Craig Pearlman
@blackfog.bsky.social
Geek, table-top gamer, TV enthusiast, food lover, erstwhile cat parent, native Philadelphian, and grump. He/him.
@blackfog on 🦣, and many other fine establishments. And a few that aren’t.
Trans rights are human rights. No kings. No fascists. Fuck Nazis.🇺🇦
@blackfog on 🦣, and many other fine establishments. And a few that aren’t.
Trans rights are human rights. No kings. No fascists. Fuck Nazis.🇺🇦
Happy Friday the 13th, everybody! Try not to get killed by a psycho in a mask.
February 13, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Happy Friday the 13th, everybody! Try not to get killed by a psycho in a mask.
Maybe all of a newsroom’s staff *was* necessary.
Correction: A previous version of this post misidentified the South Caucasus as belonging to Russia. The region, made up of territory in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, is not part of Russia. We deleted the previous post.
February 12, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Maybe all of a newsroom’s staff *was* necessary.
It would be a shame if something happened to this department.
Never mind. Even that’s too much for congressional Democrats to try.
Never mind. Even that’s too much for congressional Democrats to try.
Large swaths of the Department of Homeland Security are set to shut down Saturday unless lawmakers and the White House strike a last-minute deal to fund the agency.
Partial government shutdown looms as ICE negotiations stall
Large swaths of the Department of Homeland Security are set to shut down Saturday unless lawmakers and the White House strike a last-minute deal.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:29 PM
It would be a shame if something happened to this department.
Never mind. Even that’s too much for congressional Democrats to try.
Never mind. Even that’s too much for congressional Democrats to try.
This is true of any poll ever. How you phrase things will skew your responses. It’s not limited to transgender issues.
Polling on trans issues is difficult to interpret. It becomes even more difficult when pollsters use politically charged terms like 'transgender ideology.'
Great new analysis by @billiejsweeney.bsky.social, only on Assigned Media.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
Great new analysis by @billiejsweeney.bsky.social, only on Assigned Media.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
When Trans Issues Become ‘Ideology’ — Assigned
Two surveys of Americans, published just days apart, reveal the limitations and revelations of polling.
www.assignedmedia.org
February 12, 2026 at 5:26 PM
This is true of any poll ever. How you phrase things will skew your responses. It’s not limited to transgender issues.
Shame we protect our beer more than our guns, too.
Rep. Brian Steil: "I flew home to my home state of Wisconsin, went to buy a 6 pack a beer, the clerk asked for my ID, confirmed it, and then I was allowed to buy the beer. I just think it's nuts that we protect our beer more than our ballots."
February 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Shame we protect our beer more than our guns, too.
I’m not sure if I should cry, laugh, or be a fiery ball of rage.
Homan: "ICE is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency. We're not out scouring the streets to disappear people or deny people their civil rights or due process."
February 12, 2026 at 5:23 PM
I’m not sure if I should cry, laugh, or be a fiery ball of rage.
Clearly, Pam Bondi is a class act and is a strong maintainer of the separation between the White House and the DOJ.
February 12, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Clearly, Pam Bondi is a class act and is a strong maintainer of the separation between the White House and the DOJ.
A huge part of our e-commerce implementation has been broken _for months_ because I was given the wrong URLs.
Worse: we've been recording HTTP 200 responses for this activity because _someone decided that any random URL should redirect to the index page and return 200_.
Worse: we've been recording HTTP 200 responses for this activity because _someone decided that any random URL should redirect to the index page and return 200_.
February 11, 2026 at 11:58 AM
A huge part of our e-commerce implementation has been broken _for months_ because I was given the wrong URLs.
Worse: we've been recording HTTP 200 responses for this activity because _someone decided that any random URL should redirect to the index page and return 200_.
Worse: we've been recording HTTP 200 responses for this activity because _someone decided that any random URL should redirect to the index page and return 200_.
I would not be shocked to find out that ICE's next set of plans to relocate "detainees" was to use railcars.
February 11, 2026 at 11:55 AM
I would not be shocked to find out that ICE's next set of plans to relocate "detainees" was to use railcars.
Sure. I always invite total strangers *and their family* to my private island.
Following calls for his resignation, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told members of Congress that he and his family had lunch with Jeffrey Epstein in the Caribbean, but denied that he had a meaningful relationship with the convicted sex offender.
Lutnick distances himself from Epstein, says he had lunch on his island
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Congress that he recalls meeting with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein three times over the course of 14 years.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:36 AM
Sure. I always invite total strangers *and their family* to my private island.
Remember: the Nazis started at home first and changes were quite rapid. And all perfectly “legal.” Once one group is demonized, it’s a quick step to demonize others. To quickly define them as sub-human or inferior or an existential threat.
We cannot let this continue unchecked.
We cannot let this continue unchecked.
“what we’re witnessing is…on the scale of the larger concentration camp systems in history—the Soviet Gulag, the Nazi concentration camps, & Chinese labor camps…The admin is actively aspiring to a system of that magnitude to reshape society to its racial, political & cultural prefs for generations”
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
February 11, 2026 at 6:31 AM
Remember: the Nazis started at home first and changes were quite rapid. And all perfectly “legal.” Once one group is demonized, it’s a quick step to demonize others. To quickly define them as sub-human or inferior or an existential threat.
We cannot let this continue unchecked.
We cannot let this continue unchecked.
A fun one if you’re a language/etymology geek like yours truly.
In parts of America, even the smallest ponds are “lakes” and tiny streams are “rivers.” What gives?
Here’s what our research told us: https://wapo.st/4rJnbPw
Here’s what our research told us: https://wapo.st/4rJnbPw
February 11, 2026 at 6:26 AM
A fun one if you’re a language/etymology geek like yours truly.
Everything seems horrible again today. Just summing up. Too much to focus on all of it.
February 11, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Everything seems horrible again today. Just summing up. Too much to focus on all of it.
You don’t say!
Breaking news: The FBI relied heavily on previously debunked claims of widespread election irregularities in Georgia as it persuaded a federal judge to sign off on plans to seize 2020 voting records from Fulton County, court documents show.
FBI cited debunked claims to obtain warrant for Fulton County vote records, documents show
The FBI told a federal judge that it is investigating whether any “deficiencies” in Georgia officials’ handling of the 2020 presidential election were intentional.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:42 PM
You don’t say!
Given the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” was .7 seconds of a nothingburger…
Rep. Mark Alford (R-TX) revealed that House Republicans are "investigating" Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show because they suspect it was "much worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction.
House GOP launches Bad Bunny probe: 'Worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction'
Rep. Mark Alford (R-TX) revealed that House Republicans are "investigating" Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show because they suspect it was "much worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction."During a Tuesday interview on Real America's Voice, Alford told the hosts that he and other House Repu...
bit.ly
February 10, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Given the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” was .7 seconds of a nothingburger…
This is utterly fakakta, but countries and states keep enacting unenforceable age verification laws with complete disregard for their viability.
What are they supposed to do?
What are they supposed to do?
so discord? this is some horseshit & i do not trust it. fuck you and your AI age verification
February 10, 2026 at 9:20 PM
This is utterly fakakta, but countries and states keep enacting unenforceable age verification laws with complete disregard for their viability.
What are they supposed to do?
What are they supposed to do?
For those of you wondering the outcome of my recent complaints about our offshore vendor, the release was an abject failure. And all the stuff I was worried about did indeed happen.
February 10, 2026 at 9:13 PM
For those of you wondering the outcome of my recent complaints about our offshore vendor, the release was an abject failure. And all the stuff I was worried about did indeed happen.
Glad we’re using Discord.
New: Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, just 'joked' ICE is watching Salesforce employees who travelled to the U.S. We got a bunch of internal Slacks.
'If you’re visiting from outside the United States, please stand … ICE is keeping track of that' www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
'If you’re visiting from outside the United States, please stand … ICE is keeping track of that' www.404media.co/marc-benioff...
Marc Benioff 'Jokes' ICE Is Watching Salesforce Employees Who Traveled to the U.S.
"Employees are going absolutely apeshit in internal Slack about how completely awful it was."
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Glad we’re using Discord.
Reposted by Craig Pearlman
they pissed off the WeRateDogs guy enough from him to break character to directly tell them off, that's genuinely impressive levels of being an asshole
February 10, 2026 at 8:22 PM
they pissed off the WeRateDogs guy enough from him to break character to directly tell them off, that's genuinely impressive levels of being an asshole
Reposted by Craig Pearlman
The sweet, sweet sounds of spring 😌
February 10, 2026 at 8:00 PM
The sweet, sweet sounds of spring 😌
I can tell you how this ends, for free: they do not. Next?
Meta, TikTok and Snap have agreed to undergo independent assessments of how effectively they protect the mental health of teenage users, submitting to a battery of tests by a coalition of advocacy organizations.
Under growing pressure, the biggest social networks agree to be rated on teen safety
The three major social media companies have agreed to undergo independent assessments of how effectively they protect the mental health of teenage users.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:01 PM
I can tell you how this ends, for free: they do not. Next?
Dude, I’ve been doing this professionally for about a decade longer than you’ve been _alive_, so maybe, just maybe, when I suggest strongly you guard against certain conditions…there’s a reason.
February 10, 2026 at 5:42 AM
Dude, I’ve been doing this professionally for about a decade longer than you’ve been _alive_, so maybe, just maybe, when I suggest strongly you guard against certain conditions…there’s a reason.
All this Python fiddling reminds me why I like compiled languages with strict type-checking. Wasted so much time on “stuff a compiler would’ve prevented, but now I have to wait for it to fail randomly halfway through.”
February 9, 2026 at 7:33 PM
All this Python fiddling reminds me why I like compiled languages with strict type-checking. Wasted so much time on “stuff a compiler would’ve prevented, but now I have to wait for it to fail randomly halfway through.”