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T. Craig M.

@tcm01.bsky.social
287 followers 66 following 716 posts

Teacher, retired Dec. 2025. Gay. Rock, soul, classical, jazz, bluegrass. S-F, classics, history, government. Christian left. Football. Progressive patriot.

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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 6h
Felt an earthquake for the first time since moving to WA in Feb. 2025. Epicenter was about 20 miles away, 4.15 magnitude, at a depth of just over 17 miles. For us, it was a small jolt, followed by a faint sensation of movement, then a smaller jolt. Feeling at home here.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Authority founded on injustice is never of long duration" (Seneca, from his play Medea). But I'd like to ask him if six years of a certain president should be considered long.
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 24/09/2026
Talarico on trans athletes: “I’m always going to stand up to politicians who bully kids to score political points. My faith teaches me that every child is made in the image of God…I’ll always fight to make sure our student athletes and every sport is safe and fair. Those are not mutually exclusive.”
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Some, but not all, trees on my street think it is autumn.
Sept. 24, 2026, view of a street in Olympia, WA, featuring fallen leaves.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The GOP playbook is to scare voters about people who are different than they are, sound alarms about miniscule voter fraud, toss as many people off voter rolls as they can, and scream "Communism!" That's feckless scheming and nothing more. Vote them the hell out.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
If Congress turns blue in 2027, could they impeach the orange guy? Maybe. The House vote requires a simple majority. The Senate, though needs a two-thirds vote to convict and that would mean considerable GOP help. But, setting up a 25th Amend. commission would take a simple majority, both houses.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
If I could fire any five people in our government right now: 1) orange guy, 2) veep, 3) speaker, 4) secty of defense, 5) either RFK Jr. or Patel, pick 'em. Lots more to do, but it would be a start.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I'll be tabling for No Hate in WA State later at a candidate and causes support gathering of Olympia Indivisible. We're connecting members with candidate organizations, with ballot initiative campaigns, and with opportunities to take action. Plus, there will be cookies.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Apathy is the most dangerous weapon of mass destruction.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate today. I know because I felt a disturbance in the Force. Give him a cowl and cast him in a sequel.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The orange guy is openly encouraging MAGA to "cheat like hell" in the upcoming elections. If the GOP had the faintest traces of integrity and backbone left, he would be impeached. But they don't and are complicit and must go.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
From yesterday's walk at LBA Woods in Olympia.
Path in LBA Woods, Olympia, WA.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Worth remembering that, as West Wing put it, Al Qaeda is to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity. Part of the aftermath of 9/11 was hearing many blame all Muslims when a radical fringe group was responsible. Sure, emotions were high. But that's no reason to turn off one's brain.
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Randall Stephens @randalljstephens.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
We have entered the out-in-the-open $5000 bribe stage of competitive authoritarianism.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Check out this performance, "bela fleck bach" share.google/3cPwgArda9vg...
share.google
Three-Part Invention (Sinfonia) No. 15 (BWV 801) (Instrumental)
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No Hate in WA State @nohateinwastate.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
November ballot initiatives I-001 & I-638 will threaten the safety of all Washington students. I-001 puts kids at greater risk of abuse, while I-638 could force invasive genital exams on girls of any age just to play sports. Vote NO on I-001 and I-638 this November. #NoHateWAState
A photo shows eight high school students from across an orange-brown school track. The students are mixed gender and race. They are standing in a line looking at the camera, and each teen is holding a sign that says “No Hate in WA State: Vote NO on I-001 & I-638.” Behind the students is a black chain link fence and brown brick wall with ivy growing on it.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Earlier this year, the WA legislature passed a millionaire's tax. Part of the money will go to school lunch programs. But a millionaire paid signature gatherers and got a repeal initiative on the Nov. ballot. He'll still be a millionaire either way, but he'd rather not have poor kids eating.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is the first September 3rd in many years that I haven't been busy getting college classes ready to roll. Or teaching them, depending on academic calendar variations. I miss students and class prep, but not grading, commuting, and jumping through bureaucratic hoops. Teachers, best wishes.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
1. Executive orders (info from a retired poli sci prof): when they are founded on the authority of the office derived from the Constitution or law, they have the force and effect of law. They are directed to, and govern actions by, govt. officials and agencies. Can be limited by Congress, courts.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
As John Scalzi said, "The failure mode of clever is 'asshole.'" So many in the orange guy's administration think they are clever.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I will not be using Google Maps as long as they label it Lake America for U.S. users. Google is licking the boots of an authoritarian narcissist. Unacceptable.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Orange guy administration report card: Biology: F Speech: F Civics: F Ethics: F- Math: F Literature: F Narcissism: A+
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
"A demagogue must be neither an educated nor and honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue." --Aristophanes, Knights, trans. O'Neill
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Reading two books in fits and starts right now. Things Fall Apart, by China Achebe, because it's a world classic and the title reverberates in 2026. And The Birds, by Aristophanes, because I need humor and satire and don't mind short footnotes. What are you reading?
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
My favorite Dolly Parton recordings, in no order. --Coat of Many Colors --My Blue Tears --Will He Be Waiting for Me --I Am Ready --Wildflowers (with Linda and Emmylou) --Farther Along (with Linda and Emmylou) --After the Gold Rush (with Linda and Emmylou) --Light of a Clear Blue Morning (rock on)
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"Dirty tricks breed hatred and mistrust even when they don't work.". --Edward Lazarus
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I sold or donated over 600 music CDs before I moved in Dec., 2024, because streaming. But I kept about twenty that were out of print or not on streaming sites or were too special to release. Here are a few of them.
CD covers. Bach violin concertos, Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich, Asleep at the Wheel's tribute to Bob Willis, Easter Orthodox chant, What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, and the No Nukes soundtrack.
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Scott Dworkin @dworkin.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The Constitution has a process for a president who can't do the job. It needs a commission. Congress has never created one, so the provision has never worked. Tell them to build it: tinyurl.com/44afaxvd
tinyurl.com
Tell Congress: Pass Raskin’s Bill to Create 25th Amendment Commission
Contact Congress today!
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
No posts in a couple of days because I'm too horrified watching the slow-motion trainwreck that is the government of the United States while GOP members of Congress sit on their hands and lie into assorted cameras. They must be removed, nonviolently if possible.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Recommended. Lang tells the stories of transgender youth who receive support from family and friends, sometimes in hostile places. Well written, heartfelt, and revealing.
Cover of the book American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era, by Nico Lang.
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No Hate in WA State @nohateinwastate.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Two initiatives on the November ballot will put our kids in danger. I-001 forces teachers to out LGBTQ+ kids to unsupportive parents. I-638 puts girls who want to play sports at greater risk of harm by requiring genital inspections. Say NO to hate. Vote NO on I-001 & I-638. #NoHateWAState
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
My brother's shot of the eclipse, taken in Ireland.
Eclipse, Aug. 2026, as seen in Ireland.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Okay, I'd hide in a catering truck too if I had one, but for snacking reasons. The orange despot secretly fled his unsafe gift aircraft but allowed others to travel on it. Not something our better presidents might have done, or quite a few lousy ones, either.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Loved this banned book when I read it in junior high. Not banned then, but now? We got fascists.
Cover of the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.
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Short Poem of the Day @shortpoems.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Short Poem of the Day 📝 This Is Just To Say I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold William Carlos Williams
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
On a short break from politics, just until Monday. But if Mitch McConnell, the orange despot, Mike Johnson, Susan Collins, any administration appointee, or Keith Richards are declared dead, text me.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The president's personal agenda: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Two interesting results yesterday: Missouri voters demolished Amend. 4, which would have given red districts veto power over state ballot measures. And Kansas defeated a measure to elect its Supreme Court justices, a move supported by anti-abortion activists.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Primary elections will be held tomorrow in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington. Recommendation from a poli sci instructor: vote informed, early, and every time you can. Vote as if it's a right some people are trying to take away from you, because some people are.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
What we can do together matters. Olympia Indivisible is supporting local candidates endorsed by membership vote, campaigning for them. We reach out to and aid immigrants and those who need food. My team is fighting two anti-LGBTQ+ ballot initiatives. Lots more. Easier to make a difference together.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Famous disappearances: Ambrose Bierce, Amelia Earhardt, that one Australian prime minister, Jimmy Hoffa. And Mitch McConnell.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Two maxims for today: "What goes too long unchanged destroys itself" (Ursula Le Guin). "Survival is insufficient" (Emily St. John Mandel).
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Another day, another volcano. Mt. St. Helens was spectacular but not violent. That's a cloud, not a plume.
Mt. St. Helens 7/24/26Mt. St. Helens 7/24/26
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
It's July 21, 2026. What is Mitch McConnell's condition? Where are the MAGA who wanted to end wars? How many did ICE kill today? How's the price of gas? What illegal acts did the orange guy commit today? Is Patel getting instructions from Putin? Seen any grift lately? Inquiring minds want to know.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Dropped off our votes for the WA Aug. 4 primary yesterday. Typically, less than half of eligible voters participate in primaries, mid-terms, and other non-presidential elections. The greatest opponents of democracy are apathy and disengagement, though orange guy is just a notch below them.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Even conservative think-tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute have debunked the orange guy's claims about noncitizens voting in U.S. elections. Poli sci people across the spectrum have found only tiny amounts of this, but the administration chooses lies over facts. Despots do.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
The best outcome for any speech by the orange guy is that few people watch it and even fewer give it any credence. The lying sack of pus has not earned even an ounce of our serious consideration.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Any senator who votes to confirm Todd Blanche is putting party and power over country and the Constitution.
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No Hate in WA State @nohateinwastate.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
As Megan Rapinoe writes, I-638 "will drive thousands of girls out of sports because their parents cannot afford the necessary testing or refuse to submit their daughters to genital inspections." We must vote NO on WA's harmful initiative, I-638, this November. #NoHateWAState
marieclaire.com
Anti-Trans Legislation Isn't About "Protecting Girls"—It's About Distracting Us From What Matters
"If we really cared about safety and fairness in sports, we’d be breaking down barriers facing girls at every level," writes Megan Rapinoe.
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T. Craig M. @tcm01.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Speaking I'll of the dead? When Lindsey Graham was alive he supported people and policies that degraded the country. He was smart, but licked the boots of a cruel buffoon. His moral compass? Cast overboard. So it's a shame he died instead of reversing course and helping remove the orange asshat.
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