Brian Heaton
@geekdownrange.bsky.social
Wrangler of bytes and RF. (Network engineer) Enjoys wood projects and working on old vehicles. Opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer. He/Him
Reposted by Brian Heaton
The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.
December 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.
Reposted by Brian Heaton
My favorite scene from The Manchurian Candidate brilliantly explains why liars like Trump don’t care about the wild numbers they fabricate. Watch Angela Lansbury explain the perverse logic behind it and why it works.
December 10, 2025 at 12:35 PM
My favorite scene from The Manchurian Candidate brilliantly explains why liars like Trump don’t care about the wild numbers they fabricate. Watch Angela Lansbury explain the perverse logic behind it and why it works.
Going into 2026 like
December 17, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Going into 2026 like
Reposted by Brian Heaton
As we come to the eve of December 17, this day of remembrance, we hold space not only for grief but also for vision. December 17 is about honoring those we have lost, but it is also about insisting on the possibility of a world where sex workers live free from violence.
December 16, 2025 at 11:04 PM
As we come to the eve of December 17, this day of remembrance, we hold space not only for grief but also for vision. December 17 is about honoring those we have lost, but it is also about insisting on the possibility of a world where sex workers live free from violence.
Noooooooo....
Aw, man. Gil Gerard died. It's near impossible to be a Gen-Xer and not have grown up with him as a hero. A soap opera actor turned lunch box superhero, he absolutely dominated the late 70s as Buck Rogers. He was also Jake Rizzo on Sidekicks and many will remember him from THE NICE GUYS. Legend.
December 17, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Noooooooo....
The enshitification of junk mail. Yes - it really is possible.
Here's a fun thing I just learned: If you're a magazine or catalog or other bulk mailer who is willing to add AI-generated content to your mailing, USPS will reward you with a 5% discount—potentially many thousands of dollars!
How on earth does this benefit USPS? www.usps.com/business/pro...
How on earth does this benefit USPS? www.usps.com/business/pro...
December 16, 2025 at 4:34 AM
The enshitification of junk mail. Yes - it really is possible.
Reposted by Brian Heaton
UnitedHealth is the nation’s largest health insurance conglomerate.
ProPublica obtained what is effectively the company’s internal playbook for limiting and cutting therapy costs.
Here’s what we found.
(Published Nov. 2024)
ProPublica obtained what is effectively the company’s internal playbook for limiting and cutting therapy costs.
Here’s what we found.
(Published Nov. 2024)
How UnitedHealth’s Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage Puts Countless Americans’ Treatment at Risk
United used an algorithm system to identify patients who it determined were getting too much therapy and then limited coverage. It was deemed illegal in three states, but similar practices persist due...
www.propublica.org
December 16, 2025 at 4:00 AM
UnitedHealth is the nation’s largest health insurance conglomerate.
ProPublica obtained what is effectively the company’s internal playbook for limiting and cutting therapy costs.
Here’s what we found.
(Published Nov. 2024)
ProPublica obtained what is effectively the company’s internal playbook for limiting and cutting therapy costs.
Here’s what we found.
(Published Nov. 2024)
Absolutely!
December 15, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Absolutely!
Reposted by Brian Heaton
ICE PEPPER SPRAYED A ONE-YEAR-OLD because her mother was filming them.
ICE pepper-sprayed this 1-year-old girl.
Once at the hospital, the doctor had to call in a poison control specialist.
They had never seen anyone that young pepper sprayed.
Another horrific story.
More details below.
Once at the hospital, the doctor had to call in a poison control specialist.
They had never seen anyone that young pepper sprayed.
Another horrific story.
More details below.
December 15, 2025 at 1:02 AM
ICE PEPPER SPRAYED A ONE-YEAR-OLD because her mother was filming them.
Reposted by Brian Heaton
There’s a specific mechanism in authoritarian movements that we’re seeing play out in real-time across American media and tech. It’s a simple rule: "If we cannot co-opt it, we must destroy it."
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
There’s a specific mechanism in authoritarian movements that we’re seeing play out in real-time across American media and tech. It’s a simple rule: "If we cannot co-opt it, we must destroy it."
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
It is the logic of "scorched earth." It's the logic of the Nero Decree and it's happening right now. 🧵
Reposted by Brian Heaton
Australian Spy Museum Featured Artefacts this week are from WWII Europe - a mysterious allied cipher device and a clandestine radio
First - a British B2 spy radio used in Occupied France by agents of the British SOE, American OSS and the French Resistance. Alongside it more B2 spares.
1/2 More ...
First - a British B2 spy radio used in Occupied France by agents of the British SOE, American OSS and the French Resistance. Alongside it more B2 spares.
1/2 More ...
December 10, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Australian Spy Museum Featured Artefacts this week are from WWII Europe - a mysterious allied cipher device and a clandestine radio
First - a British B2 spy radio used in Occupied France by agents of the British SOE, American OSS and the French Resistance. Alongside it more B2 spares.
1/2 More ...
First - a British B2 spy radio used in Occupied France by agents of the British SOE, American OSS and the French Resistance. Alongside it more B2 spares.
1/2 More ...
Reposted by Brian Heaton
WELL NOW, would you look at that? A massive, 24-YEAR-LONG study of MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION people in Denmark found NO LINK between aluminum in childhood vaccines and autism, asthma, OR chronic disorders.
Aluminum is an ADJUVANT.
It ENHANCES your immune response to a vaccine.
That’s it.
Aluminum is an ADJUVANT.
It ENHANCES your immune response to a vaccine.
That’s it.
December 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
WELL NOW, would you look at that? A massive, 24-YEAR-LONG study of MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION people in Denmark found NO LINK between aluminum in childhood vaccines and autism, asthma, OR chronic disorders.
Aluminum is an ADJUVANT.
It ENHANCES your immune response to a vaccine.
That’s it.
Aluminum is an ADJUVANT.
It ENHANCES your immune response to a vaccine.
That’s it.
Reposted by Brian Heaton
The first school to market itself as AI free is going to corner the market on people interested in actually learning. And I would not be surprised if rich families and the children of people creating this tech were the first movers.
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 5, 2025 at 1:40 AM
The first school to market itself as AI free is going to corner the market on people interested in actually learning. And I would not be surprised if rich families and the children of people creating this tech were the first movers.
Post your favorite "Transformers" character. Wrong answers only.
November 29, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Post your favorite "Transformers" character. Wrong answers only.
Introduce yourself with five animals you have seen in the wild:
Elephant
Dolphin
Black bear
Bald eagle
Alligator
Elephant
Dolphin
Black bear
Bald eagle
Alligator
Mountain lion
Humpback whale
Peregrine falcon
Iberian lynx
Coyote
Humpback whale
Peregrine falcon
Iberian lynx
Coyote
Introduce yourself with five animals you have seen in the wild:
Piranha
Anaconda
Brazilian Wandering Spider
Capybara
Andean Condor
Piranha
Anaconda
Brazilian Wandering Spider
Capybara
Andean Condor
November 29, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Introduce yourself with five animals you have seen in the wild:
Elephant
Dolphin
Black bear
Bald eagle
Alligator
Elephant
Dolphin
Black bear
Bald eagle
Alligator
Reposted by Brian Heaton
Reposted by Brian Heaton
Can you celebrate #Thanksgiving if you're feeling hopeless or despairing? A meditation on gratitude in tough times. www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus...
Father James Martin: This Thanksgiving, don’t feast on despair
In difficult times, it is tempting to say, “Thankful for what?” But the message of the Resurrection is that hope is stronger than despair.
www.americamagazine.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Can you celebrate #Thanksgiving if you're feeling hopeless or despairing? A meditation on gratitude in tough times. www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus...
Reposted by Brian Heaton
Reposted by Brian Heaton
I just bookmarked the Cheetah Cub Cam, this is the fucking cutest
Cheetah Cub Cam
The Cheetah Cub Cam streams live from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
nationalzoo.si.edu
November 24, 2025 at 1:54 AM
I just bookmarked the Cheetah Cub Cam, this is the fucking cutest
Reposted by Brian Heaton
Your regular reminder that "NCoSE" is merely an alias for "Morality In Media", a pro-censorship organization which has been attacking television, movies, and books for 63 years. Among its greatest hits are a multi-decade campaign to get "Cosmopolitan" treated as porn.
Excuse me what? The RIAA is now funding NCOSE to file bullshit amicus briefs before the Supreme Court?!?
That is way more fucked up than even usual RIAA nonsense.
Let me explain...
That is way more fucked up than even usual RIAA nonsense.
Let me explain...
November 20, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Your regular reminder that "NCoSE" is merely an alias for "Morality In Media", a pro-censorship organization which has been attacking television, movies, and books for 63 years. Among its greatest hits are a multi-decade campaign to get "Cosmopolitan" treated as porn.
Mr White teaches class. It is important we all understand the subject.
Let’s talk about sedition and treason, because the most powerful yet inadequate man in the world is having a tantrum about it, and his soulless, spineless sycophants are boosting his message.
/1
/1
November 20, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Mr White teaches class. It is important we all understand the subject.
Reposted by Brian Heaton
How awful. This is outright health disinformation, lying to the American people. Not only is there massive evidence showing no link between vaccines & autism, there’s not even a plausible mechanism based on what we’ve learned about the genetics of autism, some environmental exposures in pregnancy
HEADS UP: CDC website now officially asserts that vaccines may cause autism.“Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.” Also says the “vaccines do not cause autism” header remains b/c of an agreement with Cassidy.
November 20, 2025 at 3:18 AM
How awful. This is outright health disinformation, lying to the American people. Not only is there massive evidence showing no link between vaccines & autism, there’s not even a plausible mechanism based on what we’ve learned about the genetics of autism, some environmental exposures in pregnancy
Reposted by Brian Heaton
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
November 16, 2025 at 11:43 PM
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.