Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
@amandasmith.bsky.social
Writer, science nerd, boy crazy, Dodger fan. she/her. I made a book & won best dramatic screenplay at #AFF2021. Opinions my own & often wrong.
Pinned
Please don’t mistake declarative statements for expertise, I’m just medically incapable of speaking without unfounded confidence.
I’ve never kitted a canvas from my own stash before and I’m feeling so accomplished right now
February 9, 2026 at 3:52 AM
I’ve never kitted a canvas from my own stash before and I’m feeling so accomplished right now
I’m finally watching Kpop Demon Hunters so I can have conversations with my 6yo niece again
February 9, 2026 at 3:39 AM
I’m finally watching Kpop Demon Hunters so I can have conversations with my 6yo niece again
The Jesus ad and the Hims and Hers ad are, tonally, the same.
February 9, 2026 at 3:18 AM
The Jesus ad and the Hims and Hers ad are, tonally, the same.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Fun fact: The divorce scene in the Kid Rock show was an actual divorce showing a wife leaving her conservative husband.
February 9, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Fun fact: The divorce scene in the Kid Rock show was an actual divorce showing a wife leaving her conservative husband.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Puerto Rico hasn't had reliable power in a decade.
The grid sends occasional surges through the wires that fry appliances.
Electricity rates are among the highest in the entire U.S.
Heat waves are getting intense in the summer, and outages mean A/C is no guarantee for an aging population.
The grid sends occasional surges through the wires that fry appliances.
Electricity rates are among the highest in the entire U.S.
Heat waves are getting intense in the summer, and outages mean A/C is no guarantee for an aging population.
February 9, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Puerto Rico hasn't had reliable power in a decade.
The grid sends occasional surges through the wires that fry appliances.
Electricity rates are among the highest in the entire U.S.
Heat waves are getting intense in the summer, and outages mean A/C is no guarantee for an aging population.
The grid sends occasional surges through the wires that fry appliances.
Electricity rates are among the highest in the entire U.S.
Heat waves are getting intense in the summer, and outages mean A/C is no guarantee for an aging population.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Remember that under the first Trump administration, Puerto Rico had to suffer through the longest power blackout in U.S. history bsky.app/profile/cost...
During his Administration, Hurricane Maria knocked out power to 1.5 million people in Puerto Rico and it didn’t get restored for ABOUT A YEAR! It was the largest blackout in U.S. history. This should be line one of any hurricane recovery political coverage. www.vox.com/identities/2...
February 9, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Remember that under the first Trump administration, Puerto Rico had to suffer through the longest power blackout in U.S. history bsky.app/profile/cost...
Pedro Pascal is a regular at the store and is such a Nice Dude that my coworker and I fully squealed “Pedro is at the Super Bowl!!!!” upon seeing him like he was a friend from high school
February 9, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Pedro Pascal is a regular at the store and is such a Nice Dude that my coworker and I fully squealed “Pedro is at the Super Bowl!!!!” upon seeing him like he was a friend from high school
“23 seconds in the 2nd quarter remaining”
*four hours later*
“17 seconds in the 2nd quarter remaining”
*four hours later*
“17 seconds in the 2nd quarter remaining”
February 9, 2026 at 1:04 AM
“23 seconds in the 2nd quarter remaining”
*four hours later*
“17 seconds in the 2nd quarter remaining”
*four hours later*
“17 seconds in the 2nd quarter remaining”
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
I’m here in Minneapolis and in a few groups responding to the attacks - observing, recording, warning but also getting groceries to people in hiding.
The post below doesn’t ring true to me at all. The volunteers are amazing (most do more than I do), and NOBODY is worried about protestor behavior.
The post below doesn’t ring true to me at all. The volunteers are amazing (most do more than I do), and NOBODY is worried about protestor behavior.
Friends in Minneapolis are very worried about this development. Both in terms of state police's role in arresting protestors and the worry that this could set off the kind of spiral of distrust and destruction that followed George Floyd's murder.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
At Least 50 Arrested After Protests Escalate Outside Minnesota Federal Building
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:54 PM
I’m here in Minneapolis and in a few groups responding to the attacks - observing, recording, warning but also getting groceries to people in hiding.
The post below doesn’t ring true to me at all. The volunteers are amazing (most do more than I do), and NOBODY is worried about protestor behavior.
The post below doesn’t ring true to me at all. The volunteers are amazing (most do more than I do), and NOBODY is worried about protestor behavior.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
A new systematic review has found that trans women on HRT have the same level of fitness as cis women and don't retain any advantage in sports.
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Trans athletes may not have fitness advantage in women’s sport, landmark study finds
Findings suggest physical performance in trans women converges toward that of cis women over time
www.independent.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 12:22 PM
A new systematic review has found that trans women on HRT have the same level of fitness as cis women and don't retain any advantage in sports.
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Nothing has changed here.
So you might ask - how will we know when things have changed? For me it’s all the kids back in school.
So you might ask - how will we know when things have changed? For me it’s all the kids back in school.
A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:
February 8, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Nothing has changed here.
So you might ask - how will we know when things have changed? For me it’s all the kids back in school.
So you might ask - how will we know when things have changed? For me it’s all the kids back in school.
Look at this very good boi fighting the panopticon
Got a camera to monitor my boy and verify noise complaints but he got too smart and joined antipaw to take down the police state
February 8, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Look at this very good boi fighting the panopticon
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Got a camera to monitor my boy and verify noise complaints but he got too smart and joined antipaw to take down the police state
February 5, 2026 at 4:13 AM
Got a camera to monitor my boy and verify noise complaints but he got too smart and joined antipaw to take down the police state
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
This, from @jamellebouie.net is exactly right. And I think so many folks have refused to see or admit what Trump is because admitting implicates them, or their families, so denial is easier.
February 8, 2026 at 5:33 PM
This, from @jamellebouie.net is exactly right. And I think so many folks have refused to see or admit what Trump is because admitting implicates them, or their families, so denial is easier.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Adoption is not social welfare. It is what happens because we *reject* social welfare—because we do *not* help those who need it most. Adoption is a *business*: the business of making affluent people into the parents of less fortunate people’s children.
February 7, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Adoption is not social welfare. It is what happens because we *reject* social welfare—because we do *not* help those who need it most. Adoption is a *business*: the business of making affluent people into the parents of less fortunate people’s children.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
What’s darkly funny is that there’s an old CIA manual about this, and how if enough people do it, it can destabilize a country. It’s still on their website right now after being declassified in 2008.
February 7, 2026 at 10:32 PM
What’s darkly funny is that there’s an old CIA manual about this, and how if enough people do it, it can destabilize a country. It’s still on their website right now after being declassified in 2008.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Breaking — Will Lewis out at the Washington Post. He just sent this email to staff (shared with me by staffer):
February 7, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Breaking — Will Lewis out at the Washington Post. He just sent this email to staff (shared with me by staffer):
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
1,000 reskeets and it's totally made up, that's a photo from Los Angeles, stop sharing this disinfo-spreader
February 7, 2026 at 9:41 PM
1,000 reskeets and it's totally made up, that's a photo from Los Angeles, stop sharing this disinfo-spreader
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
I’m not arguing with no account defending AI. My grandmother lives in an area being environmentally compromised currently by an ai data center. I remember the color of the lake before they built it and the sludge I see in it when I go to see her. Shut the fuck up about “the benefits of AI” forever.
February 7, 2026 at 3:46 PM
I’m not arguing with no account defending AI. My grandmother lives in an area being environmentally compromised currently by an ai data center. I remember the color of the lake before they built it and the sludge I see in it when I go to see her. Shut the fuck up about “the benefits of AI” forever.
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Could be that JD needs a planeful of food because he is terrified of being exposed to San Pellegrino bsky.app/profile/denn...
I’ve made a lot of jokes about the J.D. Vance sparkling water story from Hillbilly Elegy, to the extent that it probably sounds made up, but you owe it to yourself to read the real thing if you haven’t
February 7, 2026 at 7:39 PM
Could be that JD needs a planeful of food because he is terrified of being exposed to San Pellegrino bsky.app/profile/denn...
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
I'm sorry the guy changing the rules on the fly is named what
I stand with County Executive Calvin Ball as he signs emergency legislation today prohibiting privately owned buildings from being used as ICE detention centers.
Howard County chose dignity, accountability, and its people. Tune into our event now:
bit.ly/4a2VtHw
Howard County chose dignity, accountability, and its people. Tune into our event now:
bit.ly/4a2VtHw
Redirecting...
bit.ly
February 7, 2026 at 2:34 PM
I'm sorry the guy changing the rules on the fly is named what
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
Reposted by Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew
“Unlike earlier iterations of family detention, many of the children now held at Dilley are U.S. residents, apprehended not at the border but at their homes, outside schools, in courthouses and during routine immigration check-ins.”
Maria is one of hundreds of children, who — like Liam Ramos — have been held at a Texas detention facility where parents say children languish as they’re served contaminated food, receive little education and struggle to obtain basic medical care.
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Children trapped in Texas immigration facility recount nightmares, inedible food, no school
A photo of Liam Conejo Ramos, a scared 5-year-old, drew attention to a detention center in Dilley, Texas. Advocates say his experience reflects what hundreds of children have endured out of public vie...
www.nbcnews.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:21 AM
“Unlike earlier iterations of family detention, many of the children now held at Dilley are U.S. residents, apprehended not at the border but at their homes, outside schools, in courthouses and during routine immigration check-ins.”