Author | Lightnews

Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 4h

Excellent: "Like others in the audience, she was done taking advice about electability from a party that has so consistently failed to elect people."

Pine Tree Activism📎 @pinetreeactivism.org · 15h

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I Thought Graham Platner Was Finished.
What I Saw in Maine Changed My Mind.

Interesting, in-depth piece in this morning's NYT on Graham Platner, his campaign, and not being finished.

#Maine #MEpolitics
Gifted, published less than 3 hrs ago:

Opinion | I Thought Graham Platner Was Finished. What I Saw in Maine Changed My Mind.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Matt Rkiouak

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 7h

"But Her Emails" he cried softly

Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · Apr 2

What the actual f*ck?!!!

“Members of Trump’s National Security Council, including White House national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post and interviews with three U.S. officials.“

Waltz and staff used Gmail for government communications, officials say

Trump’s national security adviser is trying to manage his way out of a crisis. But new revelations about his team’s operational security are piling up in the inbox.

wapo.st

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Reposted by Matt Rkiouak

Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 9h

On the left, the refurbished Lincoln bathroom. On the right, picture I took in Saddam Hussein's palace in Basra in 2005.

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 7h

I'd generally agree with the thesis of www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv..., but how do you include a snobbish view of literature and then use _a monastic order_ metaphor for being a part of a classic literature bookclub? This is literally the plot of "A Canticle for Leibowitz", which is SciFi.

A Post-Literate Age

Journalism and fiction are both essential to a thriving democracy.

www.theatlantic.com

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 10h

There’s literally no long term rationale for this. Even if it was “I want to grift on shadow carceral and deportation”, you still need growth. This is like a virus or parasite that kills its host faster than the host is able to grow — it leads to everything being dead.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10h

note how the messaging has shifting from "we're targeting criminals" to "we're deporting everyone"

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Kristi Noem: "We will continue to do this work until there are no longer anybody in our communities that's here illegally."

Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 11h

Must be a bot or Russian troll. “Why don’t you simply wake up and realize it’s all been a dream?”. Can’t possibly be someone who’s so useless.

Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

Response needs to be: “It’s been <50/w/e> days, and you appear to have been sleeping in your Keebler Elf tree with all the windows and doors closed. Why are you taking a government paycheck and health benefits?”

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Mike Johnson: "Rep.-elect Grijalva is also a victim of the Democrats' political games."

Reposted by Matt Rkiouak

Craig Sicknick @jan6risingvoice.bsky.social · 1d

Why are we paying a dime in federal taxes on any level? The government is all but disbanded and what it left is a terrorist organization.

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Reposted by Matt Rkiouak

ceej @ceej.online · 1d

I wonder if our system would be any better if we forced elected representatives to live full-time in their home districts and conduct most government business virtually. Have their kids attend local schools, make them work out of local offices, etc. It should be easier for me to yell at my rep

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

Yeah, I’m with you, but Southie is a slum just waiting to happen. The long time residents that will be stuck there won’t deserve the crash that’s bound to come. Boston’s municipal planning for the past 40 years is a real crime.

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

You’d wipe out the Boston real estate market if you stopped them.

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

a man in a white jacket is standing next to a light

Alt: Ryan Gosling from the movie Drive in the iconic white jacket with yellow scorpion on the back, slowly turning around to face the camera.

media.tenor.com

Reposted by Matt Rkiouak

Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 1d

Excited for OpenAI to IPO just so we can see what investor reactions are to spending $50B - $75B a quarter on data centers and AI researchers while losing tens of billions a quarter.

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

The opinion polling on EVs is wild. Everyone needs to be given an EV and home with a charger for 2 weeks, the stat will flip 60 points to the positive.

Indescribable how much more reliable and convenient EVs are for American's typical personal use.

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

Idiot DEI is still DEI.

Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

The Democratic Party should be talking about 1) How they went so many years without realizing 30% of the country would literally hunt them down in the streets if given the opportunity, 2) What to do about that violent 30% to eliminate the threat to civil society.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

FOX: Pritzker has asked you specifically to pause immigration enforcement operations in Chicago so kids can safety celebrate Halloween. Do you have any plans to alter activity tomorrow?

NOEM: No. We're gonna be out on the streets in full force and increase our activities to make sure kids are safe.

Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

This is the best (and a good) argument, and I hope a better candidate with an equal or better chance of beating Collins arises. I am skeptical, though.

Reposted by Matt Rkiouak

Laura Chapin @laurachapin.bsky.social · 2d

There are no national media outlets in Durango, CO - 8 hours from Denver - like there are in Chicago or LA. Grateful to have local journalists + the Durango Herald covering the latest ICE thuggery.

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Reposted by Matt Rkiouak

Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 1d

A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." (This PBS story on the scientific brain drain is heartbreaking & ominous for medicine, imo.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO...

Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'

YouTube video by PBS NewsHour

www.youtube.com

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

That's absolutely not how primaries in the U.S. work. The electorate is entirely different. This is why Dems constantly lose in state elections where they should be competitive.

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

Go read something: advocacy.agc.org/mills-vs-col...

Mills vs. Collins: Maine Braces for a Political Heavyweight Showdown - AGC Advocacy

Political reports are coming from the state of Maine saying that Democratic Gov. Janet Mills will soon announce her US Senate candidacy against five-term incumbent Susan Collins (R). The Democrats ne...

advocacy.agc.org

Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

(Note I do recognize I’m saying Maine polls aren’t very reliable, after talking about polling — but a nuanced view is required that polling for primaries, general is a good check candidacy viability, but that when it comes to winning the general, Dems need an outstanding candidate)

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

I encourage you to familiarize yourself with how a Democrat needs to perform in Maine in order to win a Senate race. See e.g. advocacy.agc.org/mills-vs-col... for a bit of this and why Mills is likely to perform identically to Gideon in the prior race

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Mills vs. Collins: Maine Braces for a Political Heavyweight Showdown - AGC Advocacy

Political reports are coming from the state of Maine saying that Democratic Gov. Janet Mills will soon announce her US Senate candidacy against five-term incumbent Susan Collins (R). The Democrats ne...

advocacy.agc.org

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

This is “Support the Green Party candidate”. Its as bad as saying I won’t vote for either on principal.

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Matt Rkiouak @rkiouak.com · 1d

There aren't 7 plausible candidates for beating Collins. There's 1 and a quarter. There is time until the general, but when going up against an incumbent like Collins, everyone besides Platner and Mills has disqualified themselves by failing to demonstrate even glimmers of potential to date.

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