, most are from affluent families. That's what's happened in Arizona, where there's been a 10-fold increase in participants since the program started three years ago, and taxpayer costs have ballooned along with it. Vouchers are taking up a much bigger share of the Education budget.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Interesting story that explores a surprising twist to the new school vouchers in Texas: Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/u...
nytimes.com
How Texas School Vouchers Could Make Child Care More Affordable
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Free article.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
This is a remarkable essay by a medical doctor, an immunologist, who grew up unvaccinated. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m an Immunologist. I Grew Up Unvaccinated.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
In large part because that's the tale of our geography. It's too big a state to suddenly turn blue in a statewide elections. You have to organize from the ground up.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Totally agree. From the ground up should be the mantra.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
As an organizer, you must find common ground. That's how I helped unite diverse (in age, race, gender) workplaces. I look for candidates to do the same, without pandering. Beto had a chance, but he let himself be defined as an out of touch left-wing radical. His record showed he clearly wasn't.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
I grew up in Pittsburgh and have lived in Texas for 33 years (married a Texan.) I talk about Pgh sports so much that friends started calling me Pittsburgh Dave.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
They're generally not interested in identity politics -- "the first <fill in the blank> to be elected" does nothing for them. Biden had the correct policies but he was totally inept at the bully-pulpit part of his job. Man could barely talk above a whisper at the end.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Sorry -- I meant to expand on that. I've been a union organizer in recent years. The working class is not one, united group. Lots of anti-immigrant feelings. Anger at international trade deals that undercut income here. They don't trust Republicans -- but they don't trust Ds either.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
I'm a union organizer.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
The RGV is experiencing strong growth, yes. And the anti-immigrant rhetoric might not affect this area as much because much of the population has deep roots in the area -- though the new growth is likely attracting some new, undocumented residents -- though the border has been effectively closed.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Still, the primaries aren't the problems. The question is always will the Ds unite around a candidate in the fall. I won't hold my breath because I've seen the party splinter for 25 years because of the pragmatic D vs the pure D split.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
We've gone from talking about progressives' sitting out elections where their candidate isn't pure enough to Ds in general. For a lot of reasons, this year looks like one where the Ds will outperform their usual results. But yes, the "good" economy is a headwind for Ds in Texas. (1-2)
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
The election of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger is a good comp for Texas. She's got a record as a moderate, pragmatic but capable of big swings on certain issues. Virginia's electorate is similar to Texas -- large Democratic urban areas and ruby red rural. The key is to win the suburbs.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I'd argue the petulant progressive always finds a reason to stay home. They did purity tests on Harris, who was far left of the average U.S. voter. Same with anti-war candidate John Kerry. Gore, who would've been the first complete environmentalist, was not progressive enough. Always something.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
They are the 5 million voters who voted for Kamala Harris, more than the entire population of 25 states. Unfortunately, not enough to win statewide elections. Cornyn won his last Senate race with almost 6 million votes.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
"Some of the extreme progressives" might stay home. Seems like I've been hearing that since the Gore v Bush race. No amount of appeal to logic is going to change the petulant progressive.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Talarico
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Strong commentary, on deadline, with an equally strong kicker. Tom you're a first-class journalis--er, enemy of the people.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I saw the Ramones in concert in 1980 outside D.C. I'm now 70, so.... That said, I loved seeing Tom quote the Ramones.
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Reposted by Pittsburgh Dave
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps. If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
ajc.com
ICE to begin detaining immigrants inside Social Circle warehouse in April
Homeland Security plans to build warehouse detention facilities in other cities being met with opposition.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Too many Americans misunderstand “liberal democracy,” assuming it means left-wing politics. It actually refers to a system of government that protects individual rights and limits power through the rule of law. I know social media isn't set up for definitions, but they do help clarify things.
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Reposted by Pittsburgh Dave
Dave Itzkoff @ditzkoff.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
I’m about the same age as your dad (and yes, I love The Righteous Brothers). But I loved the Bad Bunny show, too — the melodies were beautiful, and the themes celebrated love, marriage, farming, small business, music, and community. In other words, all the things we say we value in this country.
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Reposted by Pittsburgh Dave
Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
Building the camps
The warehouseification of detention and initial thoughts on stopping it.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Time to take a break from this place. Peace out.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Now I really believe he’s trying to kill it off.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I responded to another take about this that suggested Texans were awful people for letting things like this happen. And I overreacted. Yes, state policies are terrible, but there are millions of Texans trying to change things. (I’ll step down from the soapbox now.)
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I’ll admit I overreacted. But it genuinely bothers me when someone with a large platform exploits a horrific tragedy for… what, likes? Cheap Texas snark? Millions here are actively trying to change the state from within. Make fun of Texans all you want—but don’t use a tragedy to do it.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
And you’re defending someone who is exploiting a horrible tragedy so she can get a couple of likes on BlueSky? I called her out for a truly empty and hackneyed take. I’m part of the movement to try to change Texas for the better. And you respond by insulting millions of Texans trying to do that?
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
And you’re defending someone who exploited a horrible tragedy so she could get a a laugh on BlueSky.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Good lord, I’m not defending what happened. Forget it. I should know better. If you wanna hate on Texas, go ahead. All I’ve ever said is that there were 5 million voters for Kamla Harris. And we’re trying to make Texas better. But go ahead and keep shitting on us.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
You said every week you read about some horrible thing Texans do to one another. All I did was hit you with the same broadside that you hit me and 5 million Texans who voted for Kamala and are fighting to help this state. An empty, hackneyed take that exploited a terrible tragedy for what? A laugh?
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Clearly it went over your head. Go back to doing what you do, exploiting tragedy for followers. A sad and hollowed-out existence, if you ask me.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Obviously it went over your head. Don Jr is a hate-filled propagandist. I don’t know what Helen pretends to be, but that she attached a broadside hateful post about all of Texas to an awful tragedy. It’s the type of crap Maggats do all the time. Exploit tragedy for followers. Nice.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
I hope you find what you and your daughter need.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
I'm sorry to hear this. Without knowing the circumstances, if there is any way she can go to school, perhaps a social worker connected to the school can help you. Advocates like Texas Parent to Parent Txp2p.org can also be of help. I hope you get everything you need. You're a hero to your daughter.
txp2p.org
Texas Parent to Parent Home | Texas Parent to Parent
Texas Parent to Parent (TxP2P) is committed to improving the lives of Texas children who have disabilities, chronic illness, and/or special health care needs.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
You’re a journalist. I’ll paint you with the same broad brush. You’re an eedjit, and as a journalist you’re no better than Donald Trump Jr.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
@helenkennedy.bsky.social It’s easy to take pot shots at Texas when you don’t live here here. But just a reminder that 5 million Texas voters chose Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. That’s 5,000,000 voters. More than the entire population of 26 states. We are trying to make Texas better. Join us.
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Pittsburgh Dave @davetarrant.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
This was an avoidable tragedy. We must do better. Leaving Texas is not an option for many of us. We must fight to make it better.
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Reposted by Pittsburgh Dave
Hope Himars 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇬🇪 🇪🇺 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 🇩🇰 🇵🇦 🇬🇱 🇻🇪 @hopehimars.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
hahahahaahhaaaaa The squares were so clueless in the '70s !
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