Tom Schmitz
@tlsdip.bsky.social
retired fed - Navy, Labor, Ag, State - Anti-capitalist striving to reject nihilism He/Him -- a boomer who recognizes the hell we've wrought. dipsnewlife.wordpress.com
anyone unaware that cops are not their friends ought to have figured it out by now...
I wrote about how immigration arrests are at all-time highs, even as ICE is trying to assume a lower public profile. How are they doing this? Look to your local police.
ICE’s Secret Weapon Is in Your Community
While attempting to maintain a relatively lower profile, ICE is managing to arrest record numbers of people. Here’s how it’s doing that.
newrepublic.com
July 30, 2026 at 5:59 PM
anyone unaware that cops are not their friends ought to have figured it out by now...
18 dead for empire -- but as much for Israel -- and today the house votes to merge significant parts of our military with Israel's -- and.....how bout them Dodgers....no one seems to care much - circling the drain....
July 23, 2026 at 1:40 AM
18 dead for empire -- but as much for Israel -- and today the house votes to merge significant parts of our military with Israel's -- and.....how bout them Dodgers....no one seems to care much - circling the drain....
better than 50/50 that there are no elections in Nov worthy of the name -- what's your guess?
July 15, 2026 at 4:32 PM
better than 50/50 that there are no elections in Nov worthy of the name -- what's your guess?
is character important? sure. can people change? sure. Is character more important than policy, no? If Dems coordinate him withdrawing in favor of someone charismatic who'll energetically push the same polcies, he should go. If they wanna replace him with a corporate Dem, f them, I hope he stays in.
July 7, 2026 at 12:11 AM
is character important? sure. can people change? sure. Is character more important than policy, no? If Dems coordinate him withdrawing in favor of someone charismatic who'll energetically push the same polcies, he should go. If they wanna replace him with a corporate Dem, f them, I hope he stays in.
Fm a 16th c. church near Oaxaca. A bit earlier the colorful packs were shed by children who donned simple white robes cinched w/ lengths of jute. Minutes later they led an incense-infused procession into a well-attended mass w/ a priest proudly behind - serene, joyful moments fm Southern Mexico.
June 30, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Fm a 16th c. church near Oaxaca. A bit earlier the colorful packs were shed by children who donned simple white robes cinched w/ lengths of jute. Minutes later they led an incense-infused procession into a well-attended mass w/ a priest proudly behind - serene, joyful moments fm Southern Mexico.
important post about the future of higher education...ps it is here
At the end of the term I asked my college creative wriing students to submit anonymous thoughts on AI. No real surprises: Mood ranges from resignation to despair, capitulation from embittered erosion of standards to total, feelings of betrayal from deep to furious. 1/
June 16, 2026 at 10:56 PM
important post about the future of higher education...ps it is here
Reposted by Tom Schmitz
Suzanne Vega releases “Luka” 39 years ago this weekend. She said she once received a fan letter about it:
“Dear Suzanne,
Luka is the most compelling piece of music I’ve heard in a long time. There are no words 2 tell U all the things I feel when I hear it.
I thank God 4 U,
Prince”
“Dear Suzanne,
Luka is the most compelling piece of music I’ve heard in a long time. There are no words 2 tell U all the things I feel when I hear it.
I thank God 4 U,
Prince”
May 24, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Suzanne Vega releases “Luka” 39 years ago this weekend. She said she once received a fan letter about it:
“Dear Suzanne,
Luka is the most compelling piece of music I’ve heard in a long time. There are no words 2 tell U all the things I feel when I hear it.
I thank God 4 U,
Prince”
“Dear Suzanne,
Luka is the most compelling piece of music I’ve heard in a long time. There are no words 2 tell U all the things I feel when I hear it.
I thank God 4 U,
Prince”
I don't understand why people like to read opinion pieces in the NYTimes -- they're nearly all apologists for the people who are destroying society and the planet...what do people get out of it?
May 26, 2026 at 2:34 AM
I don't understand why people like to read opinion pieces in the NYTimes -- they're nearly all apologists for the people who are destroying society and the planet...what do people get out of it?
I wonder if there's a correlation between people excited about AI/in favor of data centers and those who are in favor of the genocide in Gaza or our kidnapping of Maduro or our bombing of Iran....
May 13, 2026 at 12:20 AM
I wonder if there's a correlation between people excited about AI/in favor of data centers and those who are in favor of the genocide in Gaza or our kidnapping of Maduro or our bombing of Iran....
Reposted by Tom Schmitz
In Turkey, an elderly man who earns his living by shining shoes is visited every morning at the same time by a cat that asks to have its fur brushed. The man never turns down this little friend.😍👍💙
April 11, 2026 at 8:49 AM
In Turkey, an elderly man who earns his living by shining shoes is visited every morning at the same time by a cat that asks to have its fur brushed. The man never turns down this little friend.😍👍💙
Disaffiliated fm the Dems. Party elites r welded to neo-liberal imperialism, corp America & the genocidal agenda of the Israeli gov. Dems lost in 26 cuz of who they are, not cuz of racist/misogynistic/stupid voters. And, by and large, the grassroots stands for it. It's not a place for me anymore.
April 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Disaffiliated fm the Dems. Party elites r welded to neo-liberal imperialism, corp America & the genocidal agenda of the Israeli gov. Dems lost in 26 cuz of who they are, not cuz of racist/misogynistic/stupid voters. And, by and large, the grassroots stands for it. It's not a place for me anymore.
who can splain why Trump isn't firing the TSA agents who are not showing up for work -- Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers -- is it that he's just a wimp....
March 24, 2026 at 1:19 AM
who can splain why Trump isn't firing the TSA agents who are not showing up for work -- Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers -- is it that he's just a wimp....
hmm...he prolly wouldn't be the super rich dude if he hadn't sold us all out that way...so, I'd be surprised if the POS has any regrets....
March 21, 2026 at 6:31 PM
hmm...he prolly wouldn't be the super rich dude if he hadn't sold us all out that way...so, I'd be surprised if the POS has any regrets....
we're watching thousands of troops, whose only purpose is to fight on land, being readied for that action. If what's highly likely to happen happens, at best, hundreds will be killed. And we're watching it unfold - just watching.
March 21, 2026 at 5:01 AM
we're watching thousands of troops, whose only purpose is to fight on land, being readied for that action. If what's highly likely to happen happens, at best, hundreds will be killed. And we're watching it unfold - just watching.
Reposted by Tom Schmitz
This is real. Again, this stuff has been around a long time—but never at this level of official power. This is Army of God — the old clinic bombing militia — style rhetoric. Worth noting that in January Potteiger moved his operation to DC, or, as his church puts it, “Babylon.”
Joshua Haymes & Brooks Potteiger (Pete Hegseth's pastor) pray imprecatory psalms against James Talarico: "I pray that God kills him. Ultimately, that means killing his heart and raising him up to new life in Christ ... If it would not be within God's will to do so, stop him by any means necessary."
March 19, 2026 at 1:06 PM
This is real. Again, this stuff has been around a long time—but never at this level of official power. This is Army of God — the old clinic bombing militia — style rhetoric. Worth noting that in January Potteiger moved his operation to DC, or, as his church puts it, “Babylon.”
a lot of my go to sources for global happenings are saying we're getting our asses handed to us and Israel is getting beat to hell. don't believe what the MSM is saying.
March 17, 2026 at 1:41 AM
a lot of my go to sources for global happenings are saying we're getting our asses handed to us and Israel is getting beat to hell. don't believe what the MSM is saying.
90+ % of new cars in Norway are EVs - in other Nordic countries and in China it's near or a little over 50% -- the US is 10%. The ravages of predatory capitalism are making the planet uninhabitable - but those 401ks are doing ok.
March 13, 2026 at 4:54 PM
90+ % of new cars in Norway are EVs - in other Nordic countries and in China it's near or a little over 50% -- the US is 10%. The ravages of predatory capitalism are making the planet uninhabitable - but those 401ks are doing ok.
Cuba lost 32 soldiers when The US abducted Maduro -- what happened to them? DId the US simply execute them?
March 13, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Cuba lost 32 soldiers when The US abducted Maduro -- what happened to them? DId the US simply execute them?
108M people eligible to vote in the USA stayed home in 24 - 77M voted for the OD and 75M for Harris -- it doesn't seem like the US whould be doomed to continue to elect war mongers from the uniparty.
March 13, 2026 at 4:46 PM
108M people eligible to vote in the USA stayed home in 24 - 77M voted for the OD and 75M for Harris -- it doesn't seem like the US whould be doomed to continue to elect war mongers from the uniparty.
Obama led to Trump and Biden led to Trump...corporate Dems will always fail us -- but they make a lot of money for their donors.
It’s almost impossible to lose a presidential election to Donald Trump, but the Dems pulled it off, not once, but twice! And 2020 was so close that they thought they had lost on election night, too!
Do you know how much you have to suck for that to happen? Why is anyone still supporting that party?
Do you know how much you have to suck for that to happen? Why is anyone still supporting that party?
March 11, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Obama led to Trump and Biden led to Trump...corporate Dems will always fail us -- but they make a lot of money for their donors.
they carried out a genocide and we thought they did pretty well -- but we can't vouch for them at running shuttles.
March 4, 2026 at 2:48 AM
they carried out a genocide and we thought they did pretty well -- but we can't vouch for them at running shuttles.
I've noticed that a fair number of folks bitching about people that didn't vote for Kamala are quite fragile and have limited who can comment on their posts....on the nose for VBNMW types who are generally supporting the Dem leadership...who can do that....baffling.
March 4, 2026 at 12:36 AM
I've noticed that a fair number of folks bitching about people that didn't vote for Kamala are quite fragile and have limited who can comment on their posts....on the nose for VBNMW types who are generally supporting the Dem leadership...who can do that....baffling.
are people in major cities in the US worried about Iranians attacking....folks gotta live their lives...but,I'm damn glad to not be living in a major metro area in the US about now -- target rich environments are not the best places to be in the short term.
March 2, 2026 at 2:44 AM
are people in major cities in the US worried about Iranians attacking....folks gotta live their lives...but,I'm damn glad to not be living in a major metro area in the US about now -- target rich environments are not the best places to be in the short term.
most Americans - whether Dem, GOP, Ind or unregistered have no empathy for the people our actions kill -- none -- America is the land of sociopaths - discuss.
March 1, 2026 at 10:02 PM
most Americans - whether Dem, GOP, Ind or unregistered have no empathy for the people our actions kill -- none -- America is the land of sociopaths - discuss.