The New Yorker asked me “how bad” today’s Supreme Court ruling was. I boiled it down to one paragraph: link.newyorker.com/view/5bda429...
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The New Yorker asked me “how bad” today’s Supreme Court ruling was. I boiled it down to one paragraph: link.newyorker.com/view/5bda429...
NEW: Ignoring urgently needed reforms in favor of fruitlessly trying to find evidence of fraud, DOGE descended on the Social Security Administration “thinking it should work like a McDonald’s,” the agency’s former acting chief reveals to ProPublica.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
SCOTUS is now just another political tool of our fascist-leaning state .. it's a tool more similar to the US Senate than any judiciary model
“We are currently governed by a leader indifferent to scientific consensus if it contradicts his political or economic interests, hostile to immigrants and intent on crippling the research universities that embody our collective hope for the future. The menace now is within.”
This is the best advice for the Democrats that I have read www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...
"After decades of relative freedom, the press now faces a precarious future." @poynterinstitute.bsky.social is compiling a list of federal actions impacting journalists. The list includes the Trump admin's efforts to silence VOA and how VOA journalists are fighting back with lawsuits.
It should have been the lead story in every paper in America: A president all but declaring war on the 3rd-largest US city But there's an even better angle to the Chicago story. Leaders, everyday people aren't having it. Trump picked the wrong fight My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
How we cover crime at a time when crime is being used as a pretext to occupy American cities with the U.S. military is critical. Do we report the news or drive it?
In sum, Trump is a floundering figure of buffoonish incompetence who is simultaneously consolidating authoritarian power, which is precisely what makes this situation so combustible and dangerous. 7/7 newrepublic.com/article/2000...
Trump has turned the National Guard into mall cops. Cost? $1 million a day.
The Trump administration has appointed Heather Honey to a top election security position. She is a protege of Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who tried to help Trump overturn the 2020 election results.
"Agustín Fuentes's book on human sex biology is a timely and valuable contribution...grounding in evolution and comparative biology, as well as its extensive references to the most recent research on this topic." Review in #AJHB @humbioassociation.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
www.npr.org/2025/09/02/n... #Climate #ClimateSky #Energy #EnergySky
The national security apparatus of the United States appears to be suffering an existential disaster, but the entire class of natsec oriented journalists and pundits who tanked Biden for a messy Afghanistan withdrawal are too scared to discuss the catastrophe or the cause
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
this is how fascism works
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
that, alone, says a lot actually
The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal. Donald Trump isn't a strongman, he's a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
right, exactly. But another tasty non-alcohol beer to the market is welcome.
It's telling that Trump finds it preposterous that anyone cares about the victims. Of course he feels this way. When he went on CNN and blamed E. Jean Carroll for his sexual assault, the crowd laughed and laughed. Shitting on rape victims is pure MAGA. www.salon.com/2023/05/12/d...
ICYMI: "The indicative potential of demand-side strategies to reduce emissions of direct and indirect CO2 and non-CO2 GHG emissions in three end-use sectors (buildings, land transport, and food) is 40–70% globally by 2050 (high confidence)" That's a BIG deal! peterdutoit.com/lifestyle-co...
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
SCOTUS is just a political tool, like the US Senate. Pretending otherwise isn't helpful.
“In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, she has alleged that Trump accosted her outside the bathroom of his VIP box at the US Open tennis tournament in New York in 1997.”
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
forget the Epstein files ... just the accounts from the women who have been assaulted by the orange predator would fill a book.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
$2.50 to $2.75 where I am, and would love to know anywhere that has $1.50 .. but good for everyone wherever that is.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
Oh how great it would be if one could get panels installed and working on a rooftop for $2 a watt, in the US. In Australia they have made this, but here we are quite a ways off.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
The article is content-free, but contemplating rooftop solar one needs 2do competent math. If you happen 2be in the lucky situation of Net Metering (&those places are becoming more rare), then, sure, you might see sub-10-year payback. For the rest of us, 12-15 years. Utilities don't want this.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
yeah, I guess. But as someone also living in Texas, with our gerrymandering, and the electoral college, most of our votes don't actually matter at all. It's all symbolic for most of us.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
the WashPost, whose 'count the lies' was so amazing in the first administration, now doesn't even have fact checkers.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
the words just don't mean what they would mean in any normal sentence. not "Full" .. not "Self" .. and, basically, not 'Driving' .. we need a new marketing name for this $8,000 software thing that actually only works in about 10 percent of the fleet.
Fyi from the reporter who bravely persisted to break the Epstein story.
Big Tech CEOs took turns lavishing praise on Trump at a White House dinner this week. Fascism backed by Big Money is one of the most dangerous of all political alliances. It happened in 1930s Germany, and it’s happening again today. https://youtu.be/0LEnI9THvLA?feature=shared
The CDC doesn't understand disease control. The EPA doesn't understand environmental protection. Now it's clear the Dept of Energy doesn't understand energy. This administration is populated by imbeciles.
Many official communications channels of the US government are controlled by people who celebrate the Nazi party and the response of our elite news and political institutions has been to look the other way and not say anything about it.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
hard to believe that huge EV will achieve 4 m/kWh ... maybe if the grocery store is downhill from your house.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
this is how fascism works
NEW: Trump's nominee to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics ran an anonymous Twitter account filled with sexually degrading attacks on Kamala Harris, anti-gay slurs, and far-right conspiracy theories. www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/p...
He is never going to make it to heaven
Manufacturing again lost jobs last month. Despite presidential promises of a manufacturing renaissance, we have fewer manufacturing jobs today than we did at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
“Finding evidence of human presence [in the British Isles] during this period is genuinely surprising.” https://scim.ag/47tlE9s
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social)
Confusingly, this effort is being taken up at the same time that people are Very Concerned about dropping birth rates, but it makes sense when you understand that they don’t like the children we currently have. They want us to make other ones instead.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
so, just to be clear, it's a war crime ..
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
we should definitely protest this loss!
Spencer Kuvin, Epstein's victims' lawyer, says the FBI interviewed 40+ girls, some just 14, and prepared a 54-count indictment. Then came the secret plea deal that let Epstein walk. Those interviews are in the files. Kuvin says Alan Dershowitz scoured the girls' MySpace pages to smear them as liars.
@lonestarleft keeping it real. Abbott thinks we don't see through his lies!
#ICYMI: Texas AG Ken Paxton hired a former staffer to work on a recent case. As a state employee, her labor would have cost taxpayers $641. As a private attorney, Paxton allowed her to bill $3,780 an hour, so that day of work cost taxpayers $24,570.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
A
‘Not scientifically credible’: Scientists repudiate Trump administration climate report www.latimes.com/environment/... via @hayleysmith.bsky.social
My predictions for the remedies in the Google search monopoly case, written last fall, hold up pretty darn well. Despite the heat I took at the time from the neobrandeisian crowd, which was predicting a breakup. Turns out you want to happen and what is likely to happen are not always the same thing
Wow.
#ICYMI: For years, the FDA quietly allowed substandard foreign manufacturers to ship drugs to the U.S. from factories the agency had officially banned. We compiled a list of the drugs and their makers.
Indeed. The long term ROI for renewables is higher than for fossil fuels. That is a central point of The Sun Has Won, Part 1. 🔌💡 www.planetarytech.earth/s/The_Sun_Ha...
This is genuinely shocking. Darwin methane leak ‘covered up’ by gas companies and regulators. #methane #emissions #energysky www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
our politicians are just stupid shills for their paymasters. The people making the investments intend to make a profit on those investments, and don't really care about idiotic policy games.
Much of our electricity grid – plants, power lines, and reserves – exists only to cover rare events and is underused most of the time. Batteries are perfect interim fix while we modernize our electric grids because they store and release energy as needed. 🔌💡 www.worksinprogress.news/p/the-beauty...
Over 85 experts and scientists worked collaboratively to dissect climate-science deceit from Trump's Department of Energy. A perspective ... and call to action (with a minor item of amusement?). getenergysmartnow.com/2025/09/02/c...
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
"wary" .... lol. yeah, no kidding.
Ooops...solar will be the largest global source of electricity by 2030, not energy. #energysky
More air pollution. More heat-related illnesses. More deadly weather. Political appointees at the EPA are claiming that greenhouse gas pollution poses no threat to public health or the environment. Tell the EPA that climate change harms people: bit.ly/epasept15 #ClimateCantWait 🔌💡
In case you still have any questions about why Republicans and other rightwing political parties across the globe are desperately trying to stop the deployment of renewable energy, this well describes what they fear. Renewable energy threatens the fossil fuel industry. It's as simple as that. 🔌💡
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social)
thread!
Epidemiologist Erin McCanlies spent much of the past two decades studying the environmental causes of autism. Under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promised to find a cause for the condition, her entire division was cut.
This is how low the WaPo has fallen. Megan McArdle tells us Lisa Cook has to "come clean" when Trump and everyone around him is openly stuffing their pockets with billions washingtonpost.com/opinions/202... This is too stupid for words.
I am once again reposting this absurdly useful essay from Tim and Kate, because not enough of you have read it.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
we are all so stupid sometimes ... wow
UMichigan study: EVs are cleaner than ICEs over average vehicle life https://insideevs.com/news/770035/evs-vs-gas-emissions/ (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45049926)
Insurers are hosing people who choose to drive EVs. It's more expensive to insure an EV than its gas-guzzling equivalent #EconSky insideevs.com/news/770337/...
It was good to hear the Rhode Island Attorney General acknowledge that the Republicans' war against renewable energy is an effort to protect the fossil fuel industry in this interview with their Public Broadcasting Station. #EnergySky
Dr. William Foege, 89, who helped end smallpox in the 1970s, recently wrote: RFK Jr.’s “words can be as lethal as the smallpox virus.” And his actions are more lethal still. He’s waging war on America. That’s an impeachable offense. He must be removed from office. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/h...
I sincerely think we have to accept the fact that the midterms are not going to be clean, fair and safe. This administration cannot lose and they are desperate. If they figured out how to hack the machines via a cable in 2024, they will do it again. We need to stop it, by exposing it.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
don't really see how we are different from the Taliban tbh
Almost every day there’s a Trump scandal that skates by that in any other moment of presidential history would launch endless follow-up stories, congressional investigations, and sink an administration. I zeroed in on just two of them from this week: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/a-watergat...
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
word!
“These departures are a serious loss for America. They make our country less safe and less prepared for public health emergencies,” said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease researcher. https://to.pbs.org/4mHGN4u
Krasner: So, if what you have is a group of ICE agents, or even the military, coming into Philadelphia and committing crimes—assaults that are illegal, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, obstruction of the administration of justice—they can be prosecuted.
Staff files questions and rule drafts for SB 6 implementation to change planning for large AI loads; ERCOT lays out grid transformation vision; minor energy efficiency rule moves to comment period, bigger changes delayed again, increasing risk of outages. www.douglewin.com/p/large-loa...
Even in the face of climate change, staple crops yields continue to grow. Why? Better seeds, plus better inputs. Opposition to genetic modification is nuts, when we need all the tools we have to make crops more resilient and productive. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
Greg is right .. this is how fascism works
"Government troops loyal to the U.S. ruling regime have seized a key transportation hub in the rebel stronghold of Washington..." www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Each year, air pollution from US oil and gas kills an estimated 91,000 Americans, making it the 8th most common cause of US death, and afflicts ~210,000 US kids with asthma. Pollution-related illnesses disproportionately affect Black and Asian communities.
These are some of the workers, whose jobs are endangered, by the Petrostate politicos attack on the 704 MW Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project near Rhode Island. Trump Administration ordered work to stop on the 80% complete project. Why? Offshore wind reduces gas generation! #energysky
Experts uncover incredible side effects of traditional solar panels. Across the US, innovative solar projects are transforming barren fields into thriving ecosystems. These sun-soaking powerhouses are now doubling as havens for wildlife, offering a ray of hope in the fight against biodiversity […]
Learn more in the full analysis here 🔗
Falling battery costs mean 24/7 solar power is now possible in many regions🔋 In this video, Kostantsa Rangelova & @cleanpowerdave.bsky.social explain how solar+battery is already cheaper than new coal and nuclear in sunny regions worldwide.
Trump admin blocks funds for farmers who want solar. For two decades, thousands of farmers have installed money-saving solar panels with help from the federal REAP program. Trump’s USDA is choking off that resource. https://www.europesays.com/2354809/ Trump admin blocks funds for farmers who …
USDA stabs farmers in the back, again. cleantechnica.com/2025/08/23/g... #solar #solarpower #solarenergy #solarpanels #ruralsolar #utilityscalesolar #farms #farming #farmers #agriculture #farmland #conservation #landconservation #renewableenergy #energy #renewables
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
it's a cult
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
Bezos in control now, all writers with courage have resigned. It's a shell rag now
Imagine paying more for electricity and dealing with blackouts because a 79-year-old man suffering from dementia doesn't like wind turbines www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/c... It's very MAGA! The best part is all the Republicans have to pretend this makes sense.
‘“When the oil industry showed up at Mar-a-Lago with a set of demands in exchange for a $1 billion of campaign support for Trump, this is what they were asking for: the destruction of clean energy in America… “This is a story of corruption, plain and simple.”’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
it's a cult and very difficult to influence ...
a thought i have reading @clintsmithiii.bsky.social’s wonderful piece is that one reason the administration wants to erase any mention of the worst of our past is because it is intent on recapitulating those atrocities www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
BREAKING: A federal court ruled that Alabama's state senate map violates the Voting Rights Act for unfairly limiting Black political power in Montgomery. This is an important victory for Black voters.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
this is how fascism works
I remember all that crap from the book 1984. It was required reading in high school back then. It should be required reading right now. #inners
Solar to represent half of new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2025 #energysky -- via pv magazine usa:
64% of Springfield voted Trump. I feel awful for the Haitians. The majority of voters, however, openly chose economic ruin because of racism. Fuck ‘em. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/u...
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
"a potato chip bag" ... classic newbie mistake
SUCH a beautiful essay - deeply felt, closely observed, richly detailed, full of life, with a eye toward hope even as we sink into depravity.
UpEarly.bsky.social (@upearly.bsky.social) reply parent
it's only a threat if one has committed war crimes ..