If you see an otter steal a surfboard, no you didn’t.

The complete destruction of our national mythos and libertarian bravado as utterly fraudulent and empty will be Trump's greatest and objectively impressive achievement. He accomplished in nine months what foreign adversaries have been attempting for generations.

In May, 13 ex-Palantir engineers signed a letter saying the firm's leadership had "abandoned its founding ideals" and become complicit in "normalizing authoritarianism." They cited the crystal-ball-like "seeing stones" that gave Palantir its name.

A St. Louis ordinance lets courts banish people from huge swaths of the city as a punishment for petty crimes. These neighborhood orders of protection often prevent people from accessing the services they need and raise constitutional questions. (Published 2022) By @jeremykohler.bsky.social

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I was hesitant, but every one of these accounts which actually has a post is filled with #propaganda and Hatch Act violations. Fuck that shit. #BlockParty

Samuel Alito preparing to raise absolutely the craziest flag you've ever seen at his Long Beach Island compound.

You've wounded me for the last Chobani. You're dead to me.

So American farmers get devastated by Chinese restrictions on American soybeans. China immediately starts buying from Argentina, to whom Trump is awarding a $40B bailout because his buddy is floundering. Trying to imagine what French farmers would've done if Macron pulled some shit like this 😳

I recently talked to Henry Shevlin (Uni of Cambridge) about artificial intelligence and consciousness: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rvw...

Radiologists thought they were doing real "work" but were they? Real work means using your hands. To build sprawling data centers. Radiologists though, meh?

"There is, however, one big difference between Trump’s trade policy and China’s. Namely, the Chinese appear to know what they’re doing."

This is one of those people I hope I never see in person. I do not have that much control over my face 😳

The frog is fine, btw, hes had spicier. 🇲🇽 #portlandfrog

Found the account of the artist Nikkolas Smith‬ @4nikkolas.bsky.social that made the pic above and he made also a video by now!🤩 #Frogtober #Portland #ICE #ICEprotests #StopICE #FuckICE #Portland #PortlandFrog bsky.app/profile/4nik...

Art will save us. And Portland frogs Poignant art by @4nikkolas.bsky.social #portlandfrog #secretpolice #gestapo #nokings

Some police brutality in Austin, Texas on 6th street this weekend: APD officer Garcia (looks like badge number 10338 or similar) appears to sucker punch a man.

Scraping the web for good news. We're still boned but circuits out here living their best lives.

Ross Douthat the pundit has no discernible value. Ross Douthat the interviewer puts on a masterclass in platforming dipshits while gently coaxing them to fully unpack their stupidity.

No really, look at this.

Neat

Trump's utter delusion that China's decades-long strategy of cornering the world rare earth mineral market would be upended by a few months of saber-rattling and tariff threats he repeatedly walks back could be his most impactful failure.

Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world,... I feel like I can't take it. And my heart is just going to cave in.

Georgia is the nation's deadliest state for police pursuit fatalities. Their unlimited discretion to murder you with seized muscle cars is enshrined in state law.

Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show. She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms. (Published June)

Mike Johnson’s position is young pregnant American women shouldn’t have to wait before being turned away to die in the parking lot from an ectopic pregnancy the hospital is afraid to treat

We'll hopefully have to ask ourselves at some point, "What next?" When the pendulum of power swings back our way, what levels will we pull first? For the sake of the nation, justice. Unrestrained, unforgettable justice.

It’s time for soft secession www.motherjones.com/politics/202... Really good points here on the economic leverage of blue states and how to flex that muscle.

“That’s from a poem I wrote for a horrible man I’ve never met”

Deploying the National Guard was excessive and norm-breaking. Sending the 82nd Airborne, a division that specializes in rapid deployment parachute assaults, is categorically different.

An FBI agent was reportedly fired for refusing to arrange a “perp walk” of the bureau’s former director, James Comey, in front of news media cameras

My husband was detained by ICE today Juan Muñoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away I have had zero contact or updates since #SOS @duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov

Did you see this? She truly is an amazing person. What a memory for those kids.

Yes we called it, yes it was obvious. Resist the urge for victory laps, conserve your energy.

This may be as close as we’ll ever get to an official confirmation

Holy hell. DHS just openly stated that its agents use “reasonable suspicion” to make ARRESTS. This is blatantly unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is clear that you need probable cause to arrest someone, as opposed to stop them to ask them a question or two. This is huge b/c…

I truly hope we get to look back on all this and laugh, because that entire episode was comedy gold.

For more on the Trump official who's been dreaming about this shutdown "since puberty," read @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social's excellent deep-dive into Russell Vought. He's one of the "key figures leading us into a new and violently authoritarian future.”

To anyone that found my enthusiasm over the Fujiwhara effect aggressive or off-putting after learning of its existence last week, I apologize for nothing.

Trump in 2011: "If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He's the only who has to get people together!"

This is why we don't obey in advance. Make them spell it out and show their work. Occupy their weapons of lawfare with lost causes. Be obnoxious.

US-based applicants to Europe's top research council have increased five-fold sin the wake of this regime's persistent assault on academia.