tobie

@tobie1
258 Followers
278 Following
2.4K Posts

My interests vary wildly from politics to poetry and philosophy. I'm a born contrarian but my bark is worse than my bite, and I appreciate detailed posts, sharp commentary, verbal repartee and quirky habits. Some of my quirks are #FountainPens, #birding, and all manners of idealist thought. Committed to fairness, democracy, and environmental stewardship. Proud lifelong #Dem

I was on another server but it was closing down, so I switched to this instance. I'll say in advance, "Happy to meet you."

tobieMar 5
Leslie BurnsMar 5

The French are using an interesting verb to mark Noem's firing: limoger; i.e., "Trump limoge sa ministre..."
Yes, it derives from the city (because lots of canned officers went there at the beginning of WWI) but what is more interesting is that it includes an element of disgrace in the firing.
(Yes, I am a language supergeek)

https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9L0868

limoger | Dictionnaire de l’Académie française | 9e édition

Définition de LIMOGER : Écarter, par mesure de disgrâce, un haut fonctionnaire ou une importante personnalité de son poste, de ses fonctions.

tobieMar 5
Sean CastenMar 4
“To rule that the endangerment finding no longer applies… you’d have to argue that the plain text of the Clean Air Act and all of the rules that created the EPA as passed by Congress don’t apply…That’s a constitutional crisis in addition to an environmental crisis.” https://prospect.org/2026/03/04/environmental-protection-agency-climate-endangerment-finding-repeal-trump-zeldin-supreme-court/
EPA’s Endangerment Finding Repeal Stands on Shaky Foundations

Lee Zeldin has vowed to drive “a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.” Too bad he only has a butter knife.

The American Prospect
tobieJan 25
דער קערפער פֿון השםJan 25

Fuckin' crickets from the western left. Fuckin' cric-kets. Estimated nearly 40k dead already...

"Accompanying photos said to depict the individuals have been widely circulated by #activists, though the exact circumstances of their deaths remain a subject of intense debate. It is unclear if the family was actively #protesting or if they were caught in the indiscriminate "no-mercy" live-fire sweeps that have characterized the regime's response since January 9.

The deaths coincide with a leaked directive from Supreme Leader #AliKhamenei. On Friday, January 9, #Khamenei reportedly ordered security forces to "show no mercy" and to end the protests "by any means necessary."

Since that order, the death toll across #Iran has skyrocketed."

https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/iran-jewish-victims-tehran-protests

 Five Jewish Victims Confirmed Dead as Iran Massacre Toll Hits 36,000

A 15-year-old boy and his parents are among five Jewish victims killed in the Tehran "Black January" massacre. Following Khamenei's "no mercy" order, IRGC forces have turned the streets into a slaughterhouse. Read the heartbreaking details of a community under fire.

JFeed
Show threadtobieJan 25

Whatever leader emerges at this moment likely won't be from DC. Natl opposition leaders rarely are. Think of Gandhi, Mandela, and MLK Jr. They were political but not politicians when they inspired hearts and minds.

If you're focused on the progressive vs establishment split, you are missing the moment. Internecine warfare and the struggle for power in the Dem party won't save our democracy.

Saving democracy is larger than all this. Try to rise to the moment. We can always disagree later. 6/6

tobieJan 25

Whatever leader emerges at this moment likely won't be from DC. Natl opposition leaders rarely are. Think of Gandhi, Mandela, and MLK Jr. They were political but not politicians when they inspired hearts and minds.

If you're focused on the progressive vs establishment split, you are missing the moment. Internecine warfare and the struggle for power in the Dem party won't save our democracy.

Saving democracy is larger than all this. Try to rise to the moment. We can always disagree later.

FIN

Show threadtobieJan 25
At the same time, ask yourself why do I need a scapegoat to be the face of everything I hate because that's what's going on with this obsession with Schumer and Jeffries. Grievance is easy to generate and there are many grievance-meisters. Finding common purpose is much harder. That's what I'm looking for: those who can articulate a vision of how we can get out of this mess while maintaining our values. 5/6
Show threadtobieJan 25
Clog the phone lines of Sen Fetterman. Ask Jean Shaheen's staff why the Senator is making so many compromises with Republicans and an admin that is killing people, denying basic civil rights, bankrupting the country, and destroying our global position. 4/6
Show threadtobieJan 25
Call out those whose entire political identity is stabbing Dems in the back and claiming to be above politics. I'm thinking of Gluesenkamp-Perez and Jared Golden, who voted for the appropriations bill. I'm thinking of Cuellar, Suozi, Don Davis, Vicente Gonzalez, and Laura Gillen. 3/6
Show threadtobieJan 25
Anger, fury, hurt are legit responses to a govt murdering it's citizens in cold blood. Let that propel you to action. Protest. Call your rep. If you have a Dem rep, ask them to join the protests. Push to strip all funding from ICE. Demand that Noem, Patel, Bondi, Bovino, and Miller be removed from the admin. 2/6
tobieJan 25

🧵 I noted yesterday that one of the reasons Jeffries & Schumer didn't proclaim they would be whipping a vote on the appropriations bill is that they knew there would be defections they couldn't control and these would weaken future threats of a filibuster. Manchin & Sinema made bucking the Senate leader fashionable. Jayapal & her caucus did the same to Biden and that certainly contributed to the impression that he was weak. Thanks, progressives. You hurt progress. 1/6

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/politics/infrastructure-bill-delay-progressive-democrats.html

Progressive Democrats Celebrate Delaying Vote on Infrastructure Bill

The Democrats’ most liberal wing continues to push for action on a far larger social spending bill before they agree to rally behind the infrastructure legislation.

The New York Times