Go birds, fuck ICE, free Palestine.

There are colleagues, there are friends, and then there’s @cmorten.bsky.social — primus inter pares. 🙌🏾😍🎉

If you are interested in ways the U.S. government is asserting control over online speech, then the Pornhub/Aylo FTC settlement is probably the single most important thing you're not paying attention to. So grateful to @riana.bsky.social and @berinszoka.bsky.social for staying on top of this one!

Taney! At The Disco

I appreciate Isaac Choutier for many reasons but one is that almost nobody asks dudes about their expert wives. (Even when that dude is using his wife to deflect.)

Having taught in WGS, I cannot imagine an explanation for @durba.bsky.social not getting tenure other than administrative fuckery.

Really amazing news today, Egyptian-British software engineer and blogger Alaa Abd El-Fattah is finally free from prison! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaa_Ab...

I had a great day researching FTC stuff and being off of social media! Surely nothing will go wrong if I check Bluesky before dinner.

Are you or someone you know skipping GDC (or considering doing so) because of worries about coming to the US/San Francisco in the current environment? If so, I want to hear from you for a piece. DM me here or kyle DOT orland AT arstechnica DOT com. Please spread the word

NEW: Hours before a new entry ban is supposed to go into effect, the federal government officially acknowledges for the first time that the restrictions do NOT apply to people who currently have H-1B visas. Link: www.uscis.gov/sites/defaul...

Yesterday I learned how to pronounce Bala Cynwyd. My Pennsylvania powers grow.

The point isn't to scold you for being afraid but to ask you to take responsibility for your fear as a service to yourself and your community, because so many of us who have struggled with, under and against criminalization have long had to use those skills to help one another 💕

Today, at 10am PT / 1pm ET it's episode 13 of Han to Hon Combat with hosts @knowtheory.net and @danhon.com, who'll be joined this week by @transrights.northsky.social's @lucca.northsky.team www.youtube.com/@hantohoncom... and stream.place/hantohoncomb...

This crab is going to organize its community against digital surveillance and I am here for it.

The music makes this clip.

Here’s some better advice about what to do about FBI door-knocks:

Hey nerds! Want to talk about FOIA & then file a bunch of requests? Good! We're having a FOIAthon next week with @transjournalists.org — give and get request inspiration, hear from some Very Special Surprise Guests, open up government & raise some money for TJA! us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

✨ Hocus Pocus, I cannot focus ✨ #cuteart #illustration #cat

Millions in crisis rely on ubiquitous tools that betray them: from social media to Starlink. The deeper shock is when secure tools also exclude them through everyday hurdles like phone verification. In order to have real alternatives, we must reclaim hyper-accessibility. 🔐

A book on AI by the Forest Gump of war crimes, can’t imagine why I wouldn’t be rushing to read this. Also those endorsements…

There are a ton of anti-trans messaging bills. Two things are both true: 1. those bills are vile 2. they — definitionally — have no chance of passing "Is this a messaging bill or does it have a chance of becoming law?" is a key question that actual reporting can help answer.

Scoop: In June, the Arizona AG kicked ICE ERO off a database that monitors wire transfers between the US and Mexico. Kris Mayes' office had previously dismissed fears ICE might use this data for Trump's deportation machine, but we've found two cases so far. theintercept.com/2025/09/15/i...

I have a theory - much like how if you live in New York City for long enough you become culturally Jewish in a way, if you hang out online for too long you end up culturally Philadelphian

Iconic.

I'll take this to another level: Hardspace's *soundtrack* is worth $13 on its own. The fact that it comes attached to an amazing, unique game makes it even more of a deal.

Maybe this is a long shot but I hope not: any journalists out there who use FOIA in their work and would be willing to zoom-talk to a college class about that for ~45 minutes in November? Please reach out if you could consider this. Targeting Nov 12 in afternoon Pacific time. $100 honorarium. TY!

Just to be blunt, if you want Wired and 404 and The Verge to employ reporters who understand the memes on bullet casings and can connect them to gaming culture while having the legal and support resources to deal with waves of harassment when we do it… you have to subscribe and pay for the work

ALSO - If you are a quarterly taxpayer, don't forget that the Q3 deadline is MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15. If you don't pay, it'll be harder for our vice president to afford to courier wooden boxes around the country in his government plane!

I love Tumblr, always have. The culture and humor is like nowhere else on the internet www.tumblr.com/canvoid/7847...

Nathan Grayson's ban for literally quoting his own article is a major attack on press freedom on this website, and very concerning for the future of whether this website will remain a safe place for open discussion on important political issues.

I spoke to the Verge about the importance of aligning AI alignment. www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

The ACLU of Florida @aclufl.bsky.social is hiring for an IR staff-attorney position as well as a supervising-attorney position that will ideally include a partial focus in either IR or 1A. www.aclufl.org/jobs/supervi... www.aclufl.org/jobs/staff-a...

I look forward to copious foundation funding to support my goal of Human Alignment. I will, of course, be promoting alignment by paying people to agree with me.

Very glad to see that someone is doing the important work of aligning AI alignment. alignmentalignment.ai

A mensch.

Meanwhile, at the USPTO: Starting Thursday, "[g]uest and unregistered users will no longer be able to access Patent Center." Not clear what "access" means here. Does it mean you'll need to submit ID documents to view file wrappers? content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USP...

HEY please consider this RADICAL ORGANIC ALTERNATIVE to chatGPT: ask ME your questions and *I* will give you made up nonsense that sounds just plausible enough to slightly skew your worldview. It's free, it's easy, and it's environmentally friendly!

Sophie Lewis's Full Surrogacy Now broke my brain (in a great way) and caused me to change how I think about families and surrogacy. Am super grateful that they wrote a response to the (horrifying) Wired piece about Cindy Bi and her campaign of terror against her surrogate.

A huge deal and the end of an era!

This is not the end of the RICO case, but it's a reminder that the State's campaign of repression is destined to fail. What happens next will decide whether the AG simply returns to the drawing board for the next round of attacks, or is finally held accountable for their abuses.

This is an absolutely bonkers prosecution and indicates how far prosecutors will go to chill LGBTQ movement attorneys.

Happy Walk Around Philadelphia season to all who celebrate!

You can just go see weird art! In fact, I recommend it!

In case of interest, I write about the political economy of gestational labor (i.e., the class relation undergirding evil cases like venture capitalist Cindy Bi's prosecution of her hired surrogate over stillbirth) in Full Surrogacy Now [https://www.versobooks.com/products/711-full-surrogacy-now] >

IRS has been requiring IDme checks for FOIA requests, which may* be an appropriate check for a privacy request to disclose your personal data, but is an inappropriate check for a public record. Here, DHS has made similar requests for public records. This pattern is very concerning!

A message from the Young Horses team

Amazing opportunity!

BRB, posting a Silksong review that says "Do not recommend: this game is full of bugs."

"Pennsylvania is the latest state to adopt vaccine counsel from nongovernmental agencies in order to ensure access to COVID-19 shots this fall as health leaders with the Trump administration move to restrict or limit eligibility."