The big news tonight is two-fold — Trump's "domestic terrorism" memorandum and James Comey's reported indictment — and both are signs that Trump's authoritarianism is here. Now. Both situations, though, show how weak Trump actually is. That will be coming tonight, at Law Dork: www.lawdork.com

UT Austin implements the #txlege demand that faculty not have an actual elected voice; instead the “faculty advisory board” will be picked by the administration. This should, in a functioning system, put UT’s accreditation at risk.

As a geologist with some experience working with biologists, one of my favorite things is when they refer to certain snails as "terrestrial snails." I know this is to distinguish them from aquatic snails but it also implies the existence of extraterrestrial snails, which I am 100% in favor of.

The year is 2001. Sinclair is using a tragedy to suppress what songs the radio can play. The year is 2025. Sinclair is using a tragedy to suppress what shows the tv can play. The year is 2050. Sinclair is perfect. I have no complaints. I named all my children Sinclair.

This isn't even a slight exaggeration. He is actively working on destroying the US's entire vaccine infrastructure. The HepB vote will be tomorrow, where they will get rid of the birth dose and recommend it at 30 days, dooming a bunch of infants to chronic infection ft. cirrhosis, cancer, and death.

Drop an old pic you still love.

Expand this to science, the arts, actual civics, etc. They are bent on gutting all forms of powerful education. That's how you get a subservient populace.

Growth industries in the USA, 2025: - Private prisons - End-of-life care - Deportation officers - Deportation transport - Tariff collection - Ballroom construction - Mortgage fraud investigation* - AI training - Coal mining** *Only applies to investigating liberals **Bitter geologist laughter

Growth industries in the USA, 2025: - Private prisons - End-of-life care - Deportation officers - Deportation transport - Tariff collection - Ballroom construction - Mortgage fraud investigation* - AI training - Coal mining** *Only applies to investigating liberals **Bitter geologist laughter

To: @uofcalifornia.bsky.social From: Californians who love you PLEASE STOP CAPITULATING IN ADVANCE. UC has given the Trump admin unrestricted, root-level access to faculty computers, per @abazajian.net drkev.substack.com/p/uc-gives-a...

NEW: Mexico could displace ALL US gas imports for power generation, with solar and batteries ☀️ The country’s abundant sunshine means it can become a global solar superpower and boost its energy security at the same time:)

The world would be much better off if we could get our ridiculous survival-at-all-costs hardwired brains to accept nuance, shades of grey, and difference.

The people who cover politics cover the sport of politics as distinct from government. To them a very successful political influencer *is* more important than a state legislator. They’ve heard of him before. (Because this is bluesky so it helps to be explicit — this is bad)

Fucking hell. 💔 yet again, and once again in my home state.

I assumed the line “Nancy Mace: *screams*” was a joke. But that’s what happened. Someone (presumably Mace) started shouting “you are absolutely ridiculous”

Zoos in Japan, Canada, and the US are holding my sanity together by sharing videos of baby Malayan tapirs. File this under "Coping Mechanisms, 2025."

This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

“Do not offer thoughts and prayers as you systemically enable such tragedies. Do not claim prayers are sufficient when children die as they pray. Do not pretend you do not understand.” — Lydia, 16, Minneapolis

Democratic states should use some of their reserve funds to set up state-headquartered research centers for disease control, climate and environment, technology, etc. @governor.ca.gov @governorwalz.mn.gov @govpritzker.illinois.gov @govwesmoore.bsky.social - talking to all of you & your colleagues.

Mayor Brandon of Chicago responds to a question from a reporter if pushing back will make things harder? “Can you imagine if my ancestors would have had the same rationale? Let’s not fight against the Confederacy. Let’s just try to get along, and maybe one day they’ll give us our freedom?”

I don't know who needs to hear this, but RFK Jr. has ZERO idea what mitochondria are, and what they do. KNOWING A BIG WORD DOES NOT MAKE YOU A QUALIFIED SCIENTIST.

Thoughts and prayers are the same as likes and shares... UTTERLY UNABLE TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. We need gun control laws in the United States. We need a government run by people who care about the people they serve, not just the profits of the corporations who buy them their seats. We. Need. Change. 💔

This should get WIDE circulation: MIT stating that it “has no confidence in the provenance, reliability or validity of the data and has no confidence in the veracity of the research contained in the paper.” gizmodo.com/mit-backs-aw...

And the project to discredit universities as hotbeds of illiberalism and intolerance has been a success. Even people who should know better routinely talk about “needing to win back the public’s trust”, etc. Those with worse intentions are using the manufactured crisis to enact retrograde agendas.

I would really enjoy doing science & talking about science & thinking about science & living my science dreams but my country is in a fascist authoritarian hate spiral & so I will balance daily life with calling out the fascist authoritarian hate & mentally preparing to fight for OUR country. WHEW

Going on vacation tomorrow so spent Saturday night making maps of all the places in Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina with higher violent crime and murder rates than D.C. Perhaps better places for those governors to focus resources! www.pbump.net/o/more-peopl...

Trump has made no comment. The White House has found the time to post a video of the arrest of that guy who threw a sandwich at a cop, but nothing about a cop killed defending the government's own employees. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose district includes parts of Atlanta, has also said nothing.

A terrorist targeted federal workers last week. There wasn’t much reporting on it. But I’m not finished thinking about it! 🧵 An anti-vaxxer fired more than 500 gunshots into CDC Atlanta, shattering 150 “blast-proof” windows on 6 buildings. Employees were pinned down in terror.

This is not a massive decision or any kind of change. Costco has never carried mifepristone in its pharmacies. An anti-abortion group is taking credit for something that didn't happen, possibly to generate disingenuous left-wing ire against one of the few corporations that hasn't gone MAGA.

We had a near-perfect national regulatory system for sportsbooks. Then Chris Christie asked SCOTUS to blow it up for his casino buddies in 2018. Now we have this.

This is actually gross. Let's not forget that even within white society, certain people have been discriminated against for not being the "right" kind of white. The current administration's main goal is to divide, divide, divide...and conquer.

modern conservatism is a cult of human misery and suffering in the name of machismo. They literally hate milkshakes.

This is exactly the crux of it. All of these companies just see us as potential profits. They will cannibalize loneliness to line their pockets, to the detriment of society as a whole.

Here is the chart showing the growth of reported protest over time, 2025 vs. 2017, referenced in the piece below.

Over the past 16 months, @thenation.com has published regular dispatches from Lujayn, a teenager in the Gaza Strip. Lujayn has endured huge loss and trauma. Now she, along with the rest of Gaza, is starving. But she is still writing. This is her latest. www.thenation.com/article/worl...

THIS is why we need to regulate AI. Regulations are NOT the enemy. Profit above all else at the expense of humanity is.

Congrats to the Washington Post for becoming the mouthpiece of the regime, under the Bezos editorial policy of protecting "personal liberties"

Right-wing media figures claim that D.C. should be a “test case” and argue that “we need full military occupation” of other “problematic cities” like New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Thinking about how girls used to go to "finishing school," as if their mental development ceased after they had ingested the requisite amount of manners & basic understanding of math and language. Gross to think ~half of society was (& still often is) seen as a product to be finished & consumed.

Yes, an earthquake shaking NY/NJ is kind of unusual, but not totally. While that area isn't near a famous fault like the San Andreas, there are many older, less active faults on the East coast capable of (relatively) small ruptures. And no, you do NOT need to worry about the big one in Manhattan.

🗣️ Psst...coming soon to a podcast platform near you! 🌋⚒️🌏 Field Day wth Jess Phoenix, a new podcast featuring tales of exploration & science from the ends of the earth.

This interactive map shows what California coastal areas you should evacuate under a tsunami advisory.

A tsunami warning is in effect for portions of the North Coast to the Oregon border with a tsunami advisory active from the Bay Area south to Southern California. Anticipated wave heights have been reduced slightly near Crescent city but peak impacts still expected around coastal harbors and Inlets

#SanFrancisco, a 1-foot tsunami is not the same as a 1 foot tide. It is a wall of water in motion. It's the energy, not the height, that's dangerous. Don't go to the beach to watch this. #tsunami #LosAngeles #SanDiego, #Seattle

Partial crater wall collapse at Sundhnukar eruption, Iceland at 10.32 local... Captured from: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfc... #geosciences #volcano #iceland

Look at those lava fountains! Iceland is putting on a show again. Local evacuations are happening, but for now we can expect similar eruptive activity to the most recent prior eruptive episodes. #volcano youtu.be/cTCNnd9pAvI?...

Veðurstofan has now published a map of the current fissure eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The active fissure is marked in red, and is about 700 meters long. The little topographic high just northeast of the end is the cone from the August-September 2024 eruption. vedur.is/um-vi/fretti...

Let's normalize the belief that people don't have to suffer in order to deserve a good life.