It's actually insane that democracy, we've decided, means that everyone gets to vote *without having to know anything about anything*. We don't do this with juries! Everyone gets to serve on a jury, but jurists are REQUIRED to pay attention to the arguments.

Given the choice between Chris Murphy (D) and Trump Jr. (R) in 2028, these disappointed Rs will begrudgingly vote Republican again. After all, elections are about choosing the lesser of two evils. Everybody (read: my oligarch-controlled algorithms) knows that Murphy is a radical marxist communist!

I've checked the budget docs and compared FY24+25 (Biden's last two budget years) with FY26+27 (Trump's first two). Here's what I found: DOD-funded scientific research FY24+25 $4.799B FY26+27 $4.244B Difference −$555M A meaningful, but not catastrophic, decrease in basic research funding.

PLA Navy Type 052D destroyers Urumqi (118) and Qiqihar (121), Type 054A frigate Weifang (550) and Wuhu (539), Type 903A replenishment ship Dongpinghu (902, Ex-960) and Type 926 submarine rescue ship Yangchenghu (847, Ex-Liugongdao 865) at Qingdao - April 23, 2026 SRC: 爱旅游爱军事的大俊子on weibo / via

Elon Musk's net worth is higher than most nations' GDP. I am not a communist, And sure, it's "just" his net worth "on paper," And yes, GDP is measured per annum... But how can this be an accurate reflection of his worldly value? How can this wealth concentration not distort our politics?

Introducing the Canada Strong Fund. Find out more: youtu.be/oRYaelwZj9Y

I don't think this has been reported on, but the Navy is looking at building the Trump-class battleship in blocks at foreign shipyards (likely Korean) and shipping the blocks to the US for final assembly. (this "battleship" will never get built, but whatever, there's some news)

Is Fetterman in that group chat? 👇🤔 PS. A reminder that he was recruited by and his campaign run by the same people behind Platner’s campaign. 😒

so it was a serious weapon, not a very serious weapon as previously reported

It's time for Trump and the press to put aside their differences and come together at last, standing strong against the American people who don't like them

how could the Democrats let this happen

Trump can't walk. Media:

I'll believe it when I see it, but my guess is that in the midterms we'll see something like D+8 Trump's voters might be unhappy with Trump, but they've still gotta keep the Increasingly Radical Communists from taking control!

The first photo here is fake. A still from the same moment shows that Trump's head wasn't drooping like that. Also, he'd just adjusted his tie, which is why the guy two to the left of RFK is looking at him. Actual still at right. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ctx...

I'll be honest, I don't really care about the "presidential pardon power." The incantations of one maximally-evil person do not need to hold sway over us. We can just arrest all these people anyway, pardon or not. We can find a legal pretense. Unjust laws cannot bind us.

Despite the massive $1.5T budget request, Hegseth's DOD is cutting some research & development funding that goes to universities for basic research. Might make a thread.

Maybe we should think about banning prediction markets and online gambling. What value do these things provide?

Here we see the tension in the Democratic party. Most self-described Democrats are "liberal/very liberal" (whatever that means), and becoming more so. Meanwhile, most self-described "Independents" remain mostly "moderate." But as we saw in my last post, most "independents" are actually partisan.

The Secretary of the Navy is not in the chain of command. Phelan was not the last person stopping Trump from nuking Iran. The SECNAV is responsible for getting ships built and making sure the sailors have the stuff they need.

1/3 Some interesting stats about independents: Almost twice as many Americans identify as "independent" as Americans who identify with either party, according to Gallup. "Wow, so most Americans aren't partisan?" No, these "independents" are LYING.

Consider: what happens if Trump is removed from office? Democrats have to run against an incumbent Vance in 2028. Incumbents have an advantage. Perhaps Dems would rather run against a non-incumbent after a vicious republican primary.

Every eight and a half minutes, an American woman loses her life to lung cancer. Today, the House passed my bipartisan bill, the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act, which addresses the deadly disparities in research and treatment of lung cancer for women.

I checked in on the far-right forums and they are taking this Virginia redistricting very normally

California only gerrymandered 5 additional blue seats. It's too late to add more, so I hope 5 was enough! Republicans are going to strike back after Virginia.

More than this: - rural voters don't reward Democrats for helping them, so Democrats should stop trying to help them - at the same time, disenfranchising rural voters will ironically help rural voters, because Democrats *will* actually help them

"Gerrymandering To Win" by Gavin Spanberger

Here we see the tension in the Democratic party. Most self-described Democrats are "liberal/very liberal" (whatever that means), and becoming more so. Meanwhile, most self-described "Independents" remain mostly "moderate." But as we saw in my last post, most "independents" are actually partisan.

1/3 Some interesting stats about independents: Almost twice as many Americans identify as "independent" as Americans who identify with either party, according to Gallup. "Wow, so most Americans aren't partisan?" No, these "independents" are LYING.

I hate that my ideal candidate probably wouldn't win the presidency in 2028. What I desire is vengeance, but I don't think batman would win Ohio. I guess we'll be running on gas prices or some shit like that.

Do you think Trump remembers Red Dawn and that's why he thinks NATO wouldn't be there for us if we needed him?

What's happening is basically this but dumbly, in a dumb fashion

I sleep well knowing that if the nation descends into civil war and the union dissolves, Republican states will come out the worst because they are leaches and welfare queens who steal more federal tax dollars than their lazy bumbfuck inbred genes can generate in return.

"Social media" is not "social" media. A better term would be "content media" perhaps. What's the difference between youtube and twitter? One is for video, the other is mostly for text. In both cases, there are content producers (big accounts) producing content for content consumers (you and me).

Good example of an obvious entry in a certain bot network. - Woman with face not visible, usually an Asian woman - AI-generated tumblr-esque bio - Reposts the big bluesky politics accounts - Sometimes replies to posts - Often claims to live in San Francisco

Prior to the market open on Monday, Trump will post something about how open the Strait is and how ceased the fire is. Legacy media will report this without mentioning that every time Trump does this, it turns out that he's lying.

PENTAGON PIZZA METER PREDICTS 100% CHANCE OF IMMINENT US STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

Reagan entered office with less than a trillion dollars of national debt. He left office with $2.8T of debt. Why? Tax cuts for the wealthy, of course. Every Republican since has been worse for the debt and deficit than Democrats. The GOP stands for tax cuts for the wealthy, not balanced budgets

The penalty for treason is death.

Graham Platner will, on occasion, be one of the necessary Democratic votes in the Senate. Graham Platner will, occasionally, 'vote with his conscience' rather than with his party, allowing Republicans to get what they want. Graham Platner is not a cookie-cutter Dem! He will represent Maine!!1!1!!

As a non-wealthy person from not-NYC, I am absolutely seething over Mamdani's tax on second homes worth more than $5M in NYC. The Soviets have won :(

The Democratic base right now

Look, I know I'm the only person who actually reads budget documents. Boring stuff, I get it. But I can't emphasize enough how surreal and weird this is. It's psychotic, it's schizophrenic, it's dreamlike and nightmarish. Federal budget docs written like Trump's truth social posts...

"I wonder why politicians don't try to bring down home prices," a story in two charts.

If Trump were smart he'd get JD Vance to endorse Democrats for the midterms

Congrats Hungary! And let's not forget about Georgia! 🇬🇪 500 days of protest and counting. The ruling Georgian Dream party is authoritarian and illegitimate. The great people of Georgia are in the streets every day in numbers. Follow Marika for the latest: bsky.app/profile/mari...

Is the USN going to interdict and sieze Chinese tankers heading to China with oil? In international waters? We are getting into dangerous territory here.

On Truth Social this morning, Trump says that the US Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz. No ships, in or out. "I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran," Trump continues. Are we at war with the whole world now?

The high-stakes negotiations in Islamabad between the US and #Iran have officially collapsed without a signed agreement. JD #Vance is returning to Washington as the 21-day ceasefire enters its final stretch. The lack of a breakthrough leaves the region in a precarious state of uncertainty. 🧵 1/

Watch Trump claim that as long as he pauses and does a ceasefire, he can bomb Iran in 60-day increments without needing approval from Congress

Reagan entered office with less than a trillion dollars of national debt. He left office with $2.8T of debt. Why? Tax cuts for the wealthy, of course. Every Republican since has been worse for the debt and deficit than Democrats. The GOP stands for tax cuts for the wealthy, not balanced budgets