iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

(And the insistence that there’s some anti-Platner conspiracy among “the centrist establishment” or whatever feels like something only the left-aligned Twitter klatch could come up with.)

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Yep. It’s maddening listening to the Majority Report folks on this subject. I regard those people more highly than I ever could someone like Ryan Grim; but their take on Platner is grievously wrong, and that’s largely down to fascist bird site skewing perspectives. This isn’t a left-vs-center issue.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

ah, but Hitler was from Austria. so I’m guessing his first language was actually Austrian. he just learned German later

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Twitter is a social media bubble that prevents people from seeing reality.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

That doesn’t mean the figure wasn’t too low. Artificially limiting asylum applications is a violation of federal law. We need reform on this badly, and the status quo was bad already.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

(or so I was told the last time I went through RCIA - unsuccessfully - in 2014)

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

unfortunately it can only ever happen once I was baptized as Presbyterian as an infant… the Catholic Church accepts that, so it is not possible for me to be baptized again. which is a bummer, because a baptism would apparently undo my being divorced enough to let me take first communion

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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 06/06/2026

BREAKING: in May 2026, *every single one* of the 599 refugees admitted in the U.S. were white South Africans. In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 6,665 white South Africans, three Afghans (back in November 2025), and nobody else. For reference, the U.S. admitted 100,060 refugees in 2024.

rpc.state.gov

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

and the 100,060 in 2024 was catastrophically low already, the result of an illegal presidential proclamation limiting applications. the 2025 and 2026 numbers are cataclysmic and evil.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

it was painful listening to Majority Report on this today. being part of Women For Kavanaugh does not exempt a woman from any of this. defending rapists does not exempt a woman from being subjected to abuse. I am pretty thoroughly convinced that Republicans will win. not in Maine - in the whole US

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

(I always make WAY too much, and then never finish it all, and then it’s just sitting there, and… I wonder if it freezes? probably not…)

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

totally. honestly sick of doing it myself. but it’s true, most of the store ones are absolute garbage! I know some middle eastern markets sell good hummus sometimes… not where I am now, but back in Boston there were a few when I lived there

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Brady! @like-the-bunch.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

$300 day rate for an art director for film is abysmal. when I work with design studios as a senior designer my day rate is easily +$100 more for a role w/ far less responsibility and skill. I’ve worked video productions before and the art director role is so crucial and demanding. this is insulting.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

basil is insanely delicate and goes bad in like five minutes. at least that’s my conclusion. all prepared pesto always ends up being garbage. I can make it and keep it in the fridge for three or four days, but not much past that

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I gotta say: it is shockingly easy to make decent hummus. boil chickpeas for an hour or two, drain em and throw em in a blender with garlic, tahini, salt, and lemon juice, and bam. hummus

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

pointing and laughing at the action from the cuck consulate like those two old guys from the muppets

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 06/06/2026

NYC is the safest it’s been in its entire 400-year history. Except for the Spurs.

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Kasey Gifford @kaseygifford.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

More young men were lost to aids than the Vietnam War, many of them creatives at the peak of their careers. Howard Ashman, Derek Jarman, Keith Haring and Freddie Mercury are some of the most famous but there are so many unknown writers/actors/artists/filmakers cut down before they even started.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

(This is a side issue, but: there was, in fact, a primary in 2024. We probably agree on this, it’s just phrasing; I feel like it’s good to point out there was a primary, and it was simply ignored. Especially since certain people STILL put their fingers on the scale to make sure Biden won it. Ugh)

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Yes, and now Platner’s being attacked by Republicans, kicking off the general in a way that’s not great for him. The campaign should’ve (a) broken the story themselves months ago, to head it off, or (b) come up with an iron-clad way to respond to it by redirecting. They did neither. They failed.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

“Should we go through everyone's personal dating life before allowing them to run for office?” No, because that’s the campaign’s job. The campaign did not do their job. And as in 2016 - in a different race, but in similar ways - the candidate seems okay, but the campaign seems bad, so I’m worried.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

A potato could’ve beaten Trump in 2016. And a potato could’ve beaten Trump in 2024. You’re talking about this the way establishment Dems talk about it. You should understand why that makes me nervous. Besides - this is about more than an election; it’s about the reconstruction this country needs.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Yes, NYT and WSJ broke this, and they’re Republican outlets, attacking the presumptive nominee. But the campaign has been run BADLY. The tattoo should’ve been covered BEFORE filing. And more importantly they should NOT be dealing with campaign defectors running to the press. This is basic stuff!

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

(And even if he wins the Senate seat, his candidacy will impact other races, and will be part of the national conversation about the midterms. At a crucial moment, his messiness - even if forgivable - robs us of ideological clarity, and ironically makes it much harder to retake a senate majority.)

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I am well aware that he’s probably going to win the primary. But he’s a long way from winning the Senate race - polling is tentative at best, especially since the general election hasn’t begun yet - and there’s never great polling data on Maine. The morals aren’t the problem. The chaos is.

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the most typical @jazzpomegranate.com · 05/06/2026

it’s fucking pride month shut up

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

“This story was leaked by an ex-campaign worker.” Then they are awful at running a campaign, because no decent campaign would let this happen! Even just having a regrettable tattoo is something a pol can maybe come back from - if handled well. This campaign has handled everything terribly.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

hell yeah, Todd Rundgren is great. never seen that pic of him tho

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

the existence of the DCCC, for example, and the distinction between what it does and what the DNC does… is not something people seem aware of most of the time

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mr. kendal mintcake @mintcaketime.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

there should be an album where bands that wrote songs that were also the name of their band have to write songs named after other bands. “prefab sprout” by iron maiden. things of that nature

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Night of the Abigail @popeguilty.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

It is the position of the state of Wyoming that Rhianna Kelver, a subhuman, was obligated to submit to being beaten to death for the entertainment of a group of real people

slate.com

Do Trans People Have “Stand Your Ground” Rights? Wyoming’s Answer May Be “No.”

Albany County Circuit Court Judge Robert Sanford agreed with the prosecutor that there was probable cause that Kelver committed assault.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

somebody blocked them? but they SAID they were sorry about it - what more do you want???

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

a reactionary lacking even a basic conception of history: a very common problem these days. file Hershey Hackwriter with the Deus Vult dolts and the tiiki torch kkkosplayers, I guess

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

“Before the 21st century, pornography was consumed in basements or dingy theaters…” it is very funny that Hershey Hackberry’s idea of “before the 21st century” stretches back to like 1972 at the earliest, given that they seem to yearn for a moral framework from circa 1630

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

(Honestly: after my divorce in 2011, I drank a six pack a day for months. Now I never have more than two a day, and try to keep it to just a few nights a week; but even so, sometimes the sadness hits bad, and I have to quit for a while. So the moral condescension folks have about this isn’t fun.)

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Okay. But it’s pretty common! Including among some really good politicians. I appreciate that we’re electioneering; it is still the primary for five more days. It’s hard, at this point, not to look ahead to the renegotiation we’ll all have to do if Platner wins.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

(Maybe a slight exaggeration? But not by much…)

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I agree. But the thing is: “a person with substance abuse issues, and personality changes related to those issues” - this is a fair description of literally every single person currently in the Senate.

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Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

This is an incredible story.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

After I objected to your flat declaration about who Black voters wouldn’t vote for, you want me to make a similar declaration? I pointed you to a blog post by a Black woman in Maine who says she sees a lot of Black people at Platner rallies and discusses that. I can’t say more than she does on it.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

You do too? Mine is a Master’s in Political Science from Boston College, 2014. I haven’t been patronizing. I’ve tried to be polite all the way through here. But you’ve been plenty insulting.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

That is not the argument Kerr made. The argument Kerr made was that there’s “no way in hell” Black voters would support Graham Platner. And I do not see any iron-clad argument to that effect here.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I’m aware of the ink. You can’t wave it away without actually talking numbers and making an argument.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I spent the entire day yesterday, from 5:30am to 10pm, running a polling place for the New Mexico primary. Today, I’m back at my day job doing statistical analysis. Believe me: elections are complicated. They are not flat data points. Analyzing them is hard and requires numbers and arguments.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

What evidence? Mentioning elections vaguely is not evidence!

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Twenty five thousand people is a lot of people.

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Those are the same thing! “There’s no way in hell Black voters would vote for this guy I’m arguing is bad” is literally saying they agree with him! There is no daylight between those statements. Is there some crucial difference that you’re trying to point to here?

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Jeff Johnston @koeselitz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Do you genuinely not realize that Black people have voted in literally hundreds of thousands of primaries in US history? Seriously, the “trust me bro” here is stunning.

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