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Autistic Therapist @ladynightshade.bsky.social · 7h

I don't think Americans need help with making purchases, we do that a lot already with zero problems. I don't understand what issue this is supposed to solve

NBC News @nbcnews.com · 8h

The nation’s largest retailer announces a new partnership with OpenAI, aimed at helping shoppers make purchases using the tech startup's chatbot app.

Walmart says customers will soon be able to use ChatGPT to shop

The nation's largest retailer announced a partnership with OpenAI that they say will create more personalized shopping experiences.

nbcnews.to

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Patrick Cosmos @veryimportant.lawyer · 9h

everyone needs to internalize that this is just how all republicans are and when nancy pelosi said "the country needs a strong republican party" she meant that more people like this should be powerful. they are all like this! they all think just like this and like trump and they love it and it's fun

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 13h

POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Politico @politico.com · 13h

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Autistic Therapist @ladynightshade.bsky.social · 18h

It's like she's playing the part of a Serious Person. She's got the clothes and the glasses and the hand gestures and the wordy words, but as Shakespeare wrote:
"It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

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Box of Frogs @boxoffrogs.bsky.social · 20h

Dear reporters: This weekend we might witness an army of armed masked thugs attacking a sea of inflatable cartoon characters.

If you are not planning on being out there with your cameras, you should resign now.

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José Sepúlveda @josesepulveda.bsky.social · 1d

ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the 94 million pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the #Trump administration’s cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

My latest video for @propublica.org.

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Ruth Delgado @heylookitsruth.bsky.social · 1d

A mom in Houston reported her 15-year-old son with autism missing. She spent 6 days terrified, searching for him. The whole time, Houston police knew exactly where he was since they helped ICE place him in a refugee facility.

This is beyond cruel.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

Missing teen with autism transferred to refugee facility by HPD

He is currently being held at an Office for Refugee Resettlement facility.

www.houstonchronicle.com

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 1d

These are mostly indigenous communities in Alaska that have been slammed by the storm.

The local manager of a small airline fleet says he is the only one doing evacuations right now!

Defund FEMA and people are abandoned. Defund public media and no-one knows.

FYI, today is Indigenous Peoples Day.

Flooding seen with water up to the crash barriers of local roads

Sheds and debris lie scattered in the storm

A small blue house has been blown onto its roof

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: There’s a disaster unfolding in Alaska right now. And no major network is covering it.

The remnants of Typhoon Halong battered western Alaska overnight. Homes, with people in them, have literally been swept into the Bering Strait.

At least 20 are missing. No comment from any federal agency.

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SometimesPDX @sometimespdx.bsky.social · 1d

Head-up Portland: ultra-MAGA and Pr*ud B*y associates will are planning a protest at David Douglas High School on Wednesday, Oct 15. They're mad some students oppose the fascist Turning Point club in their school.

Audra Ann post: Please come out this Wednesday, to support one of the bravest young men I’ve ever seen. Both he and his little sister are facing continual harassment and threats from school staff and students at David Douglas High School, in Portland Oregon... Stand for Logan. We are Charlie Kirk! Wednesday, Oct 15, 2:15pm, David Douglas High School North Building."

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Autistic Therapist @ladynightshade.bsky.social · 1d

This was back in 1986, and Frank Zappa has been proven correct

🧿Lightspore𓅞👽🧙🛸Ⓐ🍁𝛙🍄🗺️🔮🖖🎨🦄🎬⭐🌱🧸ᐰ🦇🪸👾䷰🐉🌈♾️ ⛦⃝🪬🐆 @lightspore.bsky.social · 1d

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fam5... #Zappa defines " #Fascist Theocracy"
YouTube video by Paul Hinrichs #anarchist

Zappa defines "Fascist Theocracy"

YouTube video by Paul Hinrichs

www.youtube.com

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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 2d

On this date, Matthew Shephard died 27 years ago. He was beaten, tortured, and left for dead on fence for being gay. Please keep him and his wonderful mother Judy in your thoughts. And let's all work for a world where such horrific things do not happen to anyone. ❤️🏳️‍🌈

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Autistic Therapist @ladynightshade.bsky.social · 1d

In a college class I read Columbus' journal, which he kept during his first voyage. It was shocking: he went from talking about how beautiful and noble the people were, to talking about how they would make good slaves, in just a few days

Andrew D Thaler @drandrewthaler.bsky.social · 1d

You don't have to judge Columbus by the standards of today. His tenure as governor of Hispaniola was so horrific that he was dragged back to Spain in chains to answer for his many crimes.

Plus he never set foot on any land that would ever be a part of the United States of America.

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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 2d

October 12, 2025

On October 9, President Donald J.

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 2d

3D printers: WE NEED YOU! If you have a printer, start making whistles for your community. Volunteers of ours have been printing and passing them out across communities, over 200 have been handed out so far!

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

I interviewed one of these factory workers in Los Angeles. She gets paid three cents to sew a zipper, five cents for a collar, and seven cents to prepare the top part of a skirt.

This is how fast fashion brands like Fashion Nova can put "Made in USA" tags on dress shirts that retail for only $25

"Every day at 6 am, Bilma boards a bus that shuttles her to downtown Los Angeles’s Fashion District. When she reaches the garment factory an hour later, she starts working immediately, without punching in. Like thousands of other garment workers in the United States, Bilma’s wages aren’t tethered to the clock but rather to the quantity of operations she executes. Three cents for a zipper or sleeve, five cents for a collar, and seven cents to prepare the top part of a skirt before she passes it onto the next sewing operator in line. Assembling an entire dress earns her a mere 15 cents. Bilma toils away on garments primarily for fast-fashion labels such as Fashion Nova, Lulus, and Lucy in the Sky, who prioritize quickly stocking on-trend items over the quality of materials. These companies peddle things like $80 maxi dresses, $25 poplin dress shirts, and $5 crop tops, all modeled by beautiful people and bedecked with the tantalizing promise of low-cost glamor."

"This worker payment system, known as “piecework” in the garment industry, is how US-based manufacturers can sidestep labor laws that require companies to pay at least the minimum wage. Rather than compensating Bilma for the exhausting 12-hour shifts—a regimen that, according to LA County’s minimum wage requirement, should yield $202.80—her pay is determined by the individual tasks she performs, which can fluctuate daily. Despite her adept handling of hundreds of garments a day, Bilma’s earnings typically linger around $50 per day. That’s $300 weekly for the standard six-day grind and $350 if she opts for Sunday labor. Doing what she can with this modest income, Bilma spends $400 a month to live in a two-bedroom apartment with six other people, some of whom are day laborers. In this crowded arrangement, two occupants squeeze into each bedroom, while two more lay claim to the living room. Bilma sleeps in the corner of the bustling kitchen."

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

There are, of course, ways to save money in this business. Many US clothing factories run on what's known as a "piece rate" system, where workers are paid per operation, not by the hour. This system allows factories to skirt minimum wage laws.

It's also how we get US sweatshops

A garment worker peeking out behind some sewing equipment.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

The store is also in the business to make a profit. Their typical mark-up is 2x (many stores nowadays operate on 2.2x or 2.5x). This covers their cost of rent, utilities, maintenance, packaging, visual merchandising, fixtures, payroll, etc.

That means the consumer will pay $180 for the shirt.

A clothing store. There are some shirts hanging on the wall.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

Of course, you're in a business to make a profit, so you have to sell it for more than you paid. Typical mark-up for a brand is 2x (some can be 2.5x). This will help cover your other costs, such as design, warehousing, worker benefits, etc.

So you sell this shirt to a store for $90.

A bunch of plaid flannel shirts from Gitman Vintage. They were made in the USA.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

Let's say you pay $10 for the shirt fabric. Now your manufacturing cost is $45 per shirt ($35 CMT + $10 fabric). For simplicity, I have not included the cost of trims, grading, samples, or shipping.

Note, all this assumes you're using a factory that pays people fairly (more on this later).

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

In the clothing industry, the term CMT stands for "cut, make, trim." It means you are paying someone to cut, make, and trim the garment. Essentially, it's your manufacturing labor cost without taking into account the cost of material.

The CMT price for making a shirt in the US is about $35.

A worker measuring a part of a shirt on a work table.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

This two-parter below is exactly why it's hard to make clothes in the United States.

Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵

Someone on Twitter replies to me: "meh. buy american or stfu."

Two hours later, in a separate thread, the write: "$30 for a single button-up is ridiculous unless it is decent quality silk."

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Autistic Therapist @ladynightshade.bsky.social · 2d

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

Hi Sally. When Weiss published a supposed expose on the death of George Floyd, a veteran criminal justice reporter showed in deep detail that the piece was not just wrong but filled with falsehoods and misrepresentations. Weiss did not retract the piece. What do you think of that?

Sally Jenkins @sallyjenx.bsky.social · 2d

This is really smart. Amazed at the hysteria over the ascendance of a woman entrepreneur who clearly knows how to cover and sell news and who's not afraid to take on a mob. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Don’t Bet Against Bari Weiss

The new editor in chief of CBS News triumphs over her critics.

www.theatlantic.com

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L.D. Burnett @ldburnett.bsky.social · 2d

a friend just shared this with me. ICE is waiting outside of Catholic churches in Chicago today to detain Latinos as they leave mass:

www.reddit.com/r/illinois/c...

From the illinois community on Reddit: Chicago: Ice is going to another level and waiting for people to leave mass.

Explore this post and more from the illinois community

www.reddit.com

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