“If you could subtract progressivism from progressivism the left (at that point effectively the far-right) would win more often.” - Nate Silver, Senior Member of Peter Thiel’s Harem
(he/him) Neurodivergent Social Democrat in Maine working to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive society. Economist by training, Spanish-English-American by birth, and antifascist by moral imperative. We must act now before it is too late.
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“If you could subtract progressivism from progressivism the left (at that point effectively the far-right) would win more often.” - Nate Silver, Senior Member of Peter Thiel’s Harem
Labor Day: Fight Oligarchy Rally Portland Maine
Susan Collins is so concerned about the gaining excitement for—and momentum of—Graham’s campaign, that she called into Maine Calling this week to mention that she picked potatoes as a kid. That’s her “I’m a real Mainer” answer to a real Mainer that actually cares about Maine. Vote for change.
Judge Sooknanan is a national hero—one of the few in our government actually holding the regime to account. And the regime will now aggressively go after her. We need to rally around her and others publicly enforcing the Constitution and protect them like our lives depend on it. Because they do.
I think it’s very unlikely the regime has not allowed Trump to speak to the press (or allowed them anywhere near him) for five days because he has died—or is deathly sick—and they are covering it up. I just don’t see how that wouldn’t have leaked by now. That said, something is definitely up.
What about “trust me, this is definitely not satire”?
I am now a Non-GMO male.
I heard it directly from Paramount’s executive leadership team.
If unsubstantiated accusations of fraud via tweet are now sufficient to get both the MAGAsphere and “journalists” at major media outlets to aggressively lobby for someone to resign their public office in disgrace, wait until someone starts tweeting about what Trump has actually been convicted of…
TIMELINE CLEANSE: Late summer god rays in Downeast Maine.
IN RELATED NEWS: Paramount recently confirmed that the meaning of CBS was changed to Capitulation Broadcasting System.
Well, we are all going to cry (with joy).
CONTEXT: The timing of the revocation of US Secret Service security protection for the former Vice President and Democratic Presidential challenger to Trump is very much intentional, and is essentially a call to action to the militant extremists within the fascist MAGA movement.
After capturing this majestic bird, I’ve been informed by my partner—who is still on Facebook for business reasons—that there’s an ongoing, contentious discussion on there about a Cooper’s Hawk in our neighbourhood and whether it’s a danger to cats in the area (which seems to be an evergreen fear).
Question for the #Maine based professional (and amateur) Ornithologists: Is this a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk?
Thoughts and prayers doesn’t work—the children were maimed and murdered as they were in a church and praying. We must take action to actually study gun violence and control guns.
FACT: The vast majority of people (like me) around the world that take medication—including SSRIs—to treat their mental health disorders go through their entire lives without harming others, much less brutally murdering children in schools. MH drugs are NOT the root cause of gun violence in the US.
My overarching question after reading this thread: What *exactly* are they meant to be debating? Whether human beings, indeed, have inherent rights?
A part of me is convinced the many decades of Republican apathy toward the mass murder of our children in schools was not just about “protecting gun rights”, but was also meant to further undermine institutional education and accelerate the ‘prisonification’ of public schools, to gain more control.
I think that is what Putin is hoping for, to be fair.
Putin is intentionally targeting European diplomats in Ukraine drone strikes as an obvious threat against further EU/UK involvement in combatting his genocidal attempts to reconstruct the USSR. The Trump regime will no doubt blame Ukraine for this significant escalation.
Just repeat this phrase as a motivational mantra to get up: Who, who, who will I inspire today?
Love and commiseration from this fellow panic attack suffering insomniac.
Playing MTG Arena at 2:43 AM like a well adjusted person.
Although my post history might sometimes indicate otherwise, I am actually an exceedingly earnest person, as is my partner. And we feel increasingly disconnected from—and rejected by—a modern culture which more and more seems to have less and less regard for sincerity, conviction, and seriousness.
My struggle to get anything resembling sufficient sleep—which has been going on for decades—is getting markedly worse. I imagine many others now share this experience as they see their nation fully slide into the dark crevasse of fascism, whilst children are starved, maimed, and murdered en masse.
“This is not about one official,” the lawyers added. “It is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicization of science." www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
I hate raising my children in a country where "someone opened fire on a bunch of kids" is just a normal thing that happens
A part of me is convinced the many decades of Republican apathy toward the mass murder of our children in schools was not just about “protecting gun rights”, but was also meant to further undermine institutional education and accelerate the ‘prisonification’ of public schools, to gain more control.
Manchester United’s utter ineptitude continues to give me immense joy in these dark times.
Susan Collins should be very concerned.
American Fascist Party (formerly GOP): “This is not the right time to talk about gun control. That would be cravenly politicising this tragedy. Right now we need to focus on the real cause of these horrific acts: illegal-infested, lawless Democrat-led sanctuary cities.”
For anyone that wanted to verify this meme was true.
Or even, I don’t know, that the President said “I have the right to do anything I want to do, I am the President of the United States” whilst sitting in the White House surrounded by his entire cabinet, who are all meant to protect the Constitution and serve the American people.
See, there’s your mistake. You were meant to use STEELY DAN.
Social studies teachers: As we are approaching Labor Day (my favorite holiday!), here is a post that I wrote almost a decade ago on teaching about the intersection of race and labor. #HappyLaborDay #sschat #edusky christophermartell.blogspot.com/2016/01/teac...
It’s official, Bluesky is the nerdiest place to be!
It turns out the 2nd amendment does protect open carry of breadly weapons.
The President of the United States sat in the White House, surrounded by his entire cabinet, and said "I have the right to do anything I want to do, I am the President of the United States", and that is not even a top story.
The tides have well and truly turned on Collins, and she knows it. Hence why she hasn’t had a town hall in more than 20 years and rarely makes public appearances in Maine that would allow visible signs of opposition. Her focus is on keeping her seat via the support of the Trump regime. 3/3
And the political landscape has changed substantially even since 2020–Maine has become more progressive and Collins has become even more unpopular: in July she reached a record low 38% approval rating among likely voters in Maine (MC poll), with a record high 54% disapproving of her performance. 2/3
For those saying “but Mainer’s keep electing Collins”: In 2020, Collins—a then entrenched four term incumbent—only managed ~51% of the vote (-17.5 points from 2014, her peak electoral majority) substantially outperforming pre-election and exit polling, which favoured her Democratic challenger. 1/3
The political landscape has changed substantially even since 2020–Maine has become more progressive and Collins has become even more unpopular: in July she reached a record low 38% approval rating among likely voters in Maine (MC poll), with a record high 54% disapproving of her performance.
The political landscape has changed substantially even since 2020–Maine has become more progressive and Collins has become even more unpopular: in July she reached a record low 38% approval rating among likely voters in Maine (MC poll), with a record high 54% disapproving of her performance.
This is exactly why Collins hasn’t held a town hall in more than 20 years: she knows her constituents are disgusted and infuriated by her spineless, self-serving behaviour, constantly selling out Mainers, but she doesn’t actually care as long as she stays in the good graces of the Trump regime.
So many others deserve the credit, including many people at @mainepeople.bsky.social —I am just supporting their work!
The Bangor Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the ordinance be adopted! The fight for full adoption continues, but in the current climate, you have to celebrate the small victories when they come.
This is similar to the time a contractor with the Maine Department of Labor accidentally open emailed everyone that signed up to participate in a focus group for the unemployment insurance system (you must have recently received unemployment benefits to be invited to participate).
Graham Platner: "Susan Collins has been in the Senate for almost 30 years... People know that she's a self-interested politician who has tried to play this charade for many years about how she tries to be a moderate... Everybody sees this for what it is."
My testimony to the Bangor Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights, in support of a local ordinance to prohibit Bangor Police from entering into a 287(g) agreement with ICE. They are currently reviewing the proposed ordinance to make recommendations to the City Council.
I am honestly struggling in the same way right now, especially given the seeming apathy from the majority of people toward the regime’s march to a full fascist takeover. I understand many people are literally just trying to survive day-to-day. But I know many others just don’t care enough to act.
The regime has pushed political discourse to such unhinged, dangerous extremes—and major media outlets have capitulated to such a disgraceful extent—that the President, during a cabinet meeting in the White House, saying “I have the right to do anything I want to do”, barely gets a passing mention.
This is the point where every member of the White House Press Corp should have stood up and walked out. There have been many other times when they should have done so, but this is arguably Trump’s Frost interview moment, and it should’ve been treated as the ludicrously dangerous statement it was.
No one has ever Dear Leadered as hard to their Dear Leader as Lori Chavez-DearLeader.
Let’s confirm a few things about what the Trump regime is trying to do here: 1. POTUS does not have the authority to fire a sitting Fed Governor without real cause 2. This is not in any way about “fraud” the regime claims Cook committed 3. This is entirely about trying to take control of the Fed
Is there a rational, learned observer left unironically arguing that the Trump regime is not attempting to carry out a full on fascist coup d’tétat?
“[AI developers] weren’t really paying much attention to what workers were looking for.” - Erik Brynjolfsson, Stanford Institute for Human-Centred AI That’s the story of AI development, which is especially apparent when you realise the LLM chatbots now being forced on workers aren’t actually “AI”.
I came to Bluesky to work with other likeminded people to organise resistance to the fascist regime and save our nation, but I stayed for randomly stumbling upon hilarious exchanges in the replies.
Anyone that has ever known me, in any context, can attest to this being true for many neurodivergent people like myself.
That’s the bit of the analogy alluding to the regime’s Gestapo that has now become the 16th largest military force in the world.
Yes, of all the problems with modern medical (and general health) instruction, the stark lack of shared pornographic viewing experiences in medical school is obviously the most pressing. (Obvious Sarcasm is Obvious)
Especially now that one their rapists is in control of the most powerful clandestine operations apparatus in the history of the world.
I need everyone to understand that you can’t win by simply “playing by the rules” when the other side chooses to ignore them completely whilst also blackmailing the officials, threatening opposition managers and owners with arrest, and have assumed control of every stadium’s security operation.
Please share far and wide.
A must-read, data-backed rebuttal of Third Way’s ludicrous (and dangerous) Political Language Memo, which exhorts Democrats to stop using words and phrases like “privilege”, “food insecurity”, “the unhoused”, “patriarchy”, and “cultural appropriation”, which supposedly “alienate” many people.
Joining many other @savemaineabsentee.bsky.social volunteers today to canvass against Question 1, an anti-voting, anti-democratic proposition that will be on Maine ballots in November. Visit their site to learn how Question 1 was designed to disenfranchise Mainers (especially the most vulnerable).
Is that what the kids are calling it now…
I would say it is a “privilege” to choose to not talk about “food insecurity” but we’re apparently not allowed to use that word anymore, either.
Just in case it is not obvious enough: this is deeply infuriated sarcasm.
Yes, because not using these terms anymore will definitely bring most people to the Dems side, as well as appease the far-right so much they will immediately stop their vicious procession toward totalitarianism. We should definitely allow the far-right to dictate our language and general reality.
The headline frames the famine as a natural disaster to which humans can only respond. But this was not caused by Mother Nature, it was caused by the far-right Netanyahu government of Israel. And it was *entirely* preventable. We need to stop using sanitising language to describe genocide.
Apparently, for the Trump regime, there is now tick-tok.
“We” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this bizarre but instructive interview of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Tech bros, VCs, corp execs—and the Trump regime they are bribing and bankrolling—are “stumbling” through this, dragging the rest of us (and the Earth) face down through the gravel behind them.
“We” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this bizarre but instructive interview of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Tech bros, VCs, corp execs—and the Trump regime they are bribing and bankrolling—are “stumbling” through this, dragging the rest of us (and the Earth) face down through the gravel behind them.
REMINDER: Just two weeks ago Trump called the now “Highly Respected” CEO of Intel “highly CONFLICTED” and demanded that he “resign, immediately”, saying there was “no other solution to this problem”. This is yet another brazenly illegal shakedown of an American company by the fascist Trump regime.
Fox 17 Nashville reports that Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from criminal detention in Tennessee and is on his way home to Maryland. “Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free,” his attorney, @sean-hecker.bsky.social, said in a statement. fox17.com/news/local/k...
The tragic irony abounds in this totally false accusation from Trump given he has turned the entire federal government (and many state governments) into “crime invested rat holes”.
Has there ever been a restaurant name that more accurately reflects their regular clientele than Cracker Barrel?
I’m not sure we actually disagree about the role of outside efforts in aiding the effectiveness of the Gideon campaign. Though, it does seem we have different views of the campaign itself, which is of course fine. In any case, I think we are on the same side in supporting Graham’s campaign.
I’m not sure I agree that enthusiasm is unrealistic or dangerous, especially in this context. Or that it’s mutually exclusive from sustainable organising and community building. I think they work hand-in-hand, and my experience has been it’s very difficult to have one without the other.
Dumping out sand from your toddler’s shoes is like measuring a coastline: the more you do it, the more there is.
A few people I know and respect have told me they worry Graham’s campaign is too similar to Gideon’s in 2020, which will ultimately lead to failure. But, as someone that volunteered for the Gideon campaign and knows Graham, I actually disagree. Here is a short thread explaining why. 1/6
I completely agree that there is already more excitement surrounding Graham’s campaign in Maine—though, I want to work to ensure that excitement persists through to election day, which is always one of the major challenges of any campaign. That is part of why I said his campaign is different.
I certainly believe organisations and groups eroding support of Collins was a big factor. But I also believe that was at least partially supported by the Gideon campaign, at least for a fair stretch ahead of election day. I would argue it was a combination of campaign strategy and outside efforts.
Corrupting economic statistics will change our economic reality. Here's how: Tariffs raise prices. Social Security is indexed to inflation. If Trump tells a partisan BLS head to downplay inflation, seniors' social security checks won't keep up. Rigged stats = stolen benefits.
Since moving to Maine 6 years ago, I have become the guy who says to newcomers and friends living away, “don’t go to the State Fair, go to Common Ground Country Fair, it’s where the real Mainers go!” And I don’t even know who I am anymore.
As a parent sending their first child off to Pre-K in a few weeks, I don’t have firsthand experience purchasing school supplies over the last few years. But—as an economist—I can say the elevated prices I saw when browsing Staples for some items this past weekend are largely due to Trump’s tariffs.
I think Graham—a real progressive Mainer, that genuinely cares about every person in Maine (even those that disagree with him and/or his beliefs)—has a strong chance of unseating Collins, as long as he doesn’t comprise his values and stays true to his political beliefs and humanist perspective. 6/6
Third, the political landscape has changed substantially since 2020–Maine has become more progressive and Collins has become even more unpopular: in July she reached a record low 38% approval rating among likely voters in Maine (MC poll), with a record high 54% disapproving of her performance. 5/6
Gideon heading into election day up in the polls was itself a major accomplishments. But the fact Collins—a then entrenched four term encumbent—only managed ~51% of the vote (-17.5 points from 2014, her peak electoral majority) is also a major indicator of the effectiveness of Gideon’s campaign. 4/6
Second, as someone that literally knocked on doors for Gideon, I think elements of her campaign were actually ahead of their time. It’s important to remember that Gideon was a relative long shot going into the 2020 election and managed to arrive on election night up by 2-4 points in most polls. 3/6
First, Graham’s campaign has really only been going in earnest for less than a week, so I think it’s premature to compare it to previous campaigns. It will take time for it to fully take shape. But I also know Graham is a very different candidate to Gideon (he is far more progressive, for one). 2/6
A few people I know and respect have told me they worry Graham’s campaign is too similar to Gideon’s in 2020, which will ultimately lead to failure. But, as someone that volunteered for the Gideon campaign and knows Graham, I actually disagree. Here is a short thread explaining why. 1/6
And, somehow, there are still major media outlets writing pieces claiming that we are “in danger of allowing the rise of authoritarianism if we do not change course now”. We were “in danger” during Biden’s presidency for lack of real action against Trump. We are smack dab in the middle of it now.
I completely disagree with this statement.
Miller unhinged and unrestrained, spouting jingoistic, fascist nonsense, with the smirking US VP and the Sec Def standing right by him, surrounded by military leaders and personnel. Quite a few non-white, non-octogenarian, non-hippies in the crowd that ran ICE agents out of their community, though.
My son starts Pre-K next week and I honestly have no idea where the last four years went.
Remember when Trump and his surrogates constantly screamed that Dems were “weaponising the court system” and particularly the Department of Justice? As always, those baseless claims were not merely meant to be incendiary calls to action for his fascist supporters, but a signal of his future plans.
MIT’s NANDA initiative found that 95% of generative AI deployments fail after interviewing 150 execs, surveying 350 workers, and analyzing 300 projects. The real “productivity gains” seem to come from layoffs and squeezing more work from fewer people not AI.
This economist deleted his Twitter account the day Musk officially acquired it (after deleting Facebook 15 years ago and deleting IG as soon as they began dismantling their moderation and DEI teams), and is now exclusively on Bluesky. And I’ve never looked back.