@prokopetz.bsky.social - this seems like the kind of game-design pilpul you would enjoy

This is from Autocracy, Inc, about how modern autocratic propaganda works. I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.

Chag Sukkot sameach, May all who need shelter find it, may everyone find peace under the branches, leaves, and stars 🌿🍂✨

The Supreme Court’s majority has — in a total of five paragraphs over two orders — allowed Noem’s effort to end TPS for Venezuelans to proceed in opposition to seven rulings from seven judges, amounting to 227 pages of opinions. No, numbers and pages aren’t ultimately what matters. But ...

It’s funny to consider that Hegseth is precisely the sort of person for whom Sun-Tzu actually wrote The Art of War, and is thus the kind of person who fundamentally cannot understand it

It's not just bribery. He's now using personal litigation, backed by state extortion, to extract "settlements" which he then puts into an account he created to spend on government work, all entirely outside of Congress taxing or appropriating. It's full Charles I illegal taxation and spending.

This feels like something out of @chucktingle.bsky.social's tinglers

BREAKING: ICE is sending Russian dissidents back to Russia. When the dissidents arrived in Russia, the Russian authorities were given documents relating to their asylum applications in the US which under US law are confidential. This seems to be part of a secret agreement between Trump and Putin.

I've rarely seen a more perfect description of the modern media environment (including social media)

the big 4 sewing pattern brands are being sold off for parts. if you want patterns, get them *now*. (if you're secretly a zillionaire who likes sewing patterns, call the liquidator immediately with your chequebook) craftindustryalliance.org/parent-compa...

Oh, so the Cracker Barrel “MAGA outrage” *was* manufactured corporate terrorism after all

This isn't an "administrative error." Every single federal employee receives record keeping training. The next administration needs to prosecute everyone responsible for this. Yes, there are bigger abuses we'll need to prosecute too, but records are paramount.

Handy information for #BOSTON: LUCE DEFENSE HOTLINE THINK YOU SEE I.C.E. IN YOUR AREA? CALL: 617-370-5023 The hotline operates from 5am - 9pm every day of the week across multiple languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, and more to be added! www.lucemass.org

Biomedical research isn't a YouTube video, you cannot hit pause for an indefinite period of time and then hit play whenever the regime wants. Samples are destroyed, labs dismantled, scientists leave...

Something very very weird happened during the Hugos award ceremony... It's been on my mind for days, and so I wrote this blog: "When People Giggle at Your Name, or the 2025 Hugo Awards Incident" grigorylukin.com/2025/08/21/w... #Worldcon

The perfect employee is a lazy perfectionist The combination of “I refuse to keep having to do this more than once” with “I need it to be done well” is how you get genuine efficiency improvements and not consultant performative efficiency BS

Social media peaked with early aughts LiveJournal

See you can't just say "America has fallen." You have to ease people into it, kindly. So when people ask how things are going you start out like "well, Trump went up on the roof today but I'm sure it will be okay. ".

W/alt. I never thought the most accurate and prescient Isaac Asimov story would be “Liar”.

This announcement has been brought to you by the letters G, O, and P:

@alexandraerin.com More like Future Home of Spirit Halloween

It's going to quickly become clear that controlling the treasury is like controlling the military. It won't matter what Congress says or does if the Executive Branch goes rogue and challenges them to enforce the law. The White House physically controls the guns and the money.

It’s so surreal watching every single piece of progress we’ve made as a country in my lifetime, and even my parents lifetimes, get undermined or fully rolled back live. It feels like being trapped in a dystopian movie.

Age verification? My first concert was Chicago 17. I *think* the Fixx opened for them.

With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.

;)

Superman Twonks 2

I've never seen the libertarian-to-fascist pipeline so viscerally represented. This is incredible.

Since May: Federal district courts have ruled against Trump admin 94% of the time. Supreme Court has sided with the Trump admin 94% of the time. A judiciary at war with itself.

Vaccination schedules on the CDC website have already started changing under RFK Jr. So we published a guide to the evidence-based vaccine recommendations in place *before* all 17 members of the advisory panel were abruptly dismissed by the new admin. www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-... 🧪

"…this is why it's in beta…" If it's in beta…then *why* is it driving on *real* streets out in *public* where *real* people live and commute?

Here's your free RPG for #FreeRPGDay: You are a housecat. Whenever you attempt to pull a fast one on your humans, roll 1d6. 1: Spectacular failure; what do you destroy? 2-3: Marginal failure; what do you destroy? 4-5: Marginal success; what do you destroy? 6: Critical success; what do you destroy?

Without saying your age, who was your first animated crush?

The sale of public lands is irreversible. This cannot be undone (unless someone donates land back, and they won’t). This is VERY bad.

🚨 There’s a lot of horrific news out of Washington right now—but you might have missed this: Senate Republicans just introduced a plan to sell off 120 million acres of our public lands. Let me break down what’s in the bill and why it’s a full-scale land grab. 🧵

Care about disability rights? DOE is trying to change the rules so new buildings are NOT REQUIRED TO BE ACCESSIBLE to people with disabilities. The last day for public comment is TOMORROW Monday June 16!! See how to submit a comment at this awesome site: dredf.org/action-alert...

The only thing quieter than President Trump’s birthday military parade is Elon Musk’s phone on Father’s Day.

Ok, *this* is best comparative stat, members of media: The DC Pride parade one week ago had a bigger turnout.

I did my best to compile as many protest safety notes as possible into a one page foldout zine! Coincidentally…it seems the file has breached containment…like it’s available for anyone to print or hand out 👀⚖️ toonyart.com/s/PSZine.pdf

Seems relevant.

Update: We've removed the paywall for all ye who enter.

noem saying thery're going to "liberate" california from its leaders seconds before federal law enforcement restrains and removes one of the state's senators from the room—like what else needs to be said

Feels kinda important to point out that if non-citizens are required to carry proof of legal status, then citizens do too by default. This is absolutely insane.

Let this sink in. Even the Los Angeles Police Chief, Jim McDonnell, made it clear: the people protesting immigration raids were not the ones causing violence. During a Sunday evening press conference, McDonnell condemned the violence as “disgusting”

UPDATE: One of the two FTC commissioners Trump purported to fire in March, Alvaro Bedoya, resigned today because he hasn't been paid since then and, he wrote, "I can no longer afford to go without any source of income for my family." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

I just authored a report as Ranking Member of HSGAC which found that the 19 Inspectors General that President Trump illegally fired would have saved billions more than DOGE.   This is not an administration that's serious about saving taxpayer dollars.

At no point in this entire article of 16 paragraphs does ABC mention that another cop killed this cop by shooting her in the back. Nor does it mention the name of the cop who killed this cop. Nor does it mention that the civilians involved never fired at them. ABC might as well be state media.