I struggle with this as a panel organizer. If you invite a diverse group of five people and only the men say yes, you're left very obviously trying to balance your lineup and last minute invitees knows why you're approaching them. It's not meant to be insulting but it risks seeming that way. :/

it's just my name five times

Yeah. Hey, do you happen to know anyone who is in a position of power, maybe someone in a powerful role in the Senate, who can do something about all that?

asking jurors in a city occupied for months by the national guard to indict members of congress for telling servicemembers they don't need to obey unlawful orders, under a statute likely unconstitutional under the first amendment. masterful gambit sir

we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

I will not support any funding deal that puts money in the hands of Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, and this violent agency. Defund and abolish ICE now.

a society losing the plot in real time

In this edition of Unreal Birds, I tackle the House Judiciary hearing, safety in online games, and the loneliness of the AI future--our loneliness, and the AI's. (90 percent of Moltbook posts receive no replies ☹️) Plus, a year of science after Trump. And more! deans-list.ghost.io/unreal-bird-...

Abolish and prosecute

huh i would have assumed the red was @cpsc.gov “anchor your TV” posts

I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.

Devastated to see so many former colleagues I so greatly admire needlessly lose their jobs at the Washington Post. If this news makes you angry, sad, disappointed, whatever-- channel that into supporting the great journalists who lost their jobs today: www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...

Solidarity with those who lost their jobs today because a capricious, greedy billionaire abandoned whatever loosely held values once led him to purchase one of the nation's great newspapers. History will only remember Bezos one way- not as an innovator, but as a base oligarch out of central casting.

Or perhaps someone else can buy this paper from Bezos—since he seems to view it as an albatross—and donate it to a foundation established to run it as a nonprofit. Bezos gets a capital loss, the buyer/donor is a hero, the rest of us get a world class newspaper. The Knight Institute is ready to help.

When I first arrived in DC with nothing but a suitcase and a suit—not even an apartment, yet—I looked up at the Post building every day when I got off the metro to go to an unpaid internship (somewhere else). It reminded me to strive for something. It was an inspiration. Feeling heartbroken.

Whatever you think of the Washington Post at this moment, here's a chance to support the dedicated, hard-working journalists who were just laid off. If you have the means, your donation is most welcome. If you don't, a kind thought and maybe spreading the word to others is support enough 💙

Jim Jordan hectoring the head of the Minnesota ACLU about free speech is a real metaphor for our time. RE: his specific question on the Biden admin, that was litigated in Murthy v. Missouri where Amy Comey Barrett found the censorship allegations wanting

Yet again, Jim Jordan has dredged up the world's most aggrieved bigots and opportunists to continue his circus of fake censorship bullshit

David is right; these hearings are meant to destroy mechanisms for accountability. They're part of a broader effort. Don't fall for it.

Listening to Jim Jordan is making me dumber and reading Daphne is the only thing slowing down that process

@amystuddart.bsky.social has started a newsletter that promises to be worth your time: Fresh, optimistic thinking about what the future of tech and democracy could be. You should subscribe! Stop doomscrolling and dare to dream! draftingthefuture.substack.com/p/were-on-th...

Another day, another fact-check of the House Judiciary Committee. If there's a line X can cross to lose Jim Jordan's support, apparently becoming one of the worlds top CSAM peddlers isn't it. www.techpolicy.press/how-the-hous...

This morning, Punxsutawney Phil saw two shadows, each with three heads and seven wings, and pronounced in a language older than the Earth that winter shall never cease

Hey @repshontelbrown.bsky.social, your poll in the Lakewood Observer is broken (responses receive an error message) and doesn't include an option for "abolish and prosecute." If this is off the table for you, your constituents deserve honesty about that. www.lakewoodobserver.com/articles/com...

I know all eyes are on Minneapolis, but there's a fast-approaching nightmare in Springfield, Ohio. Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3. Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.

Data center conversations are now about rising energy costs, environmental conservation and health risks. @dwj88.bsky.social @techpolicypress.bsky.social: bit.ly/4ajJJjG Will Ohio become a colony for AI oligarchs? @amyactonoh.bsky.social @davidpepperoh.bsky.social @ccbecker271.bsky.social

Trump has repeatedly vilified Rep. Ilhan Omar in his public statements. Over and over. Yet his regime wants to lecture us on political violence. Strong statement from the congresswoman:

An uprising broke out at an immigrant jail in southern Texas on Saturday, with around 1,000 immigrants detained in the facility — many of them children — chanting “Libertad” and “Let us go,” according to an attorney who witnessed the event.

Concepts from Orwell's 1984--the Ministry of Truth, Big Brother, Doublethink, Newspeak, etc.--are tropes in American discourse. But the attack on Ilhan Omar suggests we would do well to reflect on the two minutes hate. What else can right-wing coverage of her be considered?

It was clear during the first few hours after Alex Pretti’s killing that the government’s spin machine wasn’t gaining much traction in their efforts to blame the victim. Even on X, the most salient frames were critical of ICE/CBP and sympathetic towards Pretti.

Abolish and prosecute

It's good that Bovino has been removed. But these senior officials- from the President to his top aides- are the ones that must face accountability. They created the conditions in which a man like Bovino ran amok. And their rhetoric defended his every action.

7/ Now, the White House is distancing itself from Noem's claims. But will she be shown the door like Bovino? Because arguably, what she did was worse. It was later, after the situation was much better documented. And it was more extreme than Bovino.

The second issue of my newsletter is out: deans-list.ghost.io/unreal-bird-... I have two new pieces, discuss the generational consequences of L'affaire Greenland, and more. As always, scroll to the bottom to see dogs.

This hit so fucking hard today.

Big Tech and data center developers promise 21st century jobs for de-industrialized Ohio towns, in exchange for huge tax cuts. Residents aren't necessarily buying it, citing energy and environment concerns. My new piece for @techpolicy.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/data-centers...

Tiananmen Square tank man, but with hundreds of people instead of just one.

In solidarity with today's ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA blackout, MinnMax is donating $1 to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota for every share of this Bluesky post for the next hour.

it's cool that so many people in positions of power and influence were so negatively polarized by "wokeness" that they convinced themselves that there was an actual debate about who wanted to erase history and the "wokes" were on the wrong side bsky.app/profile/arch...

Another day, another outrage; ICE under Trump is going to deport dozens of people to Iran, including two gay men previously arrested by the regime who face the death penalty for their orientation, and despite the ongoing crackdowns which have killed thousands. An administration of total inhumanity.

I worked in international democracy support for 8 years. I saw activists forge solidarity and share wisdom across borders, languages, cultures. Structurally, too few US activists can participate in that exchange. That's to our detriment. democracywithoutexception.substack.com/p/us-activis...

This is a photo of someone being tortured, not someone being restrained

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Suspiciously asking my wife who's funding her anytime she criticizes me

How much more in your face can it be? "Why are you asking me for my paperwork?" "Because of your accent." "You have an accent too." "Where were you born sir?" "Where were you born at?" "Put your hands behind your back."

I'm setting up a space to more regularly share my (longer form) thoughts about the intersections between our information spaces and emerging events. Here's my first post: katestarbird.substack.com/p/making-sen... Still working on the branding, but want to get this content out in the meantime.

Such an incredible life and a fantastic obituary! A few highlights, but really, go read the whole thing