(VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
@braak.bsky.social
It's me, braak, returned at long last from my social media exile.
I encourage you to purchase my book, RADHIKA RAAD AND THE TOWER INGENIUS, which is now available (for purchase).
https://a.co/d/1nix74W
I encourage you to purchase my book, RADHIKA RAAD AND THE TOWER INGENIUS, which is now available (for purchase).
https://a.co/d/1nix74W
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
🧵 ~80% of Medicaid "improper payments" are documentation errors. The measurement system isn't designed to detect fraud. Paragon conflates the two deliberately, because "a caseworker didn't check a box" doesn't justify cutting a trillion dollars from Medicaid.
February 19, 2026 at 2:08 AM
🧵 ~80% of Medicaid "improper payments" are documentation errors. The measurement system isn't designed to detect fraud. Paragon conflates the two deliberately, because "a caseworker didn't check a box" doesn't justify cutting a trillion dollars from Medicaid.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
🧵 Paragon's brief opens by citing a YouTuber's viral daycare videos as evidence of "welfare fraud," then pivots to "Medicaid fraud is not unique to Minnesota." Daycare subsidies and Medicaid are different programs. The word "welfare" papers over the gap so you don't notice the switch.
February 19, 2026 at 2:07 AM
🧵 Paragon's brief opens by citing a YouTuber's viral daycare videos as evidence of "welfare fraud," then pivots to "Medicaid fraud is not unique to Minnesota." Daycare subsidies and Medicaid are different programs. The word "welfare" papers over the gap so you don't notice the switch.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
🧵 Now we can see who's using it. Paragon Health Institute (founded by a former Trump health policy adviser, Koch-adjacent funding) published a brief targeting 4 Medicaid service categories as "vulnerable to fraud": disability services, medical transportation, autism services & addiction treatment.
February 19, 2026 at 2:07 AM
🧵 Now we can see who's using it. Paragon Health Institute (founded by a former Trump health policy adviser, Koch-adjacent funding) published a brief targeting 4 Medicaid service categories as "vulnerable to fraud": disability services, medical transportation, autism services & addiction treatment.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
🧵 The dataset contains provider NPIs (which link to names & addresses through a free public registry), service codes, patient volume, and monthly billing. (No individual patient data=not a HIPAA violation) But more than enough to build target lists of providers and to reverse-engineer who they serve
February 19, 2026 at 2:05 AM
🧵 The dataset contains provider NPIs (which link to names & addresses through a free public registry), service codes, patient volume, and monthly billing. (No individual patient data=not a HIPAA violation) But more than enough to build target lists of providers and to reverse-engineer who they serve
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
🧵 A lot of people are saying the DOGE Medicaid data release is a HIPAA violation. It isn't.
It doesn't contain individual patient records. But what it actually is, and what it's actually being used for, is worse. New post ⤵️
It doesn't contain individual patient records. But what it actually is, and what it's actually being used for, is worse. New post ⤵️
I warned that Paragon Health Institute would weaponize the DOGE Medicaid data release. Yesterday they published a brief targeting HCBS, autism services, medical transportation, and addiction treatment, core services disabled people rely on, as inherently fraudulent.
www.patreon.com/posts/151112...
www.patreon.com/posts/151112...
February 19, 2026 at 2:04 AM
🧵 A lot of people are saying the DOGE Medicaid data release is a HIPAA violation. It isn't.
It doesn't contain individual patient records. But what it actually is, and what it's actually being used for, is worse. New post ⤵️
It doesn't contain individual patient records. But what it actually is, and what it's actually being used for, is worse. New post ⤵️
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
he’s right and we can all taste it
The grandson of the inventor of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is calling out Hershey for "quietly replacing" the candy's chocolate and peanut butter ingredients
Grandson of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup inventor accuses Hershey of "quietly replacing" ingredients
Brad Reese claims Hershey is cutting costs by relying on cheaper ingredients, risking the Reese's brand.
www.cbsnews.com
February 19, 2026 at 1:45 AM
he’s right and we can all taste it
These are all pretty good.
This is wild, have people seen this?
Some guy wrote one bill that contains every issue that 80% or more of Americans back.
Some guy wrote one bill that contains every issue that 80% or more of Americans back.
80percentbill.streamlit.app
February 19, 2026 at 2:00 AM
These are all pretty good.
Seems like a real weird route to take if you planned to crash a plane into a building in New York.
February 19, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Seems like a real weird route to take if you planned to crash a plane into a building in New York.
Politics of Domain Protection
oh god I just got an ad where scott galloway and sam harris complain that the REAL problem with Democrats isn't toothless corporatism, it's that progressive activists were mean to the two of them for being old white men, an attitude the viewer is told gave us Trump
February 19, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Politics of Domain Protection
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
He always does, Wes
The President is lying to the public:
1) For the past century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor – not Maryland. The sewage pipe is on federal land.
youtu.be/OKyIKHW8ONI
1) For the past century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor – not Maryland. The sewage pipe is on federal land.
youtu.be/OKyIKHW8ONI
The President is Lying to the Public
YouTube video by Governor Wes Moore
youtu.be
February 19, 2026 at 12:19 AM
He always does, Wes
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
"An Associated Press reporter was beaten by the police and detained along with three other journalists on Tuesday in Cameroon while reporting on a secretive Trump administration program to deport migrants to the Central African country, according to two of the people detained." (gift link)
Journalists Arrested in Cameroon While Reporting on Trump’s Secretive Deportation Program
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:10 PM
"An Associated Press reporter was beaten by the police and detained along with three other journalists on Tuesday in Cameroon while reporting on a secretive Trump administration program to deport migrants to the Central African country, according to two of the people detained." (gift link)
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
I hope New Yorkers will challenge Mamdani about this. Too often, people feel they need to be absolutely for or against a politician — ignoring their missteps or throwing them out with the bathwater. You can like and/or believe in someone and still challenge them to deliver on their promises.
Mayor Mamdani Breaks His Promise to NYC Public Libraries
The Struggle Against Defunding Libraries Continues...
prisonculture.substack.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:20 PM
I hope New Yorkers will challenge Mamdani about this. Too often, people feel they need to be absolutely for or against a politician — ignoring their missteps or throwing them out with the bathwater. You can like and/or believe in someone and still challenge them to deliver on their promises.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
It is a vile scandal that 2 of the biggest AI companies in the world attack children by inciting them to self-harm, and by generating sexually exploitative imagery of kids for profit. I wanted to document this so that people in tech will stop saying they don't know: www.anildash.com/2026/02/18/t...
How did we end up threatening our kids’ lives with AI? - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
February 18, 2026 at 5:40 PM
It is a vile scandal that 2 of the biggest AI companies in the world attack children by inciting them to self-harm, and by generating sexually exploitative imagery of kids for profit. I wanted to document this so that people in tech will stop saying they don't know: www.anildash.com/2026/02/18/t...
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Just awful. People (like Ryan mentioned in the article, who is living out of his van) have been staying awake all night for weeks keeping watch over the memorial for this exact reason.
Renee Good memorial site in south Minneapolis doused in gasoline
Damage from a burning pile of wood was minimal but police are investigating.
www.startribune.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Just awful. People (like Ryan mentioned in the article, who is living out of his van) have been staying awake all night for weeks keeping watch over the memorial for this exact reason.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
this seems mask off in a particularly weird way, even by the dismal standards of our present political era
Exclusive: The US State Department is developing an online portal to enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments including alleged hate speech and terrorist propaganda, sources told Reuters reut.rs/4cySsA6
Exclusive: US plans online portal to bypass content bans in Europe and elsewhere
The U.S. State Department is developing an online portal that will enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments including alleged hate speech and terrorist propagan...
reut.rs
February 18, 2026 at 10:34 PM
this seems mask off in a particularly weird way, even by the dismal standards of our present political era
Listen I'm not saying I want her to laugh derisively in my face but am I saying I don't want that? Do I want that. I got a lot of feelings seeing this.
Normalize laughing derisively in men's faces when they deserve it.
February 18, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Listen I'm not saying I want her to laugh derisively in my face but am I saying I don't want that? Do I want that. I got a lot of feelings seeing this.
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Cops in places with policies against coordinating with ICE are pretending to call ICE for "translation services" which of course prompts the feds to drive over & kidnap the non-english-speaking person without being explicitly tipped off that they might be undocumented www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news...
Detroit police chief plans to "terminate" two officers who contacted Border Patrol amid traffic stops
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison says the two incidents happened in the last few months, on Dec. 16, 2025, and Feb. 9, 2026.
www.cbsnews.com
February 18, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Cops in places with policies against coordinating with ICE are pretending to call ICE for "translation services" which of course prompts the feds to drive over & kidnap the non-english-speaking person without being explicitly tipped off that they might be undocumented www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news...
Actually kind of don't really understand what the endgame for Microsoft is here, doesn't Microsoft make, like, products? Who is going to be buying Microsoft Word or whatever if all of the white collar workers are unemployed?
the thing about "why isn't the left excited about AI" is that like didn't Microsoft just last week say they planned to use it to put 50% of the population out of work?
February 18, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Actually kind of don't really understand what the endgame for Microsoft is here, doesn't Microsoft make, like, products? Who is going to be buying Microsoft Word or whatever if all of the white collar workers are unemployed?
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Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
This is true. This is also why detainees will throw little lotion bottles over the wall for activists to find. Written on the bottles are the alien numbers of people who desperately need money on their books.
If the CoreCivic guards find the bottles before the activists, they receive punishment.
If the CoreCivic guards find the bottles before the activists, they receive punishment.
I went to a weekly protest there and they said that when they receive enough money to make a phone call, they spend the entire call listing other detainee's names and identification numbers so their family members can find them and try to help. There are some held over a year with no due process.
February 18, 2026 at 9:37 PM
This is true. This is also why detainees will throw little lotion bottles over the wall for activists to find. Written on the bottles are the alien numbers of people who desperately need money on their books.
If the CoreCivic guards find the bottles before the activists, they receive punishment.
If the CoreCivic guards find the bottles before the activists, they receive punishment.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Detainees at the for-profit ICE camps have to pay for things like phone calls and food and have to work in order to get money on their books.
As I understand it, they’re paid so little, and calls are so expensive, that detainees sometimes need to work several days just to afford a call to family.
As I understand it, they’re paid so little, and calls are so expensive, that detainees sometimes need to work several days just to afford a call to family.
Wait, work duties? Are these labor camps already?
February 18, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Detainees at the for-profit ICE camps have to pay for things like phone calls and food and have to work in order to get money on their books.
As I understand it, they’re paid so little, and calls are so expensive, that detainees sometimes need to work several days just to afford a call to family.
As I understand it, they’re paid so little, and calls are so expensive, that detainees sometimes need to work several days just to afford a call to family.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Adults at ICE concentration camps also get punished for talking with people on the outside who can publicize their stories.
Based on what I've heard at the Otay Mesa camp in San Diego, they're punished with additional work duties, aren't allowed outside in the yard, and denied phone access.
Based on what I've heard at the Otay Mesa camp in San Diego, they're punished with additional work duties, aren't allowed outside in the yard, and denied phone access.
My guess is that the goal here is not only to punish the children for turning more people against ICE/DHS, but also to make news outlets think twice about reporting on kids' suffering at the hands of ICE/DHS, out of concern that doing so might lead to retaliation against the kids.
ProPublica published children's letters and drawings documenting their sadness and suffering at Dilley. And Dilley staff are now retaliating by confiscating kids' letters and drawings.
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
February 18, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Adults at ICE concentration camps also get punished for talking with people on the outside who can publicize their stories.
Based on what I've heard at the Otay Mesa camp in San Diego, they're punished with additional work duties, aren't allowed outside in the yard, and denied phone access.
Based on what I've heard at the Otay Mesa camp in San Diego, they're punished with additional work duties, aren't allowed outside in the yard, and denied phone access.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
THEY HAD THE “NO TAKE ONLY THROW” DOG MEME SIX THOUSAND YEARS AGO
February 18, 2026 at 9:20 PM
THEY HAD THE “NO TAKE ONLY THROW” DOG MEME SIX THOUSAND YEARS AGO
the thing about "why isn't the left excited about AI" is that like didn't Microsoft just last week say they planned to use it to put 50% of the population out of work?
February 18, 2026 at 9:16 PM
the thing about "why isn't the left excited about AI" is that like didn't Microsoft just last week say they planned to use it to put 50% of the population out of work?
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
I think so much is happening at once Trump looting America like a vulture capitalist isn’t really going to sink in until he’s gone and we’re cataloguing the damage to see what can be saved.
The website for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is completely scrubbed and gone! They didn't even leave a legacy statement.
cpb.org
February 18, 2026 at 4:16 PM
I think so much is happening at once Trump looting America like a vulture capitalist isn’t really going to sink in until he’s gone and we’re cataloguing the damage to see what can be saved.