Joseph Britt
@zathras5.bsky.social
Wisconsin and the world. Opinions my own. Once a Republican.
Pinned
Joseph Britt
@zathras5.bsky.social
· Mar 20
For the white, against the colored.
For the rich, against the rest.
For the dictator, against the democracy.
These are not the only principles of the Republican Party in the 2020s, but they are the main ones. They are the first fruits of decadence.
For the rich, against the rest.
For the dictator, against the democracy.
These are not the only principles of the Republican Party in the 2020s, but they are the main ones. They are the first fruits of decadence.
Thread. @kajakallas.bsky.social is the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Today’s events raise suspicion that American financial sanctions against the International Criminal Court may have been requested by Putin, wanted for war crimes in Ukraine by the ICC since 2023.
The ICC is the cornerstone of the international criminal justice system. It prosecutes individuals responsible for the most serious crimes under international law.
October 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Thread. @kajakallas.bsky.social is the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Today’s events raise suspicion that American financial sanctions against the International Criminal Court may have been requested by Putin, wanted for war crimes in Ukraine by the ICC since 2023.
No, not Congress. The State Department probably didn’t know about this either. But a Russian effort to help Trump through yet another election ought to get someone’s attention.
Anything Trump says has to be taken with a whole shakerful of salt, including this. Via @nahaltoosi.bsky.social
Anything Trump says has to be taken with a whole shakerful of salt, including this. Via @nahaltoosi.bsky.social
October 9, 2026 at 7:02 PM
No, not Congress. The State Department probably didn’t know about this either. But a Russian effort to help Trump through yet another election ought to get someone’s attention.
Anything Trump says has to be taken with a whole shakerful of salt, including this. Via @nahaltoosi.bsky.social
Anything Trump says has to be taken with a whole shakerful of salt, including this. Via @nahaltoosi.bsky.social
Hurricane Isaias update from @nhc-atlantic.extwitter.link. Like many tropical storms in recent years, this one has strengthened very quickly as it approached land. It is now a dangerous storm.
12 pm CDT Tropical Cyclone Update for Hurricane #Isaias: t.co/LcsA3F0wNs
🔗 www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refre...
🔗 www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refre...
October 9, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Hurricane Isaias update from @nhc-atlantic.extwitter.link. Like many tropical storms in recent years, this one has strengthened very quickly as it approached land. It is now a dangerous storm.
Reposted by Joseph Britt
South African human rights lawyer Navi Pillay wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for advancing human rights and international law. n.pr/4hOI08y
South African human rights lawyer Navi Pillay wins the Nobel Peace Prize
South African human rights lawyer Navi Pillay wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for advancing human rights and international law.
n.pr
October 9, 2026 at 12:43 PM
South African human rights lawyer Navi Pillay wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for advancing human rights and international law. n.pr/4hOI08y
Thread. What happens after mass deportations, by @yaelschacher.bsky.social at @refugeesinternational.org. For Trump’s crowd, reducing the number of non-white people in the United States is a great victory — the more so as its cost is borne by others.
Trump’s victory is America’s shame.
Trump’s victory is America’s shame.
I am in Cap Haitien interviewing people deported from the United States.
I have been doing this kind of work for almost a decade and it literally does not get more dire than this.
People have lost everything they built in the U.S. and are terrified and have no place to go or way to live.
I have been doing this kind of work for almost a decade and it literally does not get more dire than this.
People have lost everything they built in the U.S. and are terrified and have no place to go or way to live.
October 9, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Thread. What happens after mass deportations, by @yaelschacher.bsky.social at @refugeesinternational.org. For Trump’s crowd, reducing the number of non-white people in the United States is a great victory — the more so as its cost is borne by others.
Trump’s victory is America’s shame.
Trump’s victory is America’s shame.
Thread. The latest Trump vote-buying scheme. He’s done this before, for example with payments to farmers during his first term. But those were directed at a much smaller constituency, and were (mostly) legal. Checks to offset Medicare premiums are not, as @emineirmakyucel.bsky.social explains.
Two things going on with these checks:
Maybe the most obvious & a point so many people I talked to made is, of course: the timing of the checks, specifically their proximity to the upcoming midterms.
And in the case of the $90 Medicare Improvement Fund checks ... the legality of them.
Maybe the most obvious & a point so many people I talked to made is, of course: the timing of the checks, specifically their proximity to the upcoming midterms.
And in the case of the $90 Medicare Improvement Fund checks ... the legality of them.
Several experts also described at least one of the two check-mailing schemes as based on a “legally dubious” interpretation of how the executive branch may use the pool of funding it’s tapping into.
October 9, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Thread. The latest Trump vote-buying scheme. He’s done this before, for example with payments to farmers during his first term. But those were directed at a much smaller constituency, and were (mostly) legal. Checks to offset Medicare premiums are not, as @emineirmakyucel.bsky.social explains.
Reposted by Joseph Britt
"Chris Jones’ campaign for Secretary of Agriculture has raised the prospect of real change in Iowa," writes Jordan Sellergren in LV's first candidate endorsement in 25 years.
Letter from the publisher: Iowa's environmental crises demand a split from the status quo - Little Village
By Jordan Sellergren, Little Village publisher This magazine has not published a campaign endorsement in 25 years, but given our history of reporting on Iowa’s water quality crisis, it should come as ...
littlevillagemag.com
October 7, 2026 at 9:27 PM
"Chris Jones’ campaign for Secretary of Agriculture has raised the prospect of real change in Iowa," writes Jordan Sellergren in LV's first candidate endorsement in 25 years.
Thread. Trump is really sticking it to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, which is why millions of Americans voted to make him President again. By @charlesgaba.com
🚨🚨🚨 Republican Healthcare Disaster Update: Up to TWELVE MILLION Americans have *already* lost healthcare coverage since Trump returned to power:
acasignups.net/26/10/08/rep...
acasignups.net/26/10/08/rep...
Republican Healthcare Disaster Update: Up to TWELVE MILLION Americans have already lost healthcare coverage under Trump 2.0
Last month I ran a detailed analysis of the most comprehensive, up-to-date effectuated enrollment data for Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare & ACA exchange healthcare coverage changes since January 2025 (when ...
acasignups.net
October 9, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Thread. Trump is really sticking it to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, which is why millions of Americans voted to make him President again. By @charlesgaba.com
In Manhattan, the latest of 25 people shot this year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is gunned down. He is sequestered away from the public in a hospital. Through sheer dumb luck no one else was shot when ICE agents opened up. Reporting by @noahhurowitz.bsky.social, via @jackjenkins.me
“A member of Congress at the scene confirmed to The Intercept that there was a child in the victim’s car when ICE agents shot at it.” theintercept.com/2026/10/08/i...
ICE Agent on Scene of NYC Shooting Was Posing as Construction Worker, Eyewitness Says
A member of Congress at the scene confirmed to The Intercept that there was a child in the victim’s car when ICE agents shot at it.
theintercept.com
October 9, 2026 at 1:02 AM
In Manhattan, the latest of 25 people shot this year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is gunned down. He is sequestered away from the public in a hospital. Through sheer dumb luck no one else was shot when ICE agents opened up. Reporting by @noahhurowitz.bsky.social, via @jackjenkins.me
Tip of the hat this Thursday night to @atrupar.com for going above and beyond to post highlights of US Senate debates in both Georgia and Michigan. In Georgia, Sen. Ossoff tore into Trump-loving Republican Mike Collins. 1/2
Ossoff: "Tonight, a united Georgia will hear the trial the Mike Collins. Mike Collins has brought dishonor to our state through his personal bigotry and his widely documented ties to white nationalists. And he's sold out Georgia in his pathetic child-like devotion to Donald Trump."
October 9, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Tip of the hat this Thursday night to @atrupar.com for going above and beyond to post highlights of US Senate debates in both Georgia and Michigan. In Georgia, Sen. Ossoff tore into Trump-loving Republican Mike Collins. 1/2
33 of these 78 Ukrainian civilians were killed in a glide bomb attack today on a bus station in Kramatorsk. From @uazmi.media
Seventy-eight killed, 215 wounded in Russian strikes on Ukraine in recent days – Zelenskyy.
#news #uazmi #war #zelensky #ukraine #russia #world #eu
Russian strikes on Pryluky, Kramatorsk, Kyiv, and other Ukrainian cities in recent days have resulted in 78 deaths and 215 injuries,...
#news #uazmi #war #zelensky #ukraine #russia #world #eu
Russian strikes on Pryluky, Kramatorsk, Kyiv, and other Ukrainian cities in recent days have resulted in 78 deaths and 215 injuries,...
Seventy-eight killed, 215 wounded in Russian strikes on Ukraine in recent days – Zelenskyy.
Russian strikes on Pryluky, Kramatorsk, Kyiv, and other Ukrainian cities in recent days have resulted in 78 deaths and 215 injuries, Ukrainian President Volo...
uazmi.com
October 8, 2026 at 8:41 PM
33 of these 78 Ukrainian civilians were killed in a glide bomb attack today on a bus station in Kramatorsk. From @uazmi.media
Reposted by Joseph Britt
This report and video from @cbsnews.com hints at the great effort Trump administration officials made to keep damage to US bases in the Gulf Arab states secret from the American public as the President boasted for months about how completely Iran had been crushed. Via @jimlaporta.bsky.social
From CBS News - Newly obtained video shows Iranian drones hitting Camp Buehring in Kuwait and the damage to the base as the war kicked off. Among other new details: when soldiers moved into the Udari Desert, two soldiers were injured when the were struck by lightning. www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-at...
"They hit us bad." Newly obtained footage, witness accounts detail Iran attack — and U.S. retreat — at major post in Kuwait
CBS News obtained new video from a person on the ground showing an Iranian attack on a U.S. base at the beginning of the war.
www.cbsnews.com
October 7, 2026 at 9:46 PM
This report and video from @cbsnews.com hints at the great effort Trump administration officials made to keep damage to US bases in the Gulf Arab states secret from the American public as the President boasted for months about how completely Iran had been crushed. Via @jimlaporta.bsky.social
This is outstanding. Pentagon planning military action to persuade the clueless dolts who attend Trump rallies that their leader is strong and manly. Thus will move them to put more Trump Republicans in Congress, and prevent hearings on all the laws Trump has broken. Via @jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW - EXCLU - Trump has considered reigniting the war against Iran after the midterms
But now the White House told the Pentagon to draw up plans for a strike *before* Election Day
Trump allies hope it could provide GOP with a boost. No final call yet www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
But now the White House told the Pentagon to draw up plans for a strike *before* Election Day
Trump allies hope it could provide GOP with a boost. No final call yet www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump Is Considering a Plan to Strike Iran Before the Midterms
Pentagon planners are weighing options though no final decision has been made.
www.theatlantic.com
October 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM
This is outstanding. Pentagon planning military action to persuade the clueless dolts who attend Trump rallies that their leader is strong and manly. Thus will move them to put more Trump Republicans in Congress, and prevent hearings on all the laws Trump has broken. Via @jonlemire.bsky.social
This report and video from @cbsnews.com hints at the great effort Trump administration officials made to keep damage to US bases in the Gulf Arab states secret from the American public as the President boasted for months about how completely Iran had been crushed. Via @jimlaporta.bsky.social
From CBS News - Newly obtained video shows Iranian drones hitting Camp Buehring in Kuwait and the damage to the base as the war kicked off. Among other new details: when soldiers moved into the Udari Desert, two soldiers were injured when the were struck by lightning. www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-at...
"They hit us bad." Newly obtained footage, witness accounts detail Iran attack — and U.S. retreat — at major post in Kuwait
CBS News obtained new video from a person on the ground showing an Iranian attack on a U.S. base at the beginning of the war.
www.cbsnews.com
October 7, 2026 at 9:46 PM
This report and video from @cbsnews.com hints at the great effort Trump administration officials made to keep damage to US bases in the Gulf Arab states secret from the American public as the President boasted for months about how completely Iran had been crushed. Via @jimlaporta.bsky.social
Reposted by Joseph Britt
The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of records as part of a sweeping effort to find voter fraud and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. Jonathan Shorman reports. wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/10/07/r...
Documents show DHS probed nonprofits, obtained millions of records in hunt for noncitizen voters • Wisconsin Examiner
The government obtained tens of millions of records, weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofits.
wisconsinexaminer.com
October 7, 2026 at 8:46 PM
The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of records as part of a sweeping effort to find voter fraud and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. Jonathan Shorman reports. wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/10/07/r...
Thread. Mega El Niño & what it is likely to mean for weather this winter and next year, by @weatherwest.bsky.social. The impact of greatly elevated ocean water systems on marine and coastal ecosystems could be even greater.
Just did some number crunching using latest (Oct 1) ECMWF seasonal data, and I must say that I've never seen such high predictive confidence in a very wet California winter. This is a truly extraordinary forecast amid a record-strength El Niño event. [Thread: please read to end.]
October 7, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Thread. Mega El Niño & what it is likely to mean for weather this winter and next year, by @weatherwest.bsky.social. The impact of greatly elevated ocean water systems on marine and coastal ecosystems could be even greater.
Reposted by Joseph Britt
Wisconsin story. A Nobel for one of @uwmadison.bsky.social’s own is a big deal here. This story of Dr. Halzen’s work with NSF’s Ice Cube Observatory, icecube.wisc.edu, and neutrinos is fascinating. news.wisc.edu/university-o...
University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor Francis Halzen named 2026 Nobel laureate in physics
Halzen is the principal investigator of the NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the world’s largest telescope.
news.wisc.edu
October 6, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Wisconsin story. A Nobel for one of @uwmadison.bsky.social’s own is a big deal here. This story of Dr. Halzen’s work with NSF’s Ice Cube Observatory, icecube.wisc.edu, and neutrinos is fascinating. news.wisc.edu/university-o...
A reminder: This is the Navatek scandal, first reported by @williamturton.bsky.social & colleagues at @propublica.org. Maine Senator Susan Collins, facing an election next month, is the prominent politician most directly implicated. Via @kassien.bsky.social
A defense contractor CEO + his close associates donated nearly $900,000 to dozens of politicians and got over $40 million a year in government funding.
He told the FBI that Sen. Susan Collins was his most important patron.
Dive into @propublica.org’s investigation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqyi...
He told the FBI that Sen. Susan Collins was his most important patron.
Dive into @propublica.org’s investigation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqyi...
October 6, 2026 at 11:50 PM
A reminder: This is the Navatek scandal, first reported by @williamturton.bsky.social & colleagues at @propublica.org. Maine Senator Susan Collins, facing an election next month, is the prominent politician most directly implicated. Via @kassien.bsky.social
Wisconsin story. A Nobel for one of @uwmadison.bsky.social’s own is a big deal here. This story of Dr. Halzen’s work with NSF’s Ice Cube Observatory, icecube.wisc.edu, and neutrinos is fascinating. news.wisc.edu/university-o...
University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor Francis Halzen named 2026 Nobel laureate in physics
Halzen is the principal investigator of the NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the world’s largest telescope.
news.wisc.edu
October 6, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Wisconsin story. A Nobel for one of @uwmadison.bsky.social’s own is a big deal here. This story of Dr. Halzen’s work with NSF’s Ice Cube Observatory, icecube.wisc.edu, and neutrinos is fascinating. news.wisc.edu/university-o...
Thread. This looks like an important new book on the long gestation, birth, life, and strangulation of the Voting Rights Act, by @kevintmorris.bsky.social & @michaelgmiller.bsky.social
Hey hey -- it's publication day! Couldn't be more excited for this to be out in the world.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
October 6, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Thread. This looks like an important new book on the long gestation, birth, life, and strangulation of the Voting Rights Act, by @kevintmorris.bsky.social & @michaelgmiller.bsky.social
Reposted by Joseph Britt
A year ago, @propublica.org told you immigration agents had detained more than 170 U.S. citizens.
We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts.
The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported.
projects.propublica.org/american-cit...
We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts.
The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported.
projects.propublica.org/american-cit...
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
projects.propublica.org
October 6, 2026 at 11:35 AM
A year ago, @propublica.org told you immigration agents had detained more than 170 U.S. citizens.
We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts.
The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported.
projects.propublica.org/american-cit...
We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts.
The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported.
projects.propublica.org/american-cit...
Reposted by Joseph Britt
The President of the United States, taking his fantasy about Iran being on the verge of having a nuclear weapons arsenal to its logical conclusion before an arena full of rubes in Nebraska.
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
Trump: "With the war, it's just artificial. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay ... let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay."
October 6, 2026 at 1:15 AM
The President of the United States, taking his fantasy about Iran being on the verge of having a nuclear weapons arsenal to its logical conclusion before an arena full of rubes in Nebraska.
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
The President of the United States, taking his fantasy about Iran being on the verge of having a nuclear weapons arsenal to its logical conclusion before an arena full of rubes in Nebraska.
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
Trump: "With the war, it's just artificial. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay ... let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay."
October 6, 2026 at 1:15 AM
The President of the United States, taking his fantasy about Iran being on the verge of having a nuclear weapons arsenal to its logical conclusion before an arena full of rubes in Nebraska.
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
In his defense, he is 80. The mind wanders. Republican candidates are pro-wandering. Via @atrupar.com
Reposted by Joseph Britt
Thread. @carlbergstrom.com is skeptical of @steverattner.bsky.social’s argument for urgency in advancing AI. This is about productivity gains that are speculative at this time.
Bergstrom also raises an interesting point about the post-World War II period’s economy: was it norm or exception?
Bergstrom also raises an interesting point about the post-World War II period’s economy: was it norm or exception?
Columnist Stephen Rattner probably got screwed over by the headline writer, but I'm seriously floored at how poor a job these six charts do at showing that we need AI.
Opinion | Six Charts That Show Just How Much We Need A.I. (Gift Article)
All the worry about artificial intelligence should not obscure this key point: If we don’t develop it, we’ll be a lot worse off.
www.nytimes.com
October 5, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Thread. @carlbergstrom.com is skeptical of @steverattner.bsky.social’s argument for urgency in advancing AI. This is about productivity gains that are speculative at this time.
Bergstrom also raises an interesting point about the post-World War II period’s economy: was it norm or exception?
Bergstrom also raises an interesting point about the post-World War II period’s economy: was it norm or exception?
Reposted by Joseph Britt
If you're gonna be in Madison, WI this Wednesday afternoon, come on out! law.wisc.edu/calendar/?tr...
Events | University of Wisconsin Law School
law.wisc.edu
October 5, 2026 at 5:19 PM
If you're gonna be in Madison, WI this Wednesday afternoon, come on out! law.wisc.edu/calendar/?tr...