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Matthew Prorok

@mattprorok.bsky.social
2.5K followers 236 following 5.9K posts
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Reposted by Matthew Prorok
A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 3h
"I suppose you could say that insisting on the rights of all people is issuing a "political purity test." But this ignores the fact that those who refuse to enter the tent unless you push other people out of the tent are *also* issuing a political purity test." www.the-reframe.com/winning-the-...
the-reframe.com
Winning the Middle
What makes for a purity test? What makes for a big tent? Unpacking the apparently pragmatic demand that we Speak Low about fascists to beat fascism.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 16/10/2026
My kids had these toys once that you fling into the air with a rubber band, and the motion flips a switch to turn on blinky lights, and then they have whirly gig wings so that the toy safely spins its way to the ground. That's kind of what this is. It's not a flying car, it's a safely landing toy.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 16/10/2026
Great statement, and he shows that it also shouldn't be hard to say inclusive things.
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Reposted by Matthew Prorok
yaoi gagarin @mel.bzky.team · 16/10/2026
if your candidate is willing to bend on shit because fascists have made it an icky issue that doesnt poll well, then all fascists need to do to make sure you dont get the shit you successfully voted for is make that shit icky too. and they own the entire media landscape so uh, good luck!
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Yeah, but those agencies used to do a great job before they were part of DHS. So the umbrella is the problem.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Well, they'd have the votes assuming, of course, that all Dems support impeachment and removal. That's why we're demanding that they do so.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
What else is a Dem Congress going to do with their time? Pass laws restraining his actions, which he'll veto? If they have the votes to override a veto, they have the votes to impeach and remove.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Unfortunately, SCOTUS has basically given him carte blanche to do whatever he wants, and also made him immune from prosecution for official acts, explicitly saying that the proper method is impeachment.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Would Trump try to say that a failed impeachment attempt meant he'd been completely exonerated? Of course. But he'll take a lack of impeachment attempts as a sign he hasn't done anything impeachable, and keep doing the crimes. More importantly, so will future presidents.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
After the first impeachment, Trump lost the election. After the second impeachment, Dems performed better than expected in the midterms. "The president is a criminal, here are his crimes, we're trying to hold him accountable, our opponents are protecting him" is an easy messaging win.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Also good to know that a majority of people want universal healthcare. Like, not a surprise, but good to know.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
There's no evidence that any such "failed impeachment bump" actually happens.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
As usual, I wish we had the Democratic party that the GOP is so terrified of. I hope he's right, but I fear we'll actually get "It's time to look forward, not back."
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
If LLM agents could distinguish between self and environment, prompt hacking wouldn't exist. You can convince an agent that you are it by writing your prompts in the style it uses for internal reasoning. They take one stream of text as input, and guess where that input is from based on context.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Banning trans people from spaces they've been in for at least decades does infringe on their rights.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
But go on, tell me more about how having separate but equal facilities for the oppressed minority is a good idea.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
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Reposted by Matthew Prorok
Gail Simone @gailsimone.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
I just want some dems to come out and say with conviction that racism is bad and transphobia is bad and ableism is bad and homophobia is bad and fuck, it seems like almost none are doing that.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
At the national level, of course I'll be voting against Jordan and Husted, but Kolasinski and Brown better support impeachment.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Unfortunately, Democrats in Ohio are not offering me any change in the regime of oppression that is harming my trans friends, and the candidate for governor is in fact directly in support of it.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
That is human psychology and you can't change it. Ask any parent the difference between stopping an undesired action and motivating a desired behavior. "I won't harm you or anyone you care about, and I will punish the villains" should be easy, but it seems beyond a lot of Democrats.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
It is the only action you can expect of people in a representative democracy when you only give them negative reinforcement. A focus on how bad your opponent is can convince people not to vote for your opponent. If you want them to vote for you, you have to offer them things they want.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Of course, you could potentially say that Israel does not derive its power from the consent of the people it governs, but then Israel isn't a democracy, is it?
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Does Israel have any power over the people of Gaza? If so, then the people of Gaza should have a say in how Israel is run. If Israel would like to insist that Gazans are not Israelis, it should get out of Gaza.
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Reposted by Matthew Prorok
Micah @rincewind.run · 14/10/2026
Discworld QOTD, from I Shall Wear Midnight “There have been times, lately, when I dearly wished that I could change the past. Well, I can’t, but I can change the present, so that when it becomes the past it will turn out to be a past worth having.”
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Reposted by Matthew Prorok
Fun @funkelly.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
fyi- trans people refusing to vote for anti-trans democrats are not “helping anti-trans republicans,” they’re not “waiting for the perfect candidate” either; what they are doing is not voting for their oppressor. instead of demanding trans votes, demand pro-trans candidates.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Universal rights apply to everyone. That's why they're called universal. Being entitled to those rights does not depend on popular opinion. That's why they're called rights.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Oh, I'm sorry, is there a reason that one oppressed minority deserves equal rights and the other doesn't?
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Interracial marriage reached majority public support in 1995. It became fully legal in all states in 1967. We should do the right thing, popular or not.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
This is indeed why it is imperative that we elect people who have pledged to actually impose consequences. If we vote for candidates who want to work with the administration, or work around the administration, then we will just end up right back where we are. Impeach, convict, remove.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
I wonder how many dentists retire every year? The wait times for an appointment suggest that maybe we're not replacing them fast enough.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
You're absolutely right, and in the context of the original post, the unproblematic target of jokes should be the person who is dismissive of proven methods of crime reduction. That said, I'm also not going to go to bat for, say, Louis XVI. Wealth inequality is a cause of crime.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Two things can be true: 1) Owning and wearing luxury items does not make a person at fault for being victimized 2) Anyone wealthy enough to afford to spend $1150 on shoes, and then wear those shoes, is probably not going to be too greatly inconvenienced by the loss of those shoes
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
On the other hand, Angie Nixon is saying it in Florida.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
2) Gain massive temporary power and influence, use it briefly to destroy your enemies and eliminate roadblocks to your future plans, then leave and rely on elite impunity 3) Actual true believers joining because they've entirely fallen for all the lies
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Hitching your wagon to this train has become a worse and worse idea every day for a decade, and pretty obviously so, and yet people keep doing it. I see three possibilities: 1) Make enough money through corruption to be set for life, then disappear and rely on the public's awful memory.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
It is just mind warping to think that this one guy has the wealth of a million millionaires.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
There's this interesting thing about a war where one side is obviously the aggressor; if the aggressor wants the war to end, they can just end it.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
One awkward moment that only came across on video, in the midst of being largely right about most things, and it was over.
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Reposted by Matthew Prorok
#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 12/10/2026
Being an adult means understanding that nobody will shut up when they feel aggrieved and it is better to just have the argument.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The messaging that Trump is a criminal running a historically corrupt administration is at odds with not trying to remove him from office. They are not acting as though they believe what they say. That's a bad thing if you want voters to trust you.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Are GOP senators promising not to remove Trump? Is that a thing they're doing? Which ones? If it's all of them, or even most of them, why is the administration terrified that they're going to get impeached? Dems are going to have to face this. A lot of their base wants them to fight.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
I have no problem admitting that impeachment and removal is difficult. It is not, however, impossible. You can't know how many votes you'll get until a vote happens. The only way to be sure that it won't work is to not try. I think it would behoove Democrats to try.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
You can't get votes from people who want things by not promising those people those things.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
It has been estimated that as many as 35 Republican Senators might vote to convict if it were a secret ballot.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Dem leadership has been throwing cold water on the idea of impeachment for at least a year and a half now, and far from being "blue no matter who," the message from the pro-impeachment camp has been that they will happily work to remove Dem leadership from office, too.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
If that's the theory they're going with, I certainly hope it's right, because a lot of the people I've been hearing from who care about impeachment the most have been very firm that party loyalty does not matter to them, only commitment to removing this administration.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The problem with that idea is that impeachment is polling really well. It's more popular than Trump, and more popular than Democrats in Congress. Any signals that they are resistant to impeachment and will be so even if they take control of Congress will make them less likely to win.
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Reposted by Matthew Prorok
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Any Democrat announcing pre-emptively that they won't impeach Trump is not just failing to fulfill their constitutional duties, they're signaling to Trump that he can ramp up the abuses because they're not going to hold him accountable. Nope.
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Matthew Prorok @mattprorok.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
It's going to be something with a ton of books in the series. Depending on how you define it, maybe Goosebumps, or a long running manga, like One Piece?
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