Max Milstein @maxmilstein.bsky.social

Congressman Tom Emmer is touting a new IRS report saying that the average tax refund is up under the new tax bill.

Here’s what he and the IRS aren’t telling you: taxes are actually HIGHER for all but the wealthiest taxpayers.
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If there was a protest culture that only popped up with Democrats and then sunk down with Republicans in office doing worse you'd ask yourself just a whole host of questions about that, right
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retroblastpod.com's profile picture
Retro Blast 💫 @retroblastpod.com
9d
Final Fantasy VI is 32 years old today.

It's hard to find words whenever I need to say something about FFVI because of how important and special it really is.

So I'll just say this—If you've never played it, you owe it to yourself as a gamer to experience it.

I promise, it's worth it.
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This isn't "Wichita's gonna decide the election, so hop on a plane, we're knocking doors."

However, if you live in one of those states and you normally don't talk politics much, think about bringing up gas prices at the water cooler.
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I guess if you have any questions about my political thoughts feel free to ask.
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The others are places that can make a difference in November.

Note: KS and SC were in the approved column a few days ago, they just moved to net disapproval.
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Personally, I'd skip LA and MS, and probably give MO and IN lower priority too. Those states tend to be extremely inelastic.
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If I had the ear of someone with election-swaying resources, I'd tell them to look closely at the bubble states.

Approval is barely underwater in AK, IA, KS, SC, and TX.

Approval is barely above water in NE, MO, IN, LA, MS, and FL.
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As a note, you usually see this shared with a lot more red. I'm using 2024 voters, not all adults. Both numbers are important but I think the latter are more important for mid-terms.
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I've seen other people sharing The Economist's graphic, wanted to say a few quick things
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AS I HAVE BEEN SAYING.
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Look, I’m just saying you never hear about somebody protesting a fundie Evangelical church for their support of Israel and/or the war despite being more politically influential. It’s always a synagogue.
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You can get more involved, and some people are just tuning in for the first time and that's ok!
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"Do they know who their State Rep is" is a shorthand I use in my head for whether someone is really politically engaged vs only read national headlines.

For what it's worth: there was a time when I could name half of Congress and didn't know who my State Rep was!
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theoderic.bsky.social's profile picture
Anonymous policy lawyer @theoderic.bsky.social
28d
The angled and predatory shape of the eagle wings is also more imperial and (yes) fascist than the traditional American design. Compare:
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Reposted by Max Milstein
votehub.com's profile picture
VoteHub @votehub.com
29d
Boca Raton, FL Mayor (Trump +13)

Thomson leads by 1 vote following a machine recount, flipping the seat to Democrats.

🔵 Andy Thomson – 7,568 (39.62%)
🔴 Mike Liebelson – 7,567 (39.61%)
🔴 Fran Nachlas – 3,967 (20.77%)
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tznkai.bsky.social's profile picture
K. Chen @tznkai.bsky.social
29d
"I can empathize with why someone would want to murder innocents" does not do the work you imagine it does.
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rachelneedsanap.bsky.social's profile picture
Rachel @rachelneedsanap.bsky.social
1mo
Thank God no one was killed in the synagogue shooting today. But the shooter was only stopped because Jewish communities have scrimped & saved to hire private guards. It’s a serious imposition on small congregations especially, but it’s an unavoidable cost of being Jewish in an antisemitic world.
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a thing historians will marvel about when they study this era is the extent to which the "war is a thing that happens to poorer, browner people" class went about systematically dismantling every aspect of the global political order that confined the costs of war to poorer and browner people
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"Friends" is a beloved American sitcom that aired from 1994 to 2004, following six young adults—Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe—living in New York City. The show explores their friendships, romances, careers, and personal growth over ten seasons.
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Plus the $5000 DOGE refund and we've never gotten either...seems like good strategy! 2/2
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As a reminded, part of the justification for BBB was that we were flush with tariff revenue. In many ways, this year's tax refund IS the tariff dividend.

To the extent Democrats want to blunt the political impact by reminding us all that we're were ALSO promised a separate $2000 tariff refund 1/2
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Reposted by Max Milstein
sharonk.bsky.social's profile picture
Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social
1mo
this comparison is going to drive a subset of people insane but this site is essentially Taiwan for the centre-left/left-wing power users of Twitter
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Definitely not antisemitic when you call an organization funded by US citizens 'foreign'.
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Reposted by Max Milstein
jkfecke.bsky.social's profile picture
Jeff Fecke @jkfecke.bsky.social
1mo
One of my black pill moments was that Biden actually focused on lifting the lowest quartiles up at the expense of the rich and the online left screamed at him about student loan forgiveness.
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People have predicted a collapse in Republican fundraising for years, and I don't think it's showing up in those House and Senate numbers, not yet.

But it's showing up, and while I'm not sure yet whether that matters, I'm paying attention to it.

5/5
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Candidates were widely reported. State party numbers, less so.

I looked at a few states at random (focusing, though, on competitive states), and it wasn't true across the board, but Democrats mostly had fundraising leads. Some leads were 2 to 1, others were noticeably larger.

4/x
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That's really bad for him.

At the same time, anything you can do to remind people how bad the economy is, and how much that affects them personally as they're getting big checks...would be a big help.

2. Federal fundraising reports came out last weekend. Numbers for House and Senate... 3/x
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Policies are making us a worse nation, culturally and morally.

But there's still real economic pain that's also dragging his numbers down. A few big checks won't make the underlying problems better (it likely makes them worse), but can give a temporary boost.

So if his numbers don't recover...2/x
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2 random political thoughts, 9 months out from the midterms:

1. The next two months are really important. BBB was designed in such a way that people are supposed to get big refund checks this year. A lot of Trump's declining popularity comes from the (accurate) belief that his immigration...1/x
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