As the person who did the first empirical social behavioral study of terrorism in my doctoral dissertation & the work that led up to it (mid 90s to 2001), this is garbage. Terrorism is always a small n phenomenon even in places where it happens more regularly than the US. 1/

Even “left wing violence is on the rise” is dubious when the supposed year-on-year increase is smaller than the annual fluctuations. This figure from the report pretty much condenses these points. (Though I am not sure why “ethnonationalism” doesn’t get counted as right wing here.)

1/3: It's become a knee-jerk reaction from either the media or commentators that you can't talk about right-wing violence without offsetting it with talk about "left wing" alleged violence, because this is balance. There literally is no comparison. But if you listen to the fascists, "terrorism"...

For their 5 incidents this year they include: A woman who turned herself in - was carrying two 1/4 cup "molotov" cocktails (airline bottles of vodka) and a pocket knife. But they ignored the right wing nut who blew up a cybertruck, and only count one right wing incident (Horstman shooting).

I would genuinely like to know if it is possible to be less self-aware

Talk about a chilling effect. Most universities prohibit recording faculty members, and you would think that even stronger protections apply to recording other students.

TRUMP: "Well wait a minute, am I watching things on television that are different from what's happening?" www.kgw.com/article/news...

Given the recent spate of violence by veterans, I want to take a moment to again recommend reading @kathleenbelew.bsky.social's book on veterans & extremism, Bring the War Home. www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...

there is not enough coffee in the world for this shit

These are the same geniuses who believe that the Nazis were leftists because of the word "Socialist" in National Socialist Party.

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IS A WHITE POWER THEOLOGY, not just identifying as Christian. Christian Identity believes that white people are the lost tribe of Israel and all people of color and Jewish people are descended from beasts or from Satan. (1)

www.csis.org/analysis/lef... This report is framed irresponsibly and distorts the reality of extremist violence. The header is that left-wing terror is on the rise, and of course that will be the bite-sized takeaway. (1)

Hegseth says this is "historically correct."

Morning walk

Seriously, y'all. Were it not for a lone lawyer literally banging on the airport doors, these kids would've been stolen. Were it not for Judge Sparkle taking immediate action at 3am on a holiday weekend, they'd have gotten away with it. It didn't take a hero to do the right thing. Just a person.

The Third Reich didn't last 1,000 years. Pinochet was ousted with a referendum. And the US isn't exactly dealing with the smartest, most competent fascists. Those of you insisting that 2025 is forever need to read a book, touch grass, go to therapy, anything other than trying to make others quit.

Not for nothing, Tylenol has long been the *only* pain medicine thought of as "safe" for pregnant people. Tylenol is what they offered me for procedures that would usually be managed with anesthesia and opiates. This is a politics that devalues women, & their pain, trafficking in harm.

My pregnancy introduced me algorithmically to the world of mommy blogging and content creation. It was the most regressive garbage I have ever seen. So much of it was the cult of promoting women’s pain as “natural,” and “natural” was a pipeline to anti-science MAHA. Demonizing an OTC painkiller fits

COVID-19 Vaccines Averted 2.5 Million Deaths, Mostly Among Older Adults jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

I see, fighting antisemitism by putting Jewish names on a list and giving it to the government so they can decide punishment.

And, there we go

And I will also remind everyone again that this is Kash Patel's FBI we're talking about, it's entirely possible that all of this is made-up bullshit intentionally leaked to the press to bolster Trump's speculations about motive

IF this is true-- and it's a big if, remember who is running the FBI right now-- please be aware that back when I was monitoring 8chan and later Terrorgram, this is EXACTLY what Nazis urged their followers to do. They encouraged each other to do mass murder and then frame the left for it.

NYT on the alleged messages on the shooter's weapon:

If anyone has any intel on the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, I’m on the ground in Utah. DM me We can talk on or off the record.

Pretty unbelievable. Almost 24 hours after the #CharlieKirk shooting atnd the apparent area where the gunman escaped was wide open with journalists like me walking all around. They *just put up some tape closing off the area

WTF? Does “the right way” to “practice politics” include lying re factual matters (eg saying Black Women have too little brainpower to be “taken seriously”)? Mourning Kirk’s murder & defending his right to make his wild claims doesn’t excuse praising his political MO www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/o...

I see yesterday's Colorado school shooting is not news today.

www.denverpost.com/2025/09/11/e... Shooter died from self-inflicted gunshots; two others shot. One remains in critical condition. All were teenagers. This picture is of parents reuniting with their children at an elementary school near Evergreen (which is standard since Columbine).

www.denverpost.com/2025/09/10/e... "The shooting at Evergreen High is at least the seventh school shooting in Colorado since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School that killed 12 students and one teacher."

My feed is almost entirely people condemning violence and telling others not to celebrate this.

UPDATE: Jeffco Sheriff's Office says one of the three students shot at Evergreen High School today is the suspected shooter. A suspected self-inflicted wound from a handgun. Investigators say law enforcement didn't fire a shot. Live coverage: www.9news.com/article/news...

Folks I don't think this is Reichstag but please believe me when I say that yeah actually shit could get A LOT worse real fast

"A study by the Colorado School of Health found that 1 in 4 Colorado teens have easy access to firearms, and of those, half said they could get a gun within 10 minutes." www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

confirmed dead by the president of the united states

Rufo calling for mass arrests, Blake Masters & Cernovich calling for RICO against Dem & left funders, and a whole lot of everyday people begging for martial law, or, even worse, "gloves off." 99.9% of whom are just spouting off, but today if anything teaches us the damage that one .1% fool can do.

There was a school shooting today. Gun safety laws are needed! www.denverpost.com/2025/09/10/e...

active shooter at Evergreen High School, Colorado. Jefferson County, same as Columbine. At least three students shot.

This is not some kumbaya “go high” shit. It’s me telling you when I’ve had a gun pointed at me—literally, not figuratively—it wasn’t the time to posture. Fascism’s guns are at the ready. Think before you spout off. Winning the struggle against fascism is what matters.

I’ve been writing about what I call “slow civil war” for some years now. This won’t tip us into the fast kind but it could bring us much closer. & friends, nobody would win that war. Nobody.

When every extremism expert and historian on bluesky is telling you not to celebrate political violence, maybe just don’t do it.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.

If I have any credibility with you from 20 years of reporting on rightwing & fascist movements, please listen when I beg you not to celebrate Charlie Kirk getting shot. Leave aside morality: this isn’t a match in dry grass, it’s a torch. We do not want what this could ignite & we would not win.

This isn't a drawing of an adult woman.

just sitting here thinking about the courage and determination of E. Jean Carroll compared to the abject craven collapse of the pretty much every silicon valley CEO

"If I had to guess what kind of shot we would make sure schoolchildren got, I would have guessed wrong. I am always guessing wrong. I am always guessing that we want children to live." @petridishes.bsky.social doesn't miss. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

I can't find my stupid login, but to the very sweet fellow Coloradoan who wrote me a kind note on linkedin earlier, I really appreciate you. Book is coming!!

happy friday, anybody want to whine about writing with me? small potatoes, I know, but they are my potatoes

I'm reminded of the book "Bring the War Home" by @kathleenbelew.bsky.social which talked about the white nationalist recruiting process after Vietnam, and how it preyed on these same feelings amongst the vets.