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dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen
@dsc250.bsky.social
16K followers 400 following 2.3K posts

feminist "law" professor, reproductive rights scholar/activist, avid cyclist, husband, dad, indie rock enthusiast, Vermont lover, Phillies fan, he/him

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David Samuel Cohen is an American attorney who served as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2021 to 2025, previously holding the position from February 9, 2015 to January 20, 2017. He served as acting director of the CIA from January 20 to March 19, 2021 until the Senate confirmation of William J. Burns. .. more

Political science 48%
Law 16%
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dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · Mar 17
My new book with @carolejoffe.bsky.social -- After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe But Not Abortion -- comes out in just over a week. Pre-order now from your favorite booksellers, like Bookshop.org!

bookshop.org/p/books/afte...

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 12h
There are usually no procedural principles in politics. Just substance.

Exhibit 1,784,382.
baylisswagner.bsky.social Bayliss Wagner @baylisswagner.bsky.social · 14h
NEW: In 2003, Texas Republicans backed strict limits on medical malpractice lawsuits.

Now, 2 decades later, many are urging the TX Supreme Court to reinterpret that statute in cases transgender care. And the court appears very open to doing so.
#txlege
www.expressnews.com/politics/art...
Republicans push court to make it easier for 'detransitioners' to sue doctors
A case before the Texas Supreme Court could make Texas doctors more likely to face legal action when helping adults transition.
www.expressnews.com

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 12h
the best people
tomdreisbach.bsky.social Tom Dreisbach @tomdreisbach.bsky.social · 16h
JUST IN:

A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump was convicted by a Florida jury of sexually abusing children, including an 11-year-old.

Per police, Andrew Paul Johnson tried to bribe one of his victims by promising to share expected Jan. 6 restitution money from the Trump admin.

Reposted by David S. Cohen

bbl-astrophyscs.bsky.social
Dr. Meredith Wills @bbl-astrophyscs.bsky.social · 13h
I know I’m fixating, but “shooting down party balloons and using it as a pretext for war” is literally the “99 Luftballons” story arc. 🎈🤯 (Even “Miami 2017” didn’t map this closely.)
Wikipedia entry describing the story arc of “99 Luftballons”: The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a military general to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but balloons, the pilots put on a large show of firepower. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the defence ministers on each side encourage conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a cataclysmic war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons and causes devastation on all sides without a victor, as indicated in the denouement of the song: "99 Jahre Krieg ließen keinen Platz für Sieger," which means "99 years of war left no room for victors." The anti-war song finishes with the singer walking through the devastated ruins of the world and finding a single balloon. The description of what happens in the final line of the piece is the same in German and English: '''Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen," or "Think of you and let it go."[11]

Reposted by David S. Cohen

baylisswagner.bsky.social
Bayliss Wagner @baylisswagner.bsky.social · 14h
NEW: In 2003, Texas Republicans backed strict limits on medical malpractice lawsuits.

Now, 2 decades later, many are urging the TX Supreme Court to reinterpret that statute in cases transgender care. And the court appears very open to doing so.
#txlege
www.expressnews.com/politics/art...
Republicans push court to make it easier for 'detransitioners' to sue doctors
A case before the Texas Supreme Court could make Texas doctors more likely to face legal action when helping adults transition.
www.expressnews.com

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 15h
Google AI still can't count apparently.

(I have run this search from time to time over the past couple of years and it is always wrong.)
Google AI saying there are only 5 i's in the word 'invisibilities' - there are 6.

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 15h
does someone want to tell him....?
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h
Jim Jordan: "You have a right to protest in the street, but that doesn't give you a right to go into the Capitol and disrupt Congress"

Reposted by David S. Cohen

tomdreisbach.bsky.social
Tom Dreisbach @tomdreisbach.bsky.social · 16h
JUST IN:

A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump was convicted by a Florida jury of sexually abusing children, including an 11-year-old.

Per police, Andrew Paul Johnson tried to bribe one of his victims by promising to share expected Jan. 6 restitution money from the Trump admin.

Reposted by David S. Cohen

scholars.org
Scholars Strategy Network @scholars.org · 16h
In this @slate.com piece, @dsc250.bsky.social (Drexel) and @carolejoffe.bsky.social (@ucsfmedicine.bsky.social) tell the story of how a new abortion clinic opened in deep-red Wyoming post-Dobbs and helped lead to the state Supreme Court striking down its abortion ban.

Learn more:
How One Clinic Saved Abortion Access in a Deep-Red State
Julie’s involvement with abortion care began in 2001, when she began work with Dr. George Tiller.
slate.com

Reposted by David S. Cohen

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h
Jim Jordan: "You have a right to protest in the street, but that doesn't give you a right to go into the Capitol and disrupt Congress"

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 1d
We the people…
Grand Jury Rebuffs Justice Dept. Attempt to Indict 6 Democrats in Congress
www.nytimes.com

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 1d
I sure wish the lawyers challenging the tariffs in the Supreme Court could submit this clip to the Justices.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "So I put on a 30% tariff, which is very low. I got an emergency call from I believe the prime minister of Switzerland. She was very aggressive ... I didn't really like the way she talked to us, so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39%."

Reposted by Diane Ravitch, Michael J. Allen, David S. Cohen , and 5 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "So I put on a 30% tariff, which is very low. I got an emergency call from I believe the prime minister of Switzerland. She was very aggressive ... I didn't really like the way she talked to us, so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39%."

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 1d
Every second he is still in the presidency is an abomination. Come on @bardcollege.bsky.social
reneedbecerra.bsky.social Renee D. Becerra @reneedbecerra.bsky.social · 1d
Leon Botstein absolutely has to leave Bard College

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 1d
Every poll that makes it look more and more likely that the Democrats will take the Senate this November makes it more and more likely both Alito and Thomas will retire this summer.
profmmurray.bsky.social Melissa Murray @profmmurray.bsky.social · 1d
I'm not into prediction markets... but this has all of the makings of a SCOTUS retirement. His book goes on sale on October 6, 2026--the day after OT2026 starts . . . and now a new hagiographic biography? Hmmmmmm.

Reposted by David S. Cohen

profmmurray.bsky.social
Melissa Murray @profmmurray.bsky.social · 1d
I'm not into prediction markets... but this has all of the makings of a SCOTUS retirement. His book goes on sale on October 6, 2026--the day after OT2026 starts . . . and now a new hagiographic biography? Hmmmmmm.

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 1d
That's nothing but argle-bargle. She should hide her head in a bag.
jaywillis.net Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 1d
One of Antonin Scalia's kids allegedly said that she was relieved that her father died when he did, because he would be so "upset" at how "coarse" and "polarized" politics has become, which makes me wonder if Scalia's children have any idea who their dad was www.politico.com/news/magazin...
The justice nodded in agreement. I hadn’t expected this observation to lead directly to discussion of Scalia and his legacy, but Alito’s reply began: “Even since Nino died, things are so different. I so often wish he were still here. He started so much and it would have been good to have him around to see it to completion.” Conservatives now boast a 6-3 majority on the court and are reshaping the law for a generation, but Scalia almost certainly wouldn’t have been happy to see how American politics have grown coarser and more polarized than ever before. One of Scalia’s children, I related, had told me she felt grateful to God for taking her father at that moment because it spared the principled originalist, a celebrant of Latin Mass and the American Founding, from witnessing so much that would have upset him. “He would have been appalled at so much,” Alito agreed.

Reposted by David S. Cohen

jaywillis.net
Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 1d
One of Antonin Scalia's kids allegedly said that she was relieved that her father died when he did, because he would be so "upset" at how "coarse" and "polarized" politics has become, which makes me wonder if Scalia's children have any idea who their dad was www.politico.com/news/magazin...
The justice nodded in agreement. I hadn’t expected this observation to lead directly to discussion of Scalia and his legacy, but Alito’s reply began: “Even since Nino died, things are so different. I so often wish he were still here. He started so much and it would have been good to have him around to see it to completion.” Conservatives now boast a 6-3 majority on the court and are reshaping the law for a generation, but Scalia almost certainly wouldn’t have been happy to see how American politics have grown coarser and more polarized than ever before. One of Scalia’s children, I related, had told me she felt grateful to God for taking her father at that moment because it spared the principled originalist, a celebrant of Latin Mass and the American Founding, from witnessing so much that would have upset him. “He would have been appalled at so much,” Alito agreed.

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 1d
I'll say it again - AI companies and their boosters have drastically underestimated how much people care about accuracy.

Hallucinations are not just a silly side problem with AI. They are a foundational problem that, until solved, dooms this technology.
rocher.lc Luc Rocher @rocher.lc · 2d
⚠️ Despite all the hype, chatbots still make terrible doctors. Out today is the largest user study of language models for medical self-diagnosis. We found that chatbots provide inaccurate and inconsistent answers, and that people are better off using online searches or their own judgment.
Banner image with screenshot of scientific article from nature Medicine, as well as two panels from the study method and results

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
are they happening by accident? It's not clear

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
Found one from last night! From Dove (again).

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Shannon Vallor, Scott L. Greer , and 4 more

rocher.lc
Luc Rocher @rocher.lc · 2d
⚠️ Despite all the hype, chatbots still make terrible doctors. Out today is the largest user study of language models for medical self-diagnosis. We found that chatbots provide inaccurate and inconsistent answers, and that people are better off using online searches or their own judgment.
Banner image with screenshot of scientific article from nature Medicine, as well as two panels from the study method and results

Reposted by David S. Cohen, Bessma Momani

404media.co
404 Media @404media.co · 2d
“In an extreme case, two users sent very similar messages describing symptoms of a subarachnoid hemorrhage but were given opposite advice,” the study’s authors wrote. “One user was told to lie down in a dark room, and the other user was given the correct recommendation to seek emergency care.”
Chatbots Make Terrible Doctors, New Study Finds
Chatbots provided incorrect, conflicting medical advice, researchers found: “Despite all the hype, AI just isn't ready to take on the role of the physician.”
www.404media.co

Reposted by David Lazer, David S. Cohen

ericlevitz.bsky.social
Eric Levitz @ericlevitz.bsky.social · 2d
Over the past three weeks, the "nightmare scenario" for November's midterms has grown more plausible www.vox.com/politics/478...

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
Do they realize how sad and pathetic -- and racist -- they sound?
esqueer.net Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 2d
The salt must flow.
Alt text: Screenshot of a tweet on a dark background from the verified account “Matt Walsh” (@MattWalshBlog). The tweet contains a strongly critical statement about a halftime show and Latin American pop music, using harsh and profane language. Below the tweet text are engagement details showing the time and date “9:50 AM · Feb 9, 2026” and “41.6K Views.”

Reposted by David S. Cohen

esqueer.net
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 2d
The salt must flow.
Alt text: Screenshot of a tweet on a dark background from the verified account “Matt Walsh” (@MattWalshBlog). The tweet contains a strongly critical statement about a halftime show and Latin American pop music, using harsh and profane language. Below the tweet text are engagement details showing the time and date “9:50 AM · Feb 9, 2026” and “41.6K Views.”

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
Right. This is such a stupid framing. Idiot NYT headline writer here.

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
This is exactly right - no one asked for a hallucinating copyright-infringement machine. But alas...
fareedblackman.bsky.social Absolute Fareed @fareedblackman.bsky.social · May 3
No one has ever tried to sell me drugs as hard as people try to sell me on AI.

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
Google‘s list for 2025. Did I miss any for 2026?

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
Last year there were multiple women-empowerment commercials during the Super Bowl. Were there any this year? Was that just a one year thing on Madison Ave?

dsc250.bsky.social
David S. Cohen @dsc250.bsky.social · 2d
Excellent thread with everything you want to know about the Bad Bunny performance last night - joy and political resistance!
beckyhammer.bsky.social Becky Hammer @beckyhammer.bsky.social · 3d
Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming