Engineer. Atheist. Misanthrope. What if this weren't a rhetorical question? Maryland > Orlando > Asheville Same on masto
426 followers 526 following 1,981 posts
view profile on Bluesky 
It remains the case that the key divide within the Democratic party does not map onto a left/right axis: It is between those who want to fight back forcefully and those who can’t/won’t shake the impulse to accommodate, appease, and legitimize. Politics is not over. But "normalcy" very much is.
“I am Gary. I have traveled many miles, and searched through many forests to find you, wise one. Please share with me your words of wisdom.” “Hooooo?” “Gary.”
Biden had a bad debate performance and for the next two months, 20 front page stories a day were calling him a demented danger to America, demanding he resign immediately. Trump, for the first time in his life, is hiding from the media and all you hear from the same exact people is crickets.
Maintaining the NIH budget is only good if it goes to actual science. Bhattacharya's buddy Kulldorf laid out a 12-point roadmap to replace the NIH with a pseudoscience engine, and divert the budget to their cronies. They seem to be following it, and may be expanding the idea to NSF etc too. 🧵:
Amen, Mr Lehrer.
"...fighting back matters. And many are doing so. It works — both in fact, as to specific outcomes, and also to dismantle their propaganda of fear." @chrisgeidner.bsky.social
Why isn't the media seriously looking into the story that Trump might be at Walter Reed Hospital? We have far more evidence at this point that he's very ill than we have signs he's fine, and yet only the (trash) tabloids care
Whatever the culturally accepted substitute for "spirit animal" might be, that's what Sugar is for me.
no, we don't carry the new york times we sell *real* newspapers here
The disgust is so deep, I’m drowning.
Here's a better response to RFK's destruction of our public health system than what Senator Schatz is offering here, from JB Pritzker (with some additional ideas thrown in from me and public health experts): newrepublic.com/article/1998...
Someone please kill me right now.
If a few health professionals say something you don't like, all said it and we should destroy the CDC. If a few students say something you don't like, all higher ed said it and we should end academic freedom. If the president and his party does something, that's one guy spouting off, let it go.
bsky.app/profile/fnyt...
It's the one week a year when the little Italian prune plums are in the markets here, so it's like a law that you have to make Marian Burros' famous plum cake.
@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social What do you guys think of this idea for a response: bsky.app/profile/greg...
As a result of filtering everything that happens in American politics through the lens of “They represent authentic America, we are imposing liberals who need to plead with the Volk,” Democratic leaders constantly lend legitimacy to the Right’s claims and sabotage their own response.
Sending soldiers into cities under the guise of fighting crime is an unprecedented abuse of power. And it’s illegal. bit.ly/4m6TG77
People are melting down at a Tribune article about CHSD 230 considering adding Arabic to its language learning electives. I wasted time in the comments, which I normally avoid doing since it's useless and awful, but it led to possibly the funniest thing anybody's ever said to me about France.
Being lawless does not make Trump omnipotent – nor can he just snap his fingers and make all his authoritarian desires a reality. America is in an acutely dangerous situation. But obscuring those distinctions is an act of defeatism that only serves the regime.
Honestly, the hour-long run and march of people shouting “Free DC” up 14th Street today is the energy I needed this morning. I love you, DC.
This should be the lead story in all major national news outlets. Public health people prefer to stay out of the limelight unless there is no other choice. I can’t overstate how bad things have to be for 9 former CDC directors to band together and pen an op-ed in the NYT warning the entire country.
Loving this description of Steve Witkoff in @lemonde.fr: “il papillonne entre le nucléaire iranien, la bande de Gaza et l’Ukraine, spécialiste de rien mais impliqué dans tout…”
Oh my gosh, look at the cast! Will definitely give this a watch, thanks.
An excellent, conforting watch. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is hilarious.
As a friend recently put it: the venn diagram of people who assured us the gun violence was worth it because we need the guns to protect ourselves against a tyrannical federal government and the people cheering on Trump as he deploys the military to take over American cities is a circle
Also how do you know DC isn’t a crime-free zone? Because the president lives there
I, also, am VERY alive! And I am FEELING GREAT. NEVER BETTER. Tomorrow I will ALSO be alivE.
Tulsi Gabbard is *very obviously* a foreign intelligence asset and I hope we all live long enough to see her tried and convicted for it.
at their core, trans rights, abortion rights, and vaccine rights are actually all the same issue: they’re all about bodily autonomy, and the willingness to concede any of them puts the others at risk.
I'm also looking for coverage of the feds east of the river, if anyone comes across anything.
Wow. That looks great.
me the second the clock hits midnight and turns to sept 1st
Pure fucking evil. Everyone involved in this shit needs to be held accountable.
🤣
Judge: I got a call at 2:36 a.m. because the govt chose this time on a holiday weekend to execute this plan. I have been up since then. I haven't been able to reach anyone from govt until this morning at 9:30 a.m. So absent this intervention, all children would already have been sent to Guatemala!
Holographic images of Trump have gone up in Los Angeles and it’s pretty cool.
Remember, kids: A real big goal of "AI" is to entirely sever capital from labor, and no, there will be no universal basic income, you can all just starve and die, thanks www.axios.com/2025/08/26/a...
this should become a thing, putting up signs like this for every arrest & disappearance in public spaces. it would likely break into lower info, less politically engaged demos and local social media groups
Mayor Brandon of Chicago responds to a question from a reporter if pushing back will make things harder? “Can you imagine if my ancestors would have had the same rationale? Let’s not fight against the Confederacy. Let’s just try to get along, and maybe one day they’ll give us our freedom?”
Thought of you today, while working in the yard with The Man. We had a complicated issue, and didn't have all the right hand tools out. Both of us were standing looking. I finally said "I'll go get the rest of the tools then, shall I?" and I thought it sounded so British.
Not a very long path from "Why wouldn't you want the regime to deploy federal troops in your city when it reduces carjackings?" to "Why would you be opposed to the erection of internment camps for deviants when it reduces crime?" And a good chunk of mainstream media will just follow along.
Elie’s comments are giving me life rn
Every five years, the Fed Board in DC votes to approve the reappointment of all 12 regional Fed presidents. This is typically a routine matter. But if Trump has enough governors willing to do so, they could decline to reappoint the regional Fed presidents. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/b...
i’ve been calling her Princess Polio but this absolutely wins
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
For real: Are Republicans not embarrassed by stuff like this??
Dearest Martha, The National Guard stand solemn watch at the Krispy Kreme tonight. I cannot tell if they defend the people from the donuts, or the donuts from the people. Powdered sugar hangs in the air like cannon smoke. Jensen took a hot coffee to the face, he may never recover. Yours in glaze,
It's uncomforably explicable as eugenics. They appear more than comfortable rolling back medical protections in ways that tend toward mass death for the fragile.
I applaud whoever decided (probably Miller himself) to have Stephen Miller act increasingly as “spokesman” for this Administration’s policies. He is so fundamentally repellent that I suspect even loyal MAGA adherents get the heebie-jeebies when they listen to him,& ask themselves, “Am I w/this guy?”
Or wait, can we walk up and down with sandwich boards in rainbow colors? Or since this is Florida, how about we put up a huge freaking billboard right here with a message about Pulse and our community WHO SUPPORTS THE CROSSWALK and all the families affected by the shooting?
Ha. Haha. Haaa. I get it.
How about the sidewalk, can we chalk that? Or the telephone poles, how about that? It's city property, and I doubt the city has a problem with any of this. These absolute f*sticks.
This is the most unbelievably pathetic thing I've seen DeSantis do, and that's a big, long list. This cowardly, hateful, petty man.
Many people are going to suffer because of what RFK is doing. You know who can slow the march toward death and disability? You. You can save lives. You can keep folks well enough to fight for justice. To work so they can feed their kids and stay housed. You just have to wear a mask. Mutual aid:
The Trump administration is undertaking an unprecedented strategy to try to undermine our elections. They are doing so by rewriting election rules, targeting election officials, supporting election deniers, and retreating from protecting voting rights. bit.ly/4l1lUPP
A Senator of the United States of America says that he was refused the ability to see Gaza for himself as part of a Jordanian aerial mission over the occupied territory.
I see and I hear and I speak no evil; I carry no malice within my breast; yet quite without wishing a man to the Devil one may be permitted to hope for the best. -“An Ethical Grook” by Piet Hein
The most maddening part about living in a country with a dictator at the helm is that half the country doesn’t know/doesn’t care.
(And of course I mean the 2003 Madeline Stowe film.)
The White House insists Donald Trump’s visible bruises are nothing, but medical experts say the explanation doesn’t hold up. Why are the country’s biggest newsrooms silent? www.status.news/p/trump-heal...
and another insightful article on @drdemetre.bsky.social' role in HIV education and mPox: www.advocate.com/news/demetre...
What the hell is going on?
I sort of want it for Colbert
I wrote about this in more detail here: The Trumpists didn’t depart from a previously stable democratic consensus. They represent the radical wing of a rightwing coalition that was never on board with egalitarian principles and democratic pluralism.
"The Drovers" in "Blink" which remains one of my favorite movies.
ok so @threnody.bsky.social and i have decided blue sky has to draw straws to see who here has to fire RFK jr does any body have 38.5 million straws
‘Bout time: Bernie Sanders: Kennedy Must Resign www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/o...
Don’t trust the experts”? That’s not democracy, that’s recklessness. On a plane, I want a pilot. In a hospital, I want doctors and scientists who understand the evidence. Expertise isn’t religion or authoritarianism — it’s training, accountability, and data. Ignore it and we all pay the price.
As summer ends, we begin the next phase in the fight for democracy. Will the rule of law hold? How will the 2026 election unfold? Join Brennan Center experts for a virtual event on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 3 p.m. ET. RSVP: bit.ly/4lIUNtm
our patience has been rewarded
Demonstrators against Susan Collins www.wabi.tv/2025/08/26/c...
A Texas Republican lawmaker who last week blocked Democrats’ effort to filibuster the state’s gerrymander made disturbing comments at a 2022 legislative hearing — suggesting a way to deal with immigrants might be: “shoot, shovel and shut up.” www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Thief warns of 'embarrassment' if burglary ruled illegal
Love this show because it inspires me to make memes just for me.
Trump Banning #abortions for vets —even for rape www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
And perhaps don't rank on others that you aren't using, just because it is different. A lot of people LIKE moss.
investors have pinned their hopes* and dreams** on AI *money **also money
But where do the funds for this and all the other things states will have to do, if the feds destroy all support? Even if we stop sending the feds tax money, then SS and Medicare/Medicaid collapse, and there is no way the states can make that up. And only some states would even try.
Here are the Top 5 Dogs of the week!
Major update: As of this morning, CVS says it's decided it can offer the vax in 13 of the 16 states IF you get a prescription. Still a big new barrier for many people, but a change from its "no vaccines at all in these states" position yesterday. The three remaining absolute-nos are MA, NV and NM.
“In a resignation letter, one official noted that the data used to justify recent changes in immunization schedules was never shared with the agency, despite requests. This opacity is offensive and alarming, but again, in light of all we have seen these several months, it is hardly shocking”
more i am asking nicely
“OMG Stanley, just pick a damn spot!” “THERE. Are you happy now, Alison?” “Took you long enough.”
Kennedy “is trying to fully dismantle the nation’s vaccination apparatus, regardless of what science says or what most people want. And less than a year into his tenure as health secretary, he is succeeding brilliantly.” We are all at deep risk unless we push Congress to actually act. NOW.
New, from me: The CDC shitshow is a microcosm of the mismanagement of the Trump era. It also demonstrates some extraordinary courage among principled public servants, who were willing to lose their jobs to draw attention to damage being done to public health donmoynihan.substack.com/p/your-gover...
Well, here we are opening the floodgates to the destruction of Medicare. The worst of the Medicare Advantage plans, overseen by AI. FFS
What a cursed sentence (gift link) “The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.”
Oh gods. 🫂
it literally terrified the worst people tbh
You have GOT to be kidding me. Is this "Never Let Me Go," now in addition to "The Running Man" which is the other novel they're going to make reality?
true story i used to be one of those red pandas who thought booing was impolite and unsportsmanlike but this administration and its shitty people has completely changed my stance i am all for booing and public shunning of every single one of these fucks tbh thank u for coming to my TED talk
bsky.app/profile/imbe...
This is Thanos. He has figured out how to rest and babysit at the same time. Very impressive, very Montessori. 13/10 (TT: thanosthesaint)
But will things fall on our heads, or will we get shocks? I won't know where I am...
The city of #Asheville says it and a private company are partnering to do "predevelopment" work for an arts and entertainment center larger than aging Wolfe Auditorium. Looks like the Buncombe Tourism Development Authority is on board. #avlnews #avlgov More here: www.ashevillenc.gov/news/city-of...
BREAKING: Big moment as CDC staff stage a mass walkout. They have lined the street outside its HQ to greet and salute the four top officials who have resigned in protest at RFK Jr’s attack on the agency’s science base. (🎥 AP)