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snarkymedes.bsky.social
The real Snarkymedes. Following me is like running across the country with Forrest Gump.
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Given the literal definition of deportation is removing a foreigner or noncitizen from the country, we - journalists, media orgs - should probably all stop referring to the ‘deportation’ of a 2 year old US citizen. It’s NOT a deportation. I’m not sure what it is. A kidnapping?

submitted 11 hours ago • 1654 comments

11: INVESTIGATE Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you.

submitted 1 hour ago • 5 comments

10: BELIEVE IN TRUTH To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.

submitted 13 hours ago • 2 comments

9: BE KIND TO OUR LANGUAGE Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey the thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.

submitted 14 hours ago • 1 comment

8: STAND OUT Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

submitted 14 hours ago • 1 comment

7: BE REFLECTIVE IF YOU MUST BE ARMED If you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.

submitted 14 hours ago • 1 comment

6: BE WARY OF PARAMILITARIES When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.

submitted 14 hours ago • 1 comment

5: REMEMBER PROFESSIONAL ETHICS When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges.

submitted 15 hours ago • 2 comments

4: TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACE OF WORLD The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.

submitted 15 hours ago • 2 comments

3: BEWARE THE ONE PARTY STATE The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.

submitted 16 hours ago • 4 comments

2: DEFEND INSTITUTIONS It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf.

submitted 23 hours ago • 2 comments

1: DO NOT OBEY IN ADVANCE Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

submitted 23 hours ago • 2 comments

I'm reading a book that lists things we can do right now to combat the rise of authoritarianism in the United States. I'm sharing what I'm reading in the hope that this reaches a much wider audience. It's an excellent book. I recommend buying a copy so that you have all of the lessons in one place.

submitted 1 day ago • 11 comments

A headline from Hell. @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...

submitted 1 day ago • 1022 comments

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments