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Dennis Maxwell

@dmax12345.bsky.social
499 followers 1K following 4.7K posts

Soccer fan; rower; public defender; I army’d for a bit; try to do good because that is the job of a human; teach your kids to, also

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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 20h
Everybody thinks industrial warfare like WWII (the paradigmatic example) are what war is. That is an anomaly, of course. I keep thinking back to Rupert Smith’s book, The Utility of Force, where discussed this particular problem with how we think about war these days.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 21h
Watched a dude accidentally use a real decon wipe to clean camo off his face. He was like, “why is my face fucking burning?” Not sure how he ended up with a real one in his kit, but it was kind of funny in a sick sort of way.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
He wasn’t wrong about that at least.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This entire discourse is fucking hilarious.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
No grapes and no nuts. WTF?
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
That kid is understandably traumatized seeing dad bent in half like that, I guess. But how else do you fit him in the casket?
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I genuinely don’t get this fixation on repealing 230. Do Dems think this is good politics or do they genuinely think it’s good policy (it is neither — it is certainly terrible policy). For me, it’s a real head scratcher.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
If there is a tie, Suncor loses. Decision below is affirmed.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It will be a catastrophe. Seriously. There are enough other weaknesses in our financial system right now that when this shit crashes, there could be cascading failures. I have a feeling it might get pretty ugly pretty fast.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Probably should have spiked much higher, but traders decided to believe the BS this admin was spewing so they didn’t completely wreck the economy. This type of thing seems to be a trend. That is my theory of why, in part, we keep pumping trillions into something that nobody knows how it makes money.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
But I have a theory about how markets are broken these days, especially around AI. Investors have to keep pumping this shit up because if it fails, the results are too horrible to contemplate. Same thing with oil prices during this dumb war.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Yes, Nvidia investing in OpenAI for example so that OpenAI can keep buying Nvidia chips. Not the only specific example, but the first one that comes to mind. Eventually folks will figure out that this is mostly hype and then, whoa Nelly! It will get very ugly very fast.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I love this.
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Reposted by Dennis Maxwell
Gail Simone @gailsimone.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
You guys want to hear a short but adorable story that happened right in front of me at the baggage claim in NYC yesterday? I wasn't part of it and there are bits I didn't catch but holy crap, I can't stop thinking about it.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Honestly, the brilliance of Mamdani is less about his improvements in city services (modest, but important) than it has been about highlighting the services that city government provides (and in some cases always has). He makes sure government is seen. That’s really, really important.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I get that sentiment. Cop unions are insanely powerful and basically allow police departments to act with virtually no oversight. That’s bad. But lots of other public sector workers really should have union protections (teachers, for example, among others). Not sure what the right answer is.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Also, that’s not why interest rates are going up. Not only is it completely out of touch with the needs of every day Americans, it’s also complete bullshit. He is lying about the reason interest rates are going up saying it’s good actually because corps benefit even as we suffer. JFC. 🤦‍♂️
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Reposted by Dennis Maxwell
Clay Copper @claycopper.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
My 1st grader: Why is Pac-Man chased by ghosts? Me: Shame, regrets, the past... 1st grader: No I mean is he a cookie?
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
static.klipy.com
This Meme!
ALT: This Meme!
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
…and his followers do a lot of projecting. It is a cult of a sort, I guess, just not what I think of as traditional, top-down kind of cult. I am really no expert on cults, and someone may correct me. I just find this whole phenomenon very strange and not clearly analogous to anything familiar.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This is not a defense of Trump! He is probably among the worst human beings to ever have any kind of public presence, much less be president. And to the extent that he has any ideas at all, they are fucking morally reprehensible. But I think he does a lot of following,…
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
People like Loomer are fooling themselves thinking they are following Trump. He is sort of a cypher, and they are attributing their own beliefs to him. That isn’t to say he doesn’t share them (he might), but he more likely just adopts many of the beliefs his followers articulate.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I think what Trump does is create a permission structure. It doesn’t actually matter what Trump himself thinks about anything. It only matters what his “followers” believe so long as it fits within the general structure Trump has created.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
You know, I am starting to think that calling MAGA a cult isn’t entirely accurate. It’s not wrong exactly, but just a bit off. I tend to think of a cult as having a leader that is charismatic and able to bring people along with him. I don’t think Trump is that guy.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It means they are not hopeful about finding a better job, and that makes it much harder to negotiate for better pay or benefits in your current job. Also, fewer jobs available for those looking. There is no way this is a good thing.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
That’s…uh…not a good thing, actually. People staying in jobs longer is not a sign of a strong economy or healthy job market.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
You have to make that connection explicit for them to get on board. If you start only proposing policies based on what you think is popular, you are going to start betraying the values that are what earned you support in the first place.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
When you talk about policy, you have to frame it within a coherent set of values — ostensibly those that motivate you. And you have to sell that policy by explaining it in those terms. But you have to sell it. Every time. Voters don’t generally connect policy with values.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This part is key (and what Dems especially seem to have been missing for some time). The job of a leader is to lead. You get elected based on the values you represent, not the policies you propose. Policies flow from those values.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Agreed.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I give to the North Carolina DP. That’s it. They seem to do a good job, and state parties (and local, too!) really do more to help candidates and need the most help.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
They can’t be assimilated with brown skin is the obvious answer. No matter what they do, what they wear, how they act, even how they speak, they can’t assimilate unless they can magically turn white. These guys are a couple of Nazis obviously.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Is it really mind-boggling? Who would have thought people would stop coming to a country that is locking up as many foreigners as it possibly can, even tourists? How do you explain this drop? /s
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I mean, from what I remember from reading a number of accounts of the shitshow in Mogadishu (and having one of my squad leaders when I was a PL who was a Ranger who was on Super 64), Steele was a shithead company commander, too. It goes way back.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Privilege is invisible to the privileged because it is simply how we move through the world. We don’t notice it because we are unaffected by it. What’s especially bad about this is when others point out our privilege, we push back, and of course we use our privilege to do so.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Having made a similar mistake when I was a young lawyer, I can tell you that he probably felt pretty sick to his stomach. He knew he had to try to cover it, so he took the poster down quickly and threw out the “you perjured yourself” line.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
No, I think his experience as a lawyer helped him see in the moment that he fucked up. He thought he had nailed it, that he had Smith boxed in, and really thought that poster was the final blow. But he saw the perplexed look on Smith’s face and realized he had fucked up.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The White Sox have the Pope, man. It should be clear to everyone where God stands on this.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yeah, I am sure it is very hard for faculty, especially.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I have only heard about it from friends. They either knew someone who went through it or went through it themselves. More than one. I can’t even imagine…
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Yup. It’s fucking horrible. Best thing for the institution, I guess? Just letting women suffer in fear and anger and sadness until they give up and leave. And the university doesn’t have to really get involved! 🤦‍♂️
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Yes. Agreed. Lots of big D1 sports schools are much, much worse. And to your point about it’s just that Cornell is Ivy, also yes. And making these guys write essays seems a little on the nose. But it seems every institution cares pretty much only about itself regardless of its mission.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Good.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I guess that would encompass all of those banners on government buildings all over DC, too (I assume those were paid for with government funds and they are definitely about self-aggrandizement).
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Huh. That sounds vaguely familiar. 🤔
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
That, too. 😊
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Or maybe my tolerance for BS is just higher and I don’t see it because I can read what these folks are actually saying unless it’s just blatant whining. That is a possibility. I have been doing this for a while now.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
But otherwise, they are pretty decent people, tbh. Some addicts are very whiny and weasely and do everything they can to avoid responsibility, but in my experience those aren’t the majority of our clients.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I would quibble just a bit. Most PD clients are just people who live at the margins and always have and committing crimes — usually property crimes — is how they know to get through life. Often it’s drugs, but sometimes it’s just all they know.
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Dennis Maxwell @dmax12345.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Wings is a vastly underrated project.
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