iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

After a couple of days of emailing with Ghost support, www.bugbeardispatch.com is back up! I still have no idea why or how it broke in the first place, but expect a new newsletter soon

bugbeardispatch.com

The Bugbear Dispatch

A Newsletter about Navigating Modern American Moral Panic

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

By the way, I know I've neglected it for way too long, and to all my readers and subscribers, I am sorry. I've been working on some health issues, both physical and mental. Today I wanted to get back to writing, and now my website is borked. I hope I can get this sorted soon

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

So, The Bugbear Dispatch seems to be down, and I'm not at all sure why. The domain www.bugbeardispatch.com is active and paid for. I bought it and maintain it via WordPress. Other sites on Ghost seem to be working. Wondering if anyone can help me with this problem? I'd be grateful!

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The Flytrap @theflytrapmedia.com · 09/07/2026

Feel free to browse our back catalogue for more!!! www.theflytrapmedia.com

theflytrapmedia.com

The Flytrap

Feminist cultural criticism against the algorithm

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The Flytrap @theflytrapmedia.com · 09/07/2026

Looking for something to read while you procrastinate? 👀 We got you. Here's a thread of what we've published recently. 🧵

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ToplessTopics.org @toplesstopics.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Was listening a bit to the @hartmannreport.com on the radio enroute to my psyche appointment and the amount of middle aged men calling in to disparage the accuser against Platner, saying "it's fishy" "why didn't she lock the door"(???) Etc is sickening but unsurprising.

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Island of Reil @islandofreil.northsky.social · 06/07/2026

@katmabu.bsky.social, you might appreciate this essay: bsky.app/profile/theb...

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Political Research Associates @praeyesright.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

5. The Faith-Based Militia: When is Terrorism ‘Christian’? by @fredclarkson.bsky.social — bit.ly/4p8OSkE 6. The Patriot and Armed Militia Movements by Chip Berlet and @matthewnlyons.bsky.social — bit.ly/4vhJjBQ

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Political Research Associates @praeyesright.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Articles mentioned: 1. County Capture by @cgallaher.bsky.social and Priya Dixit — bit.ly/PEW24CountyC... 2. In a Disturbing Trend, Far-Right Candidates are Getting Crucial Support from Militia Groups and Churches by @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social — bit.ly/4wv9QN5

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Political Research Associates @praeyesright.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

For years, PRA has examined how far-right militias advance a White nationalist authoritarian agenda. Assembled here are several articles to help you better understand how these militias are deepening authoritarianism in the U.S. Learn more here: politicalresearch.org/research/law....

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Julie Anne Smith @defendthesheep.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I have been in touch with Scarlettah this week. This is part of what she told me this morning that she wants people to know, besides the fact that she is surrounded by love and support:

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Island of Reil @islandofreil.northsky.social · 04/07/2026

Chrissy’s whole piece is on point, but these paragraphs deserve special emphasis:

The Declaration is often cited as a key example of the Enlightenment ideals espoused, often hypocritically, by the founding fathers. Even those who recognize the hypocrisy, like many prominent Democrats, often refer to the Declaration as setting very special aspirational ideals, as if the country’s leadership over centuries should get credit simply for ostensible good intentions, or cite the Declaration explicitly as an example of “American exceptionalism,” when this notion of national supremacy is in itself corrosive of democracy.

Like hero worship of the founding fathers, the rhetoric of exceptionalism and “national greatness” should have no place in a healthy, democratic country, and therefore should be eschewed by any supposedly democratic party. But our feckless Democratic Party leaders can’t seem to help themselves from letting the fascist Republicans frame national discourse. Often they actually seem to like the same frames.

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

It’s an uphill struggle getting people to accept that Christians can be bad people. But the even harder truth that people urgently need to grasp in this time of Christofascism is that for some understandings of Christianity, to be a GOOD Christian is to be a BAD person. Denial makes things worse

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Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 22/05/2023

This is all to say that rich people are both creepy and bad at science.

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McJulie @mcjulie.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Anyway, if you want a good basic grounding in what evangelicals do/believe, especially as it pertains to politics, I would recommend three books: Jesus and John Wayne by @kkdumez.bsky.social , Wild Faith by @swordsjew.bsky.social and Empty the Pews edited by @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social

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Kathryn Joyce @kathrynajoyce.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Grieving the loss of Ryan Stollar—a kind, brave & deeply intelligent advocate for the overlooked children of fundamentalism, who I met reporting on the movement he helped begin. As the right re-embraces the harmful ideologies Ryan did so much to deconstruct, I'll miss his clear moral voice.

prospect.org

The Homeschool Apostates - The American Prospect

They were raised to carry the fundamentalist banner forward and redeem America. But now the Joshua Generation is rebelling.

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I'm stuck with her as my rep and she is the WORST

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Really appreciate the discussion and engagement in this thread

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Elle @biknmusicmama.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

It if you haven’t read @agordonreed.bsky.social books on Jefferson, I find her perspective very measured and interesting. She wrote the book on Sally!

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Elle @biknmusicmama.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The amount to which I have grown to understand early US history was just driven by what we would now call greedy developers….

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Elle @biknmusicmama.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Adams was against slavery and also laughed in Abigail’s face when she said “remember the ladies.” Etc etc

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johnmark @johnmark.org · 01/07/2026

Hot damn - this is a banger from @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social - your must read for the day

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Michael Bazemore @deepwatermike.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

This gets at a real problem I've been struggling to describe. What if Donald Trump isn't an anomaly, but an immune response? We say the Framers' wanted to avoid someone like him, but here we are, because of their (mainly) undemocratic nature. Trump is their America reasserting itself.

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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 01/07/2026

I did the art on this piece btw

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Doug Garrison @dhgarrison.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

When you recognize that a small group of wealthy, slaveholding white men established a system of government upon the structures of settler colonialism, patriarchy, and racial capitalism that was designed explicitly to protect and sustain their power and status, a lot of things fall into place.

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Josh Caress @joshcaress.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

It’s really heartening to see the number of people thinking and writing about these things as we contend with America 250. I really think we are widening the “pool of available stories,” and I’d love to see more in the comments. Here’s my own contribution from a couple weeks ago:

welcometohellworld.com

America 250: A Reckoning

Mythologizing ourselves to cover atrocities

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Daniel - Desert Apostate @hcexvangelical.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Be at peace, Ryan, and I wish peace for everyone who was a part of Ryan's life. If anyone out there ever feels like Ryan did, please keep fighting. My DMs are open to anyone who needs to talk to someone who has fought this fight before.

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Daniel - Desert Apostate @hcexvangelical.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I will choose to remember Ryan for fighting hard to make the world a better place for children before he left us. For those of you who were directly impacted by this loss, I know that many of you helped the children that Ryan was trying to save.

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Daniel - Desert Apostate @hcexvangelical.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I know that there will be anger about Ryan's passing, and that's understandable. I feel for those who will be very personally impacted by his passing, and I wish them the best and send my heart to them. Ryan's decision was his own, in the end.

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Daniel - Desert Apostate @hcexvangelical.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I just returned from a very secluded part of the mountains and saw this and the confirmation of the loss of R.L. Stollar. Heartbroken. I learned so much from Ryan. He changed my mind on more than a few issues and had an impact on my own way of parenting.

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Rebecca Diamond ✡️🧶🇺🇸🇨🇦 @rebeccadiamond.online · 30/06/2026

I have nothing profound to add to your words, except that I was SO glad when the internet came along and clarified for me that I *did* see mermaids when I was 3 :P My family pretended we never went. As an adult I googled and was relieved!

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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

"Sex" can only mean "biological sex" according to SCOTUS, and you can see where this is going on all protections for trans folks nationwide. I hate it here. I fucking hate it.

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David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

The fact that four justices endorse the ahistorical, atextual, anti-constitutional reading of the 14th Amendment means that this issue will not die today. Conservatives will now desperately hope to appoint someone untethered to any principle to the Court to undo this decision.

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

"In the Civil War, the Union won the war but lost the peace. And the 'spirit' of the Confederacy keeps winning the peace over, and over, and over, 'rising again' in vicious backlash against civil rights gains." It's almost like a slaveholder constitution is no basis for a decent government 🤔

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Jonathan Hansen @jonathanhansen.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

"If we continue treating the founders and founding documents like religious icons to be venerated, we will never be able to delegitimize the power of the unreconstructed." -- @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social

theflytrapmedia.com

The Founding Fathers Sucked

In honor of America’s 250 birthday, let’s stop lionizing them.

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The Flytrap @theflytrapmedia.com · 30/06/2026

"If 'all men,' let alone all people, have never been equal in the United States, how long is it reasonable to wait before we conclude the fault must lie in the system itself?" New from @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social!

theflytrapmedia.com

The Founding Fathers Sucked

In honor of America’s 250 birthday, let’s stop lionizing them.

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diana180.bsky.social @diana180.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

been waiting all my life for this headline

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ash blu @ashblu.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

holy moly, no punches pulled. as an indig person, i fully conclude that this is true. it's time to stop regarding the past as perfect.

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Few things are more corrosive to democracy and conducive to complacency than the hero worship of a country's founders and the rhetoric of national greatness. For this semiquincentennial, I want some goddamn iconclasm and irreverence toward our slaveholder constitution share.google/JCEJtu5PiQDy...

share.google

The Founding Fathers Sucked

In honor of America’s 250 birthday, let’s stop lionizing them.

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s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 30/06/2026

Thinking about @katelynburns.com for @theflytrapmedia.com: 'On the field, it was just me, the ball, and my opponents, and I was free of all the gender shit that clogged my brain the rest of the day.' Trans women and girls just want to play sports. That's all.

theflytrapmedia.com

I Saw My Own Search for Sunlight in “Heated Rivalry”

'Heated Rivalry' dares to ask: Why should queer athletes be forced to choose between their identity and their sport?

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Chrissy Stroop @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Why does the United States get dragged backwards by bigots every time there are civil rights gains? What if that cycle is baked into our system itself--a system that was never designed to achieve anything resembling true democratic equality? I don't hold back in my latest for @theflytrapmedia.com

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Zach Malm @muzach.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Crushing news, apparently confirmed. I interviewed Ryan once for @vcwpod.bsky.social and we've been social media friends. I thought he was an extraordinary person who cared deeply about protecting children from the abuse rampant in the Christian homeschooling community, and helping survivors live. 💔

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Crip Dyke @cripdyke.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

54/x Child and youth sports has a CONTEXT AND A PURPOSE. We've never bothered to learn them bc with a functional gov't someone else does all this for us. But it's time we learned the context of the purpose, bc when we do, it's easy to say that excluding trans kids is unfair to everyone. /end

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