Val Syverson 🕷️
@vjpsyverson.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.3K following 3.4K posts
Paleontologist, teacher, parent, biophile, UU, intellectual omnivore. Topics: natural history, nerd stuff, surviving the culture war. Tenuous professor at UC Davis. Allergic to puns. (protogynous, he/they/Þei; Dr.) 🏳️‍🌈🇵🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼
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vjpsyverson.bsky.social
There's a magnificent passage in "The Dispossessed" about this.
"Speak not of what men deserve. For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of deserving, the idea of earning, and you will begin to be able to think."
— Ursula K. LeGuin, The Dispossessed
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
withouthistoryband.bsky.social
Ruby is in a hell of a situation with housing caused by a violent room mate (details in the thread here). Any help would be much appreciated.
anontranshoe.bsky.social
if anyone can offer some pro-bono legal resources in pdx for navigating this, I’d greatly appreciate it, and I’m in dire need of a place to stay or money for a hotel room or something

paypal.me/razorgrrlrec...
my cashapp is razorgrrl

any kind of help, assistance or advice is an act of kindness 🙏
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
idk it sounds like possibly an interesting master class sort of thing? like, a chance to observe how other people practice
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j-salvo.bsky.social
Word to the wise: do not fly internationally into Logan. All of the major public detainments of Legal Residents and Citizens at airports have been out of Logan.
luckykatstuart.bsky.social
Anyone in Boston an immigration lawyer or know one who can help this woman? Her husband is detained at Logan over a dismissed misdemeanor from 2017. He’s a legal resident of the US. She just asked for help an hour ago.
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notalawyer.bsky.social
the actual story here, which the media never talks about, is that police in this country have become a discrete right-wing political operation. the story isn't about cops leaving (they're lying about that), it's about the police trying to exert influence over elections.
misoshnik.bsky.social
Lmao is this supposed to be a bad thing?
A tweet from Bari Weiss that says “"It's shaken me to my core," a lieutenant said of Mamdani's unexpected victory in June. "The absolute dread I feel is palpable.
"
Today in @TheFP our @Olivia_Reingold talks to the cops who say they will walk if Zohran Mamdani is elected in November:”
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brooklynmarie.bsky.social
Bluesky look at this gift I found for you
svartflagg.bsky.social
Today in Portland, a fed shooting pepper balls from the roof of the ICE facility was so eager to aim for people’s heads, that after shooting one photographer in the head and another in the upper arm, they accidentally shot a DHS agent in the head. This photo shows the moment of impact;
Riot cops standing a street with less-lethal weapons, and one in a gas mask has a cloud of pepper dust around his helmet.
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thomaszimmer.bsky.social
Vought is at war with large swaths of the population, with the very idea of a society defined by democratic pluralism. If you have correctly identified that this guy is now in a really powerful position, that people like him are in control of the government, how is that not the main story?
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tredain.bsky.social
It's probably a very bad thing that we have so many billionaires with so much power whose collective brains have all been utterly broken because of a combination of A) they're afraid to die B) their dick doesn't work, and/or C) People yelled at them online.
schnorkles.bsky.social
I know and the fact that all the c and g therapies that were going to enable this completely bombed in clinic has sent them into a total tailspin.
motherjones.com
They say the only things certain in life are death and taxes.

But America’s billionaires, having taken care of the latter, are now trying to disrupt the former—and make sure nobody can pry their fortunes from their cold dead hands.
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
guy who hates soup but specifically in a racist way
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zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.
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chaoskat.bsky.social
Salvation Army seen feeding ICE today. For anyone who doesn't already know about their bigotry, here is more, No need to give them your money this Christmas, or ever.
unraveledpress.com
It’s dinner time for the police. Appears to be pizza from a Salvation Army van.

Broadview’s “free speech” curfew starts soon, at 6pm.
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clairewillett.bsky.social
this is more than just marching in full regalia to Broadview and praying outside of it

this is very deftly trapping ICE into the position of having to literally - LITERALLY, to them - turn Christ away from the door

any Catholic ICE officer was probably shook, I’m really not exaggerating
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
The natural progression of an ecological community through different stages of development.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologi...
Ecological succession - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
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mtsw.bsky.social
Yes ultimately many Dem electeds are afraid to give police under their command lawful orders because they think they will not be obeyed and the consequences that fact would have for them and for their state.
impemboganecue.bsky.social
It’s easy to call out Pritzker on this but something darker may be happening here. I’m not sure if he is secretly helping Trump behind the scenes. I think he’s terrified to test whether state police would obey him at all if he used them against the feds
unraveledpress.com
Several Illinois state troopers out here now with pepper ball launchers of their own.
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vjpsyverson.bsky.social
Nah, people like this are fine with it as long as it's not consensual
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
Do they really not realize that this kind of language just...reeks of desperation?
mossworm.bsky.social
can you all shut up for one second so I can find the ESD catalog
US Forest Service page says "The Radical Left Democrats shut down the government. This government website will be updated periodically during the funding lapse for mission critical functions. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people." US NRCS page says "The Radical Left Democrats shut down the government. This government website will be updated periodically during the funding lapse for mission critical functions. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people." US FSIS page says "The Radical Left Democrats shut down the government. This government website will be updated periodically during the funding lapse for mission critical functions. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people."
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
Trying to stop the process of ecological succession is a losing battle, is what I'm basically trying to say here.
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
Well... sure, we're all constantly being transported into the future, and we don't get much say in it. Places change, always. They have to. I don't think any community in this country is old enough to have become the human equivalent of a climax community; none of them are old enough.
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titaniumman91.bsky.social
It's worse, *they were cooperating*.

ICE asked to search, the son said yes, told them to wait while he put the dog in the bathroom. They asked for the sons ID, he went outside to get it and ICE started snooping and opened the bathroom door and then shot the dog.

Never cooperate without a warrant.
vjpsyverson.bsky.social
antifaxolotl is my new favorite thing
mattiekaiser.bsky.social
The resistance will be televised... On the cartoon network?
Screenshot of tiktok video captioned "new characters unlocked at the Portland Detention Center" showing several inflatable cartoon characters including "left shark" and some guitar players in the background
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donmoyn.bsky.social
These guys have gotten incredibly rich by fleecing the government with subpar tech that was designed for rentseeking rather than performance. A smart Dem agenda item would be to build internal tech capacity. The fact that it would punish these guys is just a silver lining.
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grandmasterfei.bsky.social
Except the president of MIT (which Trump’s uncle attended, as he frequently rambles about) just told his administration to pound sand.
jameeljaffer.bsky.social
MIT's response to the Trump admin's proposed "compact" is excellent and should be a model for other universities. orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...
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4nikkolas.bsky.social
after millions of views and shares of my Portland Frog art. (thank you all🙏🏾) I got requests to highlight priests, and chickens, and Chicagoans, and T-Rexes, and more… all of us who refuse to bend the knee. so this is for US.
𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚕.
𝚆𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚗.