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bluestatedon.bsky.social
@bluestatedon.bsky.social
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” — H. L. Mencken

“Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.” — FDR

Anti-DEI=Resegregation GOP=Confederacy
Reposted
Obviously this is a bad argument but it’s one guy with a small account. What we need to focus on are the much bigger voices who are giving folks permission to think this way, either explicitly, or by keeping quiet about how there is one acceptable option in elections
February 17, 2026 at 6:32 PM
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I can’t help thinking there’s so much money changing hands wrt ICE detention that there aren’t even enough investigative reporters to track

www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
Michigan ICE detention center owner reports $254 million profit, record new business in 2025
The company that owns Michigan’s North Lake Processing Center, the largest immigration detention facility in the Midwest, reported $254 million in profit last year, up nearly 700 percent from $32 mill...
www.michiganpublic.org
February 17, 2026 at 7:08 PM
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"Kennedy, in a bestselling 2021 book, explicitly rejected germ theory...in favor of 'miasma theory,' which pediatrician and vaccine inventor Paul Offit describes as 'a long-abandoned medical theory that holds that diseases are caused by poisonous vapors.'" 👇
Remember RFK Jr.'s remark about how he was "not scared of a germ" because he "used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats"?

Funny thing about that: Of *course* he's not scared of a germ. Because he doesn't believe in the germ theory of disease.

Really. Literally.

www.thebulwark.com/p/rfk-robert...
The Disastrous First Year of RFK Jr.
The damage the HHS secretary has done to science and public health is appalling—and it could have been avoided.
www.thebulwark.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:09 PM
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Happy Black History Month
February 17, 2026 at 8:50 PM
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Unprecedented corruption doesn’t even begin to describe what man Bag Man Homan, Miller, and Noem are doing here….
The current person in charge of ICE's procurement for detention is a GEO Group executive who ran the company's immigration detention portfolio. He was granted an "ethics waiver" from DHS allowing him to hand out contracts to GEO in his new role.
February 17, 2026 at 9:17 PM
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NEW: Today, an immigration judge terminated removal proceedings for Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia student, Palestinian activist, and U.S. permanent resident whom the Trump administration arrested in April 2025 and attempted to deport under the foreign policy provision.
February 17, 2026 at 9:11 PM
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Coverage of Andy Barr, a sitting Congressman and candidate for U.S. Senate, running an ad declaring, "It's not a sin to be white" -- a variation of a notorious white nationalist slogan

AP: Zero
NYT: Zero
WashPost: Zero
Reuters: Zero
Politico: Zero
Axios: Zero
Major corporations bankroll political ad featuring white supremacist slogan
Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY), who is running to replace Mitch McConnell in the United States Senate, released his first television ad earlier this month.
popular.info
February 17, 2026 at 2:51 PM
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Across the arctic region, the permafrost is disappearing. The phenomenon has been observed across the far-flung corners of the Arctic. In northwestern Canada, researchers have found rivers with the same orange colouring. Satellite imagery analysed by the FT and confirmed by experts at the University
Why rivers in the far north are turning orange
The brightly coloured waterways in the Arctic are a sign that permafrost is thawing, with potentially hazardous consequences
www.ft.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:41 PM
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My dad's second-favorite band
February 17, 2026 at 4:38 PM
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A confidential document shows that Trump’s DOJ plans to analyze states’ voter files and then instruct the states to remove specific voters. But the federal government has neither the legal authority nor expertise to correctly add and remove voters from the rolls. bit.ly/46tX4nd
“Confidential” Agreements Show Trump Administration’s Plans for States’ Voter Data 
At least 10 states have handed over their full voter files to the Justice Department.
www.brennancenter.org
February 17, 2026 at 4:04 PM
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"The data from January shows that the nation’s two operating utility-scale offshore wind farms — South Fork Wind and Vineyard Wind — performed as well as gas-fired power plants and better than coal-fired facilities"
Offshore wind showed up big during the East Coast’s brutal cold
America’s two utility-scale offshore wind farms performed as well as gas power plants and better than coal in January — including during Winter Storm Fern.
www.canarymedia.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:24 PM
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“Not one third of the inhabitants, even of this province, are of English descent,” Thomas Paine noted in Common Sense, "This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe."
February 17, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Donald Trump—with the certain support of Congressional Republicans—is trying to abrogate collective bargaining agreements. He has no legal power to do so.

www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...
Trump administration will union-bust, courts be damned
Multiple courts have blocked the Office of Personnel Management’s attempt to terminate union contracts for thousands of federal employees—but hey, what if OPM just did it anyway? That’s ...
www.dailykos.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:07 PM
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That last sentence? That's the strategy. They've been pretty open about it.
“They’re trapped in this little confinement cell, a dark cell with no sunlight, with multiple people,” said Shaan Chatterjee, an attorney at New England Immigration Law. “They’re basically torturing people into signing off on their own deportation.”

(Free article) www.sunjournal.com/2026/02/07/i...
ICE detainees from Maine being held under ‘inhumane’ conditions in Mass. facility, attorneys say
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the allegations of overcrowding and lack of access to lawyers are false.
www.sunjournal.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:59 PM
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Stephen Colbert said that the FCC and CBS - which is in no way a compromised or complicit organization - wouldn’t allow him to broadcast an interview with Democratic State Rep James Talarico. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
Colbert Doesn’t Give an FCC About Calling Out CBS
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:04 PM
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One thing that's important to realize now is that, even in a scenario where Dems sweep to a crushing trifecta in 2028, Republicans will use their control of the courts to attempt to continue, as much as they can, to run executive agencies in exile, with DHS/ICE under Biden as the model
February 17, 2026 at 2:56 PM
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".. Anthropic wants to put guardrails in place to stop Claude from being used for mass surveillance of Americans or to develop weapons ..

".. The Pentagon wants to be able to use Claude as long as its deployment doesn’t break the law."

@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Anthropic’s Pentagon Talks Snag on AI Surveillance, Weapons
Anthropic PBC’s talks about extending a contract with the Pentagon are being held up over additional protections the artificial intelligence company wants to put on its Claude tool, a person familiar ...
www.bloomberg.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:35 PM
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How is it possible that Kristi Noem still has this job. Imagine if you’re a family member or a shipmate of this guardsman.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
February 17, 2026 at 3:17 PM
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Over the past year, federal workers have been on the frontlines of Donald Trump's intentional efforts to traumatize America's workforce. @repwalkinshaw.bsky.social and Oversight Democrats stand with our federal workforce.
February 17, 2026 at 3:17 PM
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His alleged mistress left her precious heated blanket on the other plane, so Corey Lewandowski demanded the pilot turn the plane around to go get it.

When he refused, Lewandowski -- who has zero authority to fire anyone at any time -- tried to fire the pilot IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLIGHT.
it's even worse than first reported

the fucking guy caused an inflight disruption so bad the pilot had to leave the command deck then he was like I RELIEVE U OF DUTY

absolute toddler baby shit brained government at the highest levels
New details emerge about in-flight blow-up between Corey Lewandowski and pilot
Additional details have emerged about a mid-flight showdown between Homeland Security advisor Corey Lewandowski that led to a Coast Guard pilot's firing — and immediate reinstatement.DHS Secretary Kri...
www.rawstory.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:56 PM
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The FCC has given the gift of incredibly good free PR to the Talarico campaign
Stephen Colbert said that the FCC and CBS - which is in no way a compromised or complicit organization - wouldn’t allow him to broadcast an interview with Democratic State Rep James Talarico. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
Colbert Doesn’t Give an FCC About Calling Out CBS
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:00 PM
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"One of Rubio’s most striking statements was that 'armies do not fight for abstractions.' He made this statement in the year in which we’ll celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence."

Morning Shots from @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and @eggerdc.bsky.social:
American Principles in the Age of MAGA Nihilism
Why the Trump administration fears authentic patriotism.
lnk.thebulwark.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:34 PM
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Recent CBS News news:
1. Anderson Cooper leaves 60 Minutes after two decades
2. Stephen Colbert reveals network won’t let him air interview with Dem
3. Producer says politics dictating what airs
4. Owner’s bid for CNN parent back on the table.
5. Not firing Epstein pal.
February 17, 2026 at 12:27 PM
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CBS challenging Fox News for regime TV bragging rights
Recent CBS News news:
1. Anderson Cooper leaves 60 Minutes after two decades
2. Stephen Colbert reveals network won’t let him air interview with Dem
3. Producer says politics dictating what airs
4. Owner’s bid for CNN parent back on the table.
5. Not firing Epstein pal.
February 17, 2026 at 2:34 PM