Enjoyed writing this short but sweet [altho not necessarily in message] piece for @projectsyndicate.bsky.social w @irisvanrooij.bsky.social: > While the AI industry claims its models can “think,” “reason,” and “learn,” their supposed achievements rest on marketing hype & stolen intellectual labor 🧵

How Obama maneuvered behind the scenes to fight Trump on redistricting. The ex-president’s involvement reflects the deep anxieties he has about Trump’s agenda and has propelled him into a more political, public-facing role than he envisioned. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

A Kuba Komet, West Germany, 1957 with radio console and turntable Source: mastodon.social/@Natasha_Jay...

Statement in Response to the Proposed Construction of the White House Ballroom

Trump critics are flooding the company that is demolishing part of the White House with one-star reviews. M-headquartered Aceco LLC is facing backlash for destroying a portion of the East Wing, which houses the first lady’s offices, to make way for President Donald Trump’s $250 million ballroom.

Why the fuck is ICE buying guided missiles, chemical weapons, and artillery? What are they planning to do with it, exactly? We're not nearly freaking out enough! www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...

A former Amazon delivery driver from Colorado has filed a lawsuit accusing a federal civil rights agency of abruptly and unlawfully abandoning her sex discrimination case and others like it following an executive order from President Donald Trump.

He's good on ICE yet won't endorse Mamdani. Sigh.

House holds pro forma sessions every few days. Even today. It’s on their schedule! The purpose: meet Article I, Sec. 5 “three-day rule.” No gaps of more than 3 days are permitted without Senate OK. Two Florida Republicans were sworn in during pro forma earlier this year. So why not Adelita Grijalva?

Speaker Johnson, you say you’re a man of God and I believed you. You put your hand on the Bible, you swore an oath- now keep your word to God and country and swear in @adelitaforcongress.bsky.social, the Democrat from my home state of Arizona!

This morning I responded to calls from our local rapid response network indicating that ICE was in our community attempting to kidnap our neighbors. When I found ICE on site, my Chief of Staff and I followed them, demanding that they provide us with proper identification.

More ICE harassment and detentions in Chicago. blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/21/i...

"PITY THE NATION" Lawrence Ferlinghetti Pity the nation whose people are sheep And whose shepherds mislead them Pity the nation whose leaders are liars Whose sages are silenced And whose bigots haunt the airwaves ...

ATTN @democrats.senate.gov, esp @schiff.senate.gov. WTH were you thinking? Why did 13 of you vote to confirm another conservative nominee to the No Dist of Alabama? ICYMI, Alabama is a RED state that works to suppress POC votes!!! @schiff.senate.gov start representing CA Dem values or resign.

Trump destroying Eleanor Roosevelt‘s legacy (the east wing) feels a little on the nose.

MAGA activist Scott Presler's Early Vote Action PAC is funding "No Kings, No Retention" signs in a cynical attempt to mislead Democratic voters when voting "Yes" for retention of 3 Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices will help preserve voting rights, abortion rights & environmental protections in PA

He maybe a Nazi but he's our Nazi. The Democrats.

Ahh yes. The impossible standard of “don’t be a nazi.”

Periodic reminder that teargas is an abortifacient. I've been documenting the effects of teargas for five years by speaking to people directly impacted and exposed in the US. 🧵

Hundreds of people protesting ICE in downtown manhattan right now. Reads and Broadway. NYPD cops in riot gear on scene.

Important to note that it's New York STATE that brought charges against the J6er that threatened Hakeem Jeffries. Not the DOJ.

Huge donations from big pharma Curious Thune negotiate his payoff. accountable.us/new-accounta...

Here we go, NYC... hellgatenyc.com/ice-storms-c...

Jackie Kennedy talks about the history of the White House during her tour in 1962. This feels especially relevant today as parts of the WH are currently being demolished! What a travesty this regime has imposed upon us.

Bernie about Platner, “In all due respect, all right, what I'm worried about, 50,000 Americans may die unnecessarily? And you're worried about a tattoo?" When I asked about his comments about sexual assault, he said "Have you served four tours of duty?" I said "I have not." Bernie: "Ok"

States are rushing to inform some residents who rely on food stamps that they will soon be forced to meet work requirements or lose their food assistance, reports Kevin Hardy from Stateline. alaskabeacon.com/2025/10/21/r...

Mike Johnson: “Keeping Epstein files secret protects the victims!” Also Mike Johnson: keeps the House in recess for a month to block a Democratic vote. www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

As the federal government shutdown extends, and with congressional leaders nowhere near negotiating, state officials are beginning to raise concerns of potential cuts to nutrition assistance benefits that feed millions if the government isn’t reopened.

Mohammed Ibrahim, 16, has described inhumane conditions in Israeli detention as rights advocates call for his release.

Paul Ingrassia, the White House’s choice to serve as special counsel, has withdrawn his nomination after facing resistance in the Senate.

to date bernie sanders has given us tulsi gabbard, john fetterman, and graham platner

What are the Democrats playing at. Take this Nazi and launch him into the Moon.

American kids are alright. American adults on the other hand are out of their minds.

Three high schoolers founded a book club that reads some of the country's most frequently banned books after a state law removing books with sexual content was signed in 2023. Two years later, many of the books have been reshelved and parts of the law can't be enforced.

Arizona is suing to get Adeline Grivalja seated, after Speaker Mike Johnson has delayed swearing her in for about a month now www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Spending a quarter of $1 billion or more for a four-year project sounds like he doesn’t intend on leaving— unless it’s feet first.

Sad and deeply frustrating that this is needed, but it is NEEDED! Science-informed voices must step up! NEJM and public health group are launching rival to CDC’s MMWR publication www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/c... via @statnews.com

Unfit for office. May she be voted out. And what party is waiting in the wings but Reform. Woe is the UK.

Lucy Powell urged Labour ministers to rethink legal action (to reclaim £49m of taxpayers’ money) against Tom Bloxham's firm property firm developer Urban Splash, which donates to Labour. She met him at a "Rose Network' event for Labour donors. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

What, if anything, did the No Kings protests accomplish? I've seen that pop up in everything from genuine inquiry to sneering dismissal. For anyone asking or facing that question, here's an answer. Everything isn't all fixed, of course. But the protests accomplished at least these seven things:

The White House getting gutted for a one-man vanity project that benefits no one but said man, right after 7 million people said “please fuck off,” is such immaculate symbolism it’s making my head spin. Honestly, you really could not make it up at this point.

I just went to the House floor to demand that Speaker Johnson swear in Adelita Grijalva, but the GOP gaveled out without even recognizing us.    We’re not going anywhere. I’m here with Leader Jeffries and Adelita Grijalva. Speaker Johnson must swear her in.

UN experts say US strikes against Venezuela in international waters amount to 'extrajudicial executions' reut.rs/42RWbU1

From Kid Rock to Confederate flags to Taylor Swift hate, MAGA culture isn’t about policy—it’s about loyalty and vibes. Full story here 👇 www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him. Whether he gets paid will ultimately be up to DOJ's second-in-command, who was recently his personal lawyer. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...

For the past few months, the Wayback Machine has been showing many fewer snapshots of news publishers' homepages than it used to. Something happened on May 16, but what? @hanaatameez.bsky.social and @andrewdeck.bsky.social investigate www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...

NEW: With the great Nina Martin, I wrote about bombshell allegations about a Planned Parenthood chapter in the South that has been taken over by new leaders with conservative connections. One new leader has even described herself as "pro-life." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Red tape from the Trump Administration is driving up the cost of YOUR energy bill in Nevada. My Nevada colleagues and I sent a letter demanding answers. The Department of the Interior is killing solar in Nevada— which only risks jobs and raises your costs. (1/2)

There's no reason for non-US citizens to come to study in the U.S. at this time. This is especially true for college-aged young people. Why would you take that risk? It's unnecessary. If you're already here, you do what you need to do and then you head for the exits.

Trump’s Department of Education actively collaborates w/ Moms for Liberty. Asked “what % of children she imagines should be in public schools going forward,” Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice told ProPublica: “‘I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.’” 1/ www.propublica.org/article/educ...