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John Armenta

@johnarmenta.bsky.social
166 followers 212 following 368 posts

Not quite a failed academic. I study US military veterans, gender, and patriotism...not necessarily in that order. I also teach public speaking to community college students...and no, I'm not good at that either.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by John Armenta
ProPublica @propublica.org · 22h
NEW: The Trump administration keeps denying and downplaying that immigration agents have been detaining Americans. It’s wrong. We’ve found more than 500 U.S. citizens have been held against their will, including handcuffed or held at gunpoint.
projects.propublica.org
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
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Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 12h
100% From Jordan to Kuwait to the United Kingdom, U.S. bases are increasingly vulnerable to attack. theintercept.com/2026/10/06/i...
theintercept.com
The U.S. Military Struggles to Protect Its Bases Amid Failing Iran War
From Jordan to Kuwait to the United Kingdom, U.S. outposts are increasingly vulnerable to attack.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 13h
One thing I find endlessly funny about the rise of AI is that it has revealed that there is a large number of people who believe that the reason they wrote essays at school or university is their teachers were desperately waiting for them to provide a definite answer to “Lear: what’s up with him?”
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Part of why I don't like the AI-or-bust economy is the constant flopsweat of people on the news who say this HAS to work. Quit making everyone so anxious. Goddamn. If this is the next Google then why are you acting like this? I don't remember being told to buy an iPhone at gunpoint.
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
all the "RESPECT THE TROOPS HONOR THE TROOPS STAND FOR THEM AND SUPPORT THE TROOPS" stuff the media pushed since 9/11 was a joke. A laugh to them. Every time it collided with whatever it was that Republicans want to do, the troops lose. Trump goes to soldiers' graves and laughs at them!
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Evan Sutton @evansutton.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Roughly 10% of San Diego county is active duty or retired military. About 355,000, Plus another 120,000 immediate family members. Respect the troops tho, amirite?
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Saying he'd be cool with Iran nuking my home city is pretty bad but not quite as bad as when Hillary said some trump supporters were deplorable so I can see why the media turned the latter into a major scandal and not the former
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
dennis hastert and jim bakker in the same day feels like an apology for dolly and tim curry
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
U.S. forces are retreating. That's what this means. "Pulled out and returned to their home stations in the U.S. as potential Iranian threats raise base security concerns" is a fancy way of saying the Iranian military has the U.S. military in retreat. This is unbelievably embarrassing.
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Tobias Harris @tobiasharris.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"Against edgelordism in all its forms" is becoming a foundational principle for me. Civilization is impossible without an unflinching commitment to pro-social behavior and a willingness to marginalize any deviation.
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Yeah. Even when people bring up the “Hastert rule” no one likes to mention the guy it’s named after.
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James @gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I rather think Pete Hegseth is a bit of a disaster and should be impeached if I'm gonna be fr with you guys. othermeans.substack.com/p/the-weak-d...
othermeans.substack.com
The Weak Department
Send Me! (Somewhere I can get a Lobotomy)
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 05/10/2026
All prisoners should have the right to vote while in prison
Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 05/10/2026
Do you know why I think every prisoner should get to vote in prison? Not only are prisoners counted in the census and are most affected by policies (check out prison gerrymandering), but also if you don't, regimes could simply round up 1,000s of dissidents and minorities to reshape the electorate
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Norm Ornstein @normornstein.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
My take on what Democrats should do in the majority  newrepublic.com/article/2161...
newrepublic.com
The Long and Extremely Urgent To-Do List if Democrats Take the House
If House Democrats don’t use every tool at their disposal to name names, kick ass, and stop further destruction, there will be hell to pay with the base.
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Lisa Carey @msleedy.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Genuinely concerned about what's happening to the space-time continuum in this toilet.
A toilet door with a sign saying "Temporally Out Of Order"
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Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
So you make him and the gop kill it. Pass good stuff that people want and make it explicit that the only thing standing between us and paradise is the gop
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 05/10/2026
feels like at least part of what is happening is that a lot of people want politics to solve the "my life feels empty" problem and the populist right is directly appealing to them
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Caroline Baxter @convergingriskslab.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
An incisive thread about how Hegseth’s surface-level frippery distracts from deeper and infinitely more damaging consequences.
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Exactly my problem/opportunity now.
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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Not a medical doctor, but a historian of medicine. Pneumonic plague is much more serious than bubonic plague. It's also much rarer. BUT, both are treatable with antibiotics if caught early. So, it's a scary story, but let's slow our roll a bit.
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Tim Mathews @timmathews.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Doesn’t seem practical. There’s no overlap between “people who support DOGE or mass deportation” and “people I like and admire.”
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Patrick "Inverted Vibe Curve" Blanchfield @patblanchfield.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
new wolfenstein looks like shit
its pete hegseth splaying his arms christlike at a podium with all sorts of americana bunting thats got a distinct fash aesthetic
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Kombiz Lavasany @kombiz.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
we really should talk about this strategy more, because it does cause real harm and generates real blowback and is not very effective but it does fulfill a gop need for two minutes of hate before an election and a way to arouse evangelicals without having to shout abortion.
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Listen to @bloodwork.show open.spotify.com/episode/76hh...
open.spotify.com
Keep on Truckin’: The Toyota Hilux
Blood Work · Episode
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I recite this every 4th of July
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
America needs patriots!
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thinkingbayonet.bsky.social @thinkingbayonet.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The reason Dems have to investigate and prosecute - legally or administratively, as appropriate - where there is evidence of wrong doing is to prevent those found guilty from ever touching the levers of power again. I don't care if it's getting Al Capone on tax evasion. Get it all on the books.
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OtakuNoCreepo 🎃🇺🇦🇵🇸 @wessoman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This entire thread is horrifying and I think it's time everybody boycott USA Today and all Gannett media outlets right now until editorial decisions aren't just cherry picking and bastardizing real journalism in order to support what seems to be a preconceived narrative handed down from management.
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Lauren McKenzie @themckenziest.gay · 03/10/2026
The constant and frantic need to keep building more and more of their surveillance state is absolutely going to be a huge part of their downfall
theverge.com
Amazon’s delivery driver smart glasses will reportedly take photos ‘almost constantly’
Your Amazon delivery could come with an unwanted photo op.
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Preeti Chhibber @runwithskizzers.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
of COURSE newsom is pro pervert glasses lol like please be less predictable sir
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 02/10/2026
not that you should expect anything more than rank idiocy from this pair of racists, but the idea that whiteness means a "high trust" society of "social cohesion" is some of the stupidest shit i have ever heard. these people live in a fantasy land that you could dispel by simply opening a book.
talkingpointsmemo.com
Chris Rufo — Known For ‘DEI’ and ‘CRT’ Panics — Tries to Make ‘the Indian Question’ a Thing
To the degree that a “respectable” or “moderate” right exists today in...
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Doug Lindner @douglindner.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Weird that the aspiring fascist regime is constantly trying to make the security services’ rank and file hate them, and yet
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gone gone the form of man, rise the poster Gigan! @gigansprogress.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
something someone smarter than me needs to write up is that the Trump doctrine so far is maximum political risk while tolerating only minimal operational risk
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William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
‘Bold GWOT truth teller’ has as a type of guy generally (plenty of expectations, not categorically) aged horribly and either become a right winger or either been revealed as a crank or became one.
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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The platonic ideal form of the Trumpist state is that of an incompetent executioner, blessed by the court to be horrific and violent to no successful end.
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Once a mild-mannered parliamentarian, CaucusMan uses his genius understanding of Robert's Rules to defeat his enemies.
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
oh god i'm going to have to read this
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Omigod, this is the most heartwarming story possible! Backpack (bear 89) is the son of the 2019 winner of Fat Bear Week, Holly (bear 435). In 2007, he injured his foot & a practice of riding on momma's Holly's back had a new meaning: he was mobility-restricted while it healed. So Holly moved him.
From DISCVR blog's Facebook page, a momma bear & a yearling cub on her back in the shallow water.  I think the background has been swapped out, and I can't rule out some AI use there?  God, Facebook has become the social media for AI slop : (

The title of the article, which I link below, is "How Bear 89 earned the name Backpack"
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W.E.D.em Boyz @leftistwonk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Jeremy Schaill reports on one of the most egregious war crimes in American history. The U.S. massacred at least 120 schoolchildren and 26 teachers with a triple-tap airstrike. The stories on the ground are beyond gutwrenching. Whole worlds destroyed.
dropsitenews.com
Massacre at Minab: The School That Became a Grave
The bombing of an Iranian school, killing 120 children, is one of the worst U.S. war crimes since Vietnam. Drop Site spoke to survivors, first responders, parents, and witnesses. This is their story.
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Anne Helen Petersen @annehelen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is *the* piece. Kate Manne, professor of philosophy at Cornell, speaks truth to the totality of failures at the university — and why students protesting the war in Gaza have faced far harsher consequences than any of the Cornell 7: www.thecut.com/article/what...
thecut.com
What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now
As a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big.
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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Democrats do not only need to "go all in" on higher education. The party needs a genuine reset on its understanding of it. The last three Democratic administrations contributed to creating the crisis that higher ed is facing today.
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rev. howard arson @theophite.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
these guys don't know how to run for a competitive office
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Matt McManus @mattpolprof.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
There is something so vulgar about the kind of conservative who came from a modest background, but strives to climb the same social hierarchies that once disadvantaged him by endlessly and shamelessly flattering those he now insists are our social betters.
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Maciek Hamela @maciekhamela.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
With the Strait of Hormuz closed, Iraq has resorted to moving its oil across the desert to Syria in hundreds of tanker trucks, in true Mad Max style. From there, it will be shipped to worldwide markets.
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Interesting theory, but maybe instead of focusing on the Chicago connection we need to look to the team actually named for Catholic friars. LFGSD!
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Wu on redistricting if Dems get control: "You do the exact same thing that they did to you until they say mercy" and agree to national, bipartisan reform.
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John Armenta @johnarmenta.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
NPR = Nice Polite Republicans
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Wtaf is this question my university just asked me about my project?
Does the project involve any work that could be interpreted as promoting DEIA, climate change research, or non-compliant to any Presidential Executive Orders?
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