Matthew Specter

gutsy.

Logical!

Big developments at the state level in several blue states to block local assistance to ICE.

Both Ghost and Outpost charge a fixed amount per some subscriber amount, and it works out that this very much does not scale as a percentage of your costs as you grow

I'm very happy with Ghost. Even more happy after discovering @outpost.pub, the combination of the two giving you way more advantages than Substack offers, without taking the big cut of your revenue that Substack does

The Great Retcon The invention of "heritage Americans"

For my newsletter, I wrote about "heritage Americans" and the real meaning of nationhood. publiccomment.blog/p/the-great-...

UT-Austin to merge race, ethnic and gender study programs More than 800 students are pursuing degrees in the affected departments, which include African, Latino and gender studies.

This is AWFUL. Univ of Texas is consolidating 4 depts into 1: African and African Diaspora Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, American Studies, and Mexican American and Latino Studies will become "a Social and Cultural Analysis department." www.texastribune.org/2026/02/12/t...

Definitely call your senators. 202-224-3121

202-224-3121

202-224-3121

bsky.app/profile/jenn...

Gabbard Whistleblower Complaint Based on Intercepted Conversation About Jared Kushner The substance of the conversation, which covered in part issues related to Iran, isn’t known.

News: The top-secret whistleblower complaint against Tulsi Gabbard is related to a conversation intercepted last spring in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

"And so, if Trump’s malignant nationalism ends up helping cost Republicans the House, right in the heart of blue-collar Michigan, it would mark a fitting conclusion to this utter farce—and bring it to a close with a satisfying dose of poetic justice.” 💥
newrepublic.com/article/2064...

Going live with @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social in a few minutes to talk about the dangerous expansion of ICE detention facilities across the US.......join us - going to be a great discussion.

making a list of american institutions that are meeting this moment, and so far I've got burning man and paleontology down here... guess we're rebuilding society around the study of dinosaur bones and doing drugs in the desert

Here is my conclusion after sitting through Maxwell's deposition with her refusing to answer a single question about the men who raped underage girls, saying she would only do so for clemency.

She must immediately be sent back to the maximum security prison where she belongs.

Most sensational, inspirational

the first major French figure to be brought down by the Epstein Files

Jack Lang, who as François Mitterrand's powerful Minister of Culture reshaped French cultural politics, & who currently heads the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, is now under investigation, has submitted his resignation

my history of emotions approach to 20th century German history--a course at #SantaClaraUniversity

The Board of Governors decided, unilaterally, that no published textbook in the field of sociology could be used in compliance with the law for an Intro to Sociology class. None. Victor: There's not a single existing textbook on the market that could be used that would qualify under state law? Zachary: Correct. Victor: I'm sorry, that's kind of funny. Like, the absurdity of not a single sociology textbook getting past the censors. I mean, it makes me kind of proud of our colleagues, but...

I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.

Great work everyone.

Just a reminder about the new grant we (@universitypress.cambridge.org) are offering. Deadline is mid-April. Please spread the word.

Agreed!

Disgraceful! Abolish ICE

"As we left the hospital, I was escorted out through the back in a wheelchair. I observed over dozens of Border Patrol agents waiting outside the hospital,” Martinez said. “One of the agents came up to me with his cell phone and took a photograph of me ... Was this a trophy for him?” trib.al/qf9BPf6

ICE *is* drawing weapons on observers. That part is true!

It makes me wish AltNPS would say WHERE this is happening, or TO WHO, or WHO REPORTED this news. Their audience, especially in the Twin Cities, deserves the details for their own safety.

That's the bare minimum.

Again, there is one constitutional mechanism for solving problems like "The president threatens to nationalize & overturn valid elections." For the previous 45 presidents, it would have been used already. Everyone is just kidding themselves at this point & pretending there are other solutions.

History As It Happens: What is Realism? for 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500+ episodes, ad-free listening, and bonus content. Non-subscribers may listen to only the 40 most recent episodes. The Trump administration's National Securi...

Grateful again to Linda Kinstler for her engagement with my work on realist tradition and its connections to imperialism, primacy and restraint.
Here she is interviewed about the piece, and in discussion with Steven Wertheim of Carnegie Endowment:
historyasithappens.libsyn.com/what-is-real...

I am absolutely sickened by the many rich, powerful & famous men whose names are being outed in these files as having gone to Epstein's island.

Rep. Thomas Massie & I always said this would be a moral reckoning for our nation.

Looks like that reckoning begins today.

I am not just a no, but a firm no.

I will be making the case to all House Democrats to vote no on the appropriations bill, which does not repeal the tripled ICE funding.

What stands out in the released Epstein files isn’t just who’s named — it’s what’s missing. There’s little visible evidence of sustained follow-up with lawyers for the men in Epstein’s orbit. And without that, prosecutions rarely move forward.
@donlemonofficial.bsky.social

‘Fell the enemies:’ Illini Republicans support ICE amid killings - The Daily Illini In a post that included a graphic of a presumed officer holding a gun to someone's head, Illini Republicans stated that they “stand with ICE."

dailyillini.com/news-stories...

Repellent and disturbing images from the U. of Illinois student Republicans posted to their Instagram, and since removed