Reposted by Matthew SheffieldZach Everson @zacheverson.com · 18hHere's a $20 million order, paid for by CBP's Office of Public Affairs, awarded to LMD Agency for a national media campaign starting on Sept. 20. The first pro-Trump ad aired on Sept. 23. www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_A... 14439183
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 12hThe core appeal of reactionary politics is hatred of competent and smart people who follow evidence rather than use it to support conclusions. A million incidents like this happen daily in academia and legal settings, and they're behind almost all right-wing "liberal bias" accusations. 523572
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 13hThe root of Trump's most durable support is that he is stupid, and deep down, his most fanatical supporters know that he is. Like recognizes like. They don't like scientists, minorities, journalists, and professors being high-falutin' -- and neither does Trump. 1458
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldZoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 15hAnyway, the Iran conflict is probably one of the less destructive ways Trump could detonate his political power. Albeit still hugely destructive. But at least we're getting a forced green energy transition and electrification (much stronger than any politically viable federal incentive). 436427
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldThe Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 13hTrump’s evangelical allies thought overturning Roe would cement their influence. But some of their leaders are discovering just how little sway they still have. @cheetah.bsky.social went inside a major evangelical summit to see why cracks are starting to show. lnk.thebulwark.com/4hSCSS6?utm_... 410934
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 15hAny Democrat falsely accused of being a "communist" should keep this video on their phone to play back as a reply. 44513
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldJim Carroll @jtccarroll.flux.community · 28/09/2026My latest @flux.community: An increasingly fascistic Republican Party, not ideas that lie within the continuum of pro-democracy policies, is the true threat to America: why the Third Way declaration of war on the DSA is so very bonkers. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/third-way-...plus.flux.communityThird Way “war” on democratic socialism betrays a basic misreading of U.S. politicsAn increasingly fascistic Republican Party, not ideas that lie within the continuum of pro-democracy policies, is the true threat to America 174
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldMike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Utah wanted websites to verify the actual, physical location of visitors and force them to identify VPN users. The controversial addition to the state's age-verification law was suppose to go into effect next week, but a District Court judge struck it down at least temporarily.techradar.comFederal judge strikes down Utah's controversial VPN age verification rulesA major win for digital privacy as courts rule that state-level age verification laws cannot mandate the tracking of encrypted web traffic 26633
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 28/09/2026The allegedly liberal media is filled w mediocre conservatives like Megan McArdle who think that being criticized for stupid columns is the same thing as being condemned for shouting racial slurs at toddlers. They also claim to be the arbiters of normalcy, despite constantly being abnormal. 3689
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 28/09/2026And made up on the two issues that many Democrats could have done much more about (reproductive and trans rights). Some blue legislatures have indeed codified reproductive rights, but much it has been by voters, including Republicans. Trump himself admits the Republican view here is unpopular. 2415
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldTed Pastrick @splendidsplinter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026It is. Won't re-litigate Kamala not going on it but I'm glad Talarico went and more Democrats should too, with the same messaging. Democrats fight for the little guy. 131
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 27/09/2026It's important for Democrats to go on shows like Rogan's. He has a lot of dumb ideas, but ultimately Rogan is a conservative and not a reactionary. Getting conservatives to feel safe with change is what progressives must do. Separate the uninformed normies from the deplorables. 5498
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 27/09/2026It's certainly true that AI doomers vastly overstate the negative applications of the current technologies, but that does not in any way mean that they should escape regulation. Unfortunately, far too much of the regulatory discussion is about fantasy scenarios about tech that can't solve captchas. 1111
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldMcJulie @mcjulie.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Republicans are governed by a very, VERY strong belief that rich people should not have to pay taxes. 03514
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldBrendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 27/09/2026This is literally a Simpsons joke 321193209
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldDan Seitz @dseitz.bsky.social · 27/09/2026One point that I don't think most people have internalized is that the entire right wing media sphere is basically a giant sugar baby operation for the failkids of various right wingers and their donors, and once that money runs out, they're just going to vanish into the ocean. 15416
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldWill Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 27/09/2026You wouldn't know it from reading the headlines, but the president's downward mental health spiral is the biggest story in America right now We won't salvage democracy unless the media and pols start speaking the truth about Trump's damaged mind My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/trum...inquirer.comWe need to find the words for Trump’s madness before things blow up | Will BunchThe media and politicians haven’t pinned down anything resembling a suitable description for a president’s downward spiral or the looming battle for U.S. democracy. 901816700
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 27/09/2026Throughout history, people who call themselves "rationalist" never actually are. 37711
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldSean Carroll @seanmcarroll.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Important proposals for how to fix science funding. Funding needs to map onto how science is actually done: not by demanding this or that result, but by exploring this or that promising direction and seeing what happens. 18020
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 26/09/2026Remember though, he doesn't like the Antichrist. He is just on camera admiring evil people. 2184
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldKhashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Interesting 🤔 3559
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldDebraToTheLeft @debratotheleft.bsky.social · 25/09/2026THREAD of the day: The “true believers” of the GOP are not going to vote for anyone but the GOP, ever. 2103
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldP. G. Woodlouse @pewtertankard.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Hugely important insights in this thread 081
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldMike Bennett @mikehypercube.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Truly insightful and concise thread. 1121
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldRick Perlstein @rickperlstein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Very important observations here. Important stuff to mentally assimilate if you think that Democrats getting many more votes than Republicans in November is the whole ballgame. 34715
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 25/09/2026I never saw that article, but yes, these Christians have been living in an imaginary world like this long before the modern jihadist movement began. It's a culture more than a century old that became even more radicalized beginning in the 1970sflux.communityFar-right Christians think they’re living in a Bible story, and that you are as well - FluxLiterature professor Christopher Douglas discusses the modern-day rewriting of Biblical apocalyptic literature as a justification for political extremism 13513
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldDavid Williamson @david.williamsons.net · 25/09/2026Yeah. This. It's nuts, but it's also a bigger part of the country today than I sure would like it to be. The American Experiment is imperfect but interesting. To pretend it is God-ordained is, frankly, blasphemous. 1111
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldJoe Marshall @joemarshall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I grew up in a right-wing evangelical household. The reverence that was given to the founders is straight up on par with what Catholics give to Mary. It was always an unspoken truism that the founders were divinely inspired by god. When I left religion, I deconstructed both my religious views, and 1336
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 25/09/2026🧵One important thing about right-wing culture that people who have never been a part of it don't get is that to most Republican loyalists, their religion is America. They truly believe that the country's creators were directly inspired by God. To write critically of the founders is blasphemy. 1423045
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 25/09/2026What Trump thinks happened with his attempt to make "super intelligence" with Xi Jinping. versus What actually happened 2212
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldPam Keith @pamkeithdc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I kinda feel like we should stop eating this incredible creatures. 7659
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 25/09/2026Telling rich people they're the greatest geniuses in world history is actually quite a good strategy, especially is said rich people are actually not that smart. 1256
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldJack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 25/09/2026In which my RNS colleague @bmietana.bsky.social tracks the "Rise of the Jim Crow theobros." Fascinating an unsettling reporting here, but this is a key line: "…along the way, they are turning outrage into cash." religionnews.com/2026/09/24/t...religionnews.comThe rise of the Jim Crow theobros(RNS) — A group of Reformed pastors and influencers has wedded old-school segregationist theology with the hypermasculinity of the manosphere and the savvy of the attention economy to preach and sell ... 712456
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldKatherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 25/09/20261976's "Network" turns 50 this year. The pitch black satire of television always felt a little over the top, despite its star-studded cast's performances. But then social media came along and validated everything this movie warned us about--and more. We're all mad as hell now.liberalcurrents.com“Network” at 50: Now We’re All Mad as HellPaddy Chayefsky’s take on television captured the Long 1970s—and anticipated the rise of social media. 722378
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 25/09/2026Constitutional amendment that it's pronounced "diabeetus." 3314
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldKatelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 25/09/2026Parker Molloy just published this thoughtful piece tonight. It's worth a read imo. open.substack.com/pub/readtpa/...open.substack.comTrainwreckOld habits, especially embarrassing ones, die hard. 1846582
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldClara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026We just dropped a bombshell investigation into ChatGPT's role in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting. Incredible reporting from @markfollman.bsky.social that will have far-reaching effects...hopefully: www.motherjones.com/media/2026/0...motherjones.comChatGPT helped the Tumbler Ridge school shooter focus on guns, tactics, and terror, our investigation revealsOpenAI’s chatbot fed the shooter’s violent fantasies and planning up to the massacre. 271467746
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldDan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Alongside Trump's mental instability and his racism, his idiocy explains things that are otherwise inexplicable: presswatchers.org/2026/09/dona...presswatchers.orgDonald Trump is an idiot, and the mainstream press is covering up for him | Press WatchHe does incredibly stupid things and doesn’t understand basic concepts, for starters 714461
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 24/09/2026This is a truly bizarre conversation that Tucker Carlson says he had with Trump. But it does fit w Trump's frequent discussions of his mortality. According to Carlson, Trump also knew that attacking Iran would create a worldwide fiasco. He did it anyway—likely because he's desperate for a legacy. 1124
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 24/09/2026What an absolute disgrace that @mediaite.com has expanded its right-wing quota program to include some guy from Red State that just defended Trump's illegal censorship of CNN, Politico, and MS Now. A website about the media industry publishing opinion pieces in favor of censoring the media.mediaite.comAre Courts Ignoring a SCOTUS Ruling Justifying a Press Ban?With legal wrangling taking place over the White House press ban there is a question about how courts are overlooking a Supreme Court case addressing the issue. 23210
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 24/09/2026Imaginary election fraud is one of those issues where reactionary ignorance and malice perfectly reinforce each other. Having worked among them, they really do believe that millions of people have voted fraudulently. It isn't only because they want to make it harder for Democrats to vote. 🙄 2237
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 24/09/2026Can't let facts stand in the way of a right wing moral panic though! 0152
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 24/09/2026I've been getting into Incus lately as a replacement for Proxmox and I have to say it is incredibly impressive. Super fast, super-low resources, has a mature OCI container support, and works on any major Linux distro. Very cool piece of software! 1120
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldJenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The immediate threat of the EO seems to have passed, but the greater attack on science by this administration is almost certainly not over. Some good thoughts on what we should be doing. I would add: get organized. Build connections and community. Many voices are louder than one. 24914
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldSteve Marmel @marmel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Everybody talks about Susan Collins clutching her pearls when we should have been asking who paid for those pearls in the first place. 117936
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 24/09/2026I really hate the word "discourse" in the poststructuralist sense. It's so harmful because it makes people think that just talking about stuff actually does things. 0181
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldKettering Foundation @kettering.org · 23/09/2026“This is one of the largest projects that has ever been done on American democracy.” The newest data from the @kettering.org - @gallup.com #DemocracyForAll Project is now available. 1125
Reposted by Matthew SheffieldMarc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Wait…If you fight Trump’s frivolous lawsuits you will win??? Did anyone tell this to ABC and CBS News? 553150753
Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 23/09/2026Yet another lawsuit loss for the most anti-free speech president since Wilson. 0288