Mark Welch
@markwelch.bsky.social
• ex-reporter ex-teacher ex-attorney, he/him
• law, journalism, education, security, privacy, surveillance tech, AI fairness, bias, face recognition, Blue Dot, LFL
• Springfield MO <NorCal <NH <MA <WI
• UC Berkeley JD'89; UMass Amherst BA'83
• law, journalism, education, security, privacy, surveillance tech, AI fairness, bias, face recognition, Blue Dot, LFL
• Springfield MO <NorCal <NH <MA <WI
• UC Berkeley JD'89; UMass Amherst BA'83
Pinned
Mark Kelly: "They're tying themselves in knots trying to explain why what they're doing with regard to these drug boats is legal. It's questionable at best. One of our biggest allies, the UK, recently stopped sharing intelligence with us in the Caribbean because they question whether this is legal."
It's not "questionable" at all.
It's murder.
It's murder.
Reposted by Mark Welch
This is the scandal. Trump isn’t targeting dangerous people. He’s targeting peaceful immigrants. Almost exclusively.
November 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This is the scandal. Trump isn’t targeting dangerous people. He’s targeting peaceful immigrants. Almost exclusively.
Reposted by Mark Welch
If you can understand why a Hispanic ICE agent with a deportation quota will not save you....
Then you can understand why a Black cop with an arrest quota, cannot save you either.
The racism is in the system, not the individual.
The individual is just a part, working within that system.
Then you can understand why a Black cop with an arrest quota, cannot save you either.
The racism is in the system, not the individual.
The individual is just a part, working within that system.
If you try to push on the individual responsibility And interpersonal racism of the cop?
Then you will end up hiring a bunch of Black cops... who will work within the same racist system, and the outcome will not change.🤷🏿♂️
Eg, a city going from 400 to 800 cops, but 200 of the new cops are Black.🤦🏿♂️
Then you will end up hiring a bunch of Black cops... who will work within the same racist system, and the outcome will not change.🤷🏿♂️
Eg, a city going from 400 to 800 cops, but 200 of the new cops are Black.🤦🏿♂️
November 26, 2025 at 3:47 PM
If you can understand why a Hispanic ICE agent with a deportation quota will not save you....
Then you can understand why a Black cop with an arrest quota, cannot save you either.
The racism is in the system, not the individual.
The individual is just a part, working within that system.
Then you can understand why a Black cop with an arrest quota, cannot save you either.
The racism is in the system, not the individual.
The individual is just a part, working within that system.
Reposted by Mark Welch
Hey you! Yes, you, the one reading this post! You can defend democracy and rights for everyone by supporting EFF's work today: supporters.eff.org/donate/tbc
Defend Privacy and Free Speech
Don’t let tyrants co-opt tech. Join EFF and help fight back.
supporters.eff.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Hey you! Yes, you, the one reading this post! You can defend democracy and rights for everyone by supporting EFF's work today: supporters.eff.org/donate/tbc
Reposted by Mark Welch
Eat your heart out, Enron
November 26, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Eat your heart out, Enron
Oops, free preview weekend on HBO, I'll be on that for today.
November 26, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Oops, free preview weekend on HBO, I'll be on that for today.
Reposted by Mark Welch
So this happened in Oslo yesterday. Four articulated buses got stuck in a roundabout.
November 25, 2025 at 8:23 AM
So this happened in Oslo yesterday. Four articulated buses got stuck in a roundabout.
Reposted by Mark Welch
🚨BREAKING: In the latest attempt to intimidate voters, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) launched a sweeping immigration-focused investigation into the signature-gathering firm behind the referendum that threatens to overturn the GOP’s mid-decade gerrymander.
Missouri AG Launches Last-Ditch Immigration Probe into Referendum that Threatens GOP Gerrymander
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 AM
🚨BREAKING: In the latest attempt to intimidate voters, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) launched a sweeping immigration-focused investigation into the signature-gathering firm behind the referendum that threatens to overturn the GOP’s mid-decade gerrymander.
Reposted by Mark Welch
“Someone is leaking, someone is listening, but not us,” Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said when asked about the recording obtained by Bloomberg.
Kremlin says leaked U.S. call is an attempt to disrupt Ukraine peace talks
President Donald Trump, whose envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Moscow next week, said he had no deadline for a deal after earlier pressuring Kyiv to endorse a proposal by Thanksgiving.
www.nbcnews.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:33 PM
“Someone is leaking, someone is listening, but not us,” Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said when asked about the recording obtained by Bloomberg.
Reposted by Mark Welch
Reposted by Mark Welch
It's not "questionable" at all.
It's murder.
It's murder.
Mark Kelly: "They're tying themselves in knots trying to explain why what they're doing with regard to these drug boats is legal. It's questionable at best. One of our biggest allies, the UK, recently stopped sharing intelligence with us in the Caribbean because they question whether this is legal."
November 23, 2025 at 6:59 PM
It's not "questionable" at all.
It's murder.
It's murder.
Reposted by Mark Welch
"In the normal course of history, the president of the United States is a figure who inspires optimism in the American people. The 47th president prefers to stir feelings of fear, vulnerability, hopelessness, and political inevitability...."
archive.is/qmNqY
archive.is/qmNqY
Donald Trump is clearly willing to do whatever it takes to stay in power, regardless of what the Constitution says. He “has always told us exactly who he is,” J. Michael Luttig argues. “We have just not wanted to believe him. But we must believe him now.”
President for Life
Donald Trump is trying to amass the powers of a king.
bit.ly
November 26, 2025 at 2:26 PM
"In the normal course of history, the president of the United States is a figure who inspires optimism in the American people. The 47th president prefers to stir feelings of fear, vulnerability, hopelessness, and political inevitability...."
archive.is/qmNqY
archive.is/qmNqY
Reposted by Mark Welch
"The final acts of authoritarian structures are, by their nature, unstable. We know that the 2026 elections will represent a tipping point, after which change will accelerate, in one way or another. But I can’t see beyond that event horizon." lnk.thebulwark.com/3Xibdza
We Are Approaching the MAGA-Trump Event Horizon
And we have no idea what’s beyond it.
lnk.thebulwark.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM
"The final acts of authoritarian structures are, by their nature, unstable. We know that the 2026 elections will represent a tipping point, after which change will accelerate, in one way or another. But I can’t see beyond that event horizon." lnk.thebulwark.com/3Xibdza
Reposted by Mark Welch
Make this make sense.
November 26, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Make this make sense.
Corruption.
Now here’s the kind of news you drop going into a long holiday weekend. Maybe no one will notice. 🤡
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
November 26, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Corruption.
Reposted by Mark Welch
every day I learn a new way in which Britain is deeply corrupt
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...
‘Unavoidably unfair’: the secret courts system hearing part of Palestine Action case
The CMP system means Huda Ammori will not be allowed to know what allegations were made against her
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:23 AM
every day I learn a new way in which Britain is deeply corrupt
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...
Reposted by Mark Welch
Whenever the MAGA-verse talks about media fairness or ‘both sides’ what it really means is ‘give liars more air time & don’t you dare fact check.’ Keep that in mind when you hear David Ellison, Bari Weiss, Bill Maher & others pretend to talk about fact based journalism.
@oliverdarcy.bsky.social:
@oliverdarcy.bsky.social:
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Whenever the MAGA-verse talks about media fairness or ‘both sides’ what it really means is ‘give liars more air time & don’t you dare fact check.’ Keep that in mind when you hear David Ellison, Bari Weiss, Bill Maher & others pretend to talk about fact based journalism.
@oliverdarcy.bsky.social:
@oliverdarcy.bsky.social:
Reposted by Mark Welch
How much more evidence do you need that republicans do not care if you live or die? Polluting the air & water; destroying health care; advocating against vaccines, gutting food safety inspections…
Now add this to the list:
Now add this to the list:
Exclusive: Republicans plan to challenge vehicle-safety mandates, such as automatic emergency braking and alarms that remind drivers a child is in the back seat.
Senate Committee to Challenge Auto-Safety Mandates That Hurt ‘Affordability’
Republicans are questioning the value of some features, such as automatic braking and rear-seat reminders.
on.wsj.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:37 AM
How much more evidence do you need that republicans do not care if you live or die? Polluting the air & water; destroying health care; advocating against vaccines, gutting food safety inspections…
Now add this to the list:
Now add this to the list:
"Populist Republicans, particularly those in the MAGA base, immediately saw how much Sacks had influence throughout the entire order, and how much the order would threaten any state." - @tinanguyen.bsky.social on the politics of last week's draft AI EO:
David Sacks tried to kill state AI laws — and it blew up in his face
A leaked executive order reveals that the tech billionaire would have become America’s AI policy gatekeeper.
www.theverge.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Mark Welch
Without actually trying to diagnose that #@%! "person," that is some serious lack of mental health, at the very least. This is what tRump has enabled and now they feel emboldened. Horrifying.
Unfortunately @dwithersunofficial.bsky.social doesn’t post on BlueSky (his last post was months ago). THIS video deserves attention. I first saw it on @thedangerousones.com Substack and feel it is worth posting.
This is where we are now. This is the sick feedback loop that Trump has created.
This is where we are now. This is the sick feedback loop that Trump has created.
November 26, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Without actually trying to diagnose that #@%! "person," that is some serious lack of mental health, at the very least. This is what tRump has enabled and now they feel emboldened. Horrifying.
Reposted by Mark Welch
A reason to be thankful in these challenging times: "It is heartening to know that many among us will not roll over and quietly permit a despotic, hateful regime to consolidate its power."
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
As we approach our national holiday, America's 16th president reminds us to give thanks even in times of turmoil
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 PM
A reason to be thankful in these challenging times: "It is heartening to know that many among us will not roll over and quietly permit a despotic, hateful regime to consolidate its power."
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
open.substack.com/pub/america/...
Reposted by Mark Welch
Where are the headlines about this?
The US has turned the life of this French judge into a nightmare - because he applied justice to Israel.
This is gangsterism.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The US has turned the life of this French judge into a nightmare - because he applied justice to Israel.
This is gangsterism.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This French judge approved Netanyahu’s arrest warrant. Now Trump is targeting him | Owen Jones
Three ICC judges have been put on a sanctions list with terrorists after approving an arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister. This is the charade of the ‘rules-based order’, says Guardian columnis...
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Where are the headlines about this?
The US has turned the life of this French judge into a nightmare - because he applied justice to Israel.
This is gangsterism.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The US has turned the life of this French judge into a nightmare - because he applied justice to Israel.
This is gangsterism.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Mark Welch
No starbucks.
Say it with us 🗣️: What's disgusting? Union busting!
We're FOURTEEN DAYS into our national ULP strike. Thousands of workers in over 65 cities are out on strike, and this is just the beginning. #nocontractnocoffee
We're FOURTEEN DAYS into our national ULP strike. Thousands of workers in over 65 cities are out on strike, and this is just the beginning. #nocontractnocoffee
November 26, 2025 at 12:51 PM
No starbucks.
Reposted by Mark Welch
The Atlantic has chosen 65 titles to help foster a child’s lifelong relationship with books and to give these formative works the respect and scrutiny they deserve. Allegra Frank explains why she chose "Go, Dog. Go!" Explore the full list at the link: theatln.tc/ktFFrmrR
November 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The Atlantic has chosen 65 titles to help foster a child’s lifelong relationship with books and to give these formative works the respect and scrutiny they deserve. Allegra Frank explains why she chose "Go, Dog. Go!" Explore the full list at the link: theatln.tc/ktFFrmrR
Reposted by Mark Welch
UK gambling industry made £15.6bn in 2024 (£16.8bn in 2025)
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
UK's Online Gambling Industry: The £3.8 Billion Tax Question Nobody's Answering
UK's online gambling industry generates £15.6bn annually but pays minimal tax. With £3.8bn in receipts, experts say it's time for reform Here's why.
www.thelondoneconomic.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:57 PM
UK gambling industry made £15.6bn in 2024 (£16.8bn in 2025)
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.
Most companies holed up in Gibraltar & Malta, dodge UK taxes. Some pay corporation tax at the rate of 3%-4%. No VAT on gambling.
Public bears the cost of gambling addiction.
Firms resent paying extra tax to clear their mess.
Tax them.