Laurence
@pdxpatterman.bsky.social
Comic patter baritone based in Portland Oregon. Artistic Director of @lightoperapdx. Opinions my own.
Reposted by Laurence
Literally all of the good things
In addition to all of the other benefits already reported about NYC congestion pricing, "In the first six months of the program, air pollution – in the form of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller – dropped by 22% in the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ)"
news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
Congestion pricing improved air quality in NYC and suburbs | Cornell Chronicle
Cornell researchers tallied the environmental benefits of New York City’s congestion pricing program and found air pollution dropped by 22% in Manhattan, with additional declines across the city’s fiv...
news.cornell.edu
December 9, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Literally all of the good things
Reposted by Laurence
New WSJ reporting: "During a December visit to Washington, David Ellison offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he'd make sweeping changes to CNN, a common target of President Trump's ire, people familiar with the matter said..."
Behind Paramount’s Relentless Campaign to Woo Warner Discovery and President Trump
David Ellison has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Discovery, taking his case directly to shareholders after Netflix clinched a deal.
www.wsj.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:50 AM
New WSJ reporting: "During a December visit to Washington, David Ellison offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he'd make sweeping changes to CNN, a common target of President Trump's ire, people familiar with the matter said..."
Reposted by Laurence
“There can be but one German Youth Movement, because there is but one way in which German youth can be educated and trained...”
- Adolf Hitler, May 1, 1937
- Adolf Hitler, May 1, 1937
The Texas GOP orders that the TurningPoint USA Trump youth organization will be obligatory at all high schools and colleges in the Lone Star State.
Abbott says Turning Point USA will expand in Texas schools
Republican officials in Oklahoma and Florida have also launched plans to expand the presence of the conservative youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk.
www.texastribune.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:08 AM
“There can be but one German Youth Movement, because there is but one way in which German youth can be educated and trained...”
- Adolf Hitler, May 1, 1937
- Adolf Hitler, May 1, 1937
Reposted by Laurence
The Thing (1982, John Carpenter)
December 9, 2025 at 2:27 AM
The Thing (1982, John Carpenter)
Reposted by Laurence
the people involved in that ghoulish mcdonalds ad have deluded themselves to levels previously uncharted
lbbonline.com/news/melanie...
lbbonline.com/news/melanie...
December 9, 2025 at 3:27 AM
the people involved in that ghoulish mcdonalds ad have deluded themselves to levels previously uncharted
lbbonline.com/news/melanie...
lbbonline.com/news/melanie...
Reposted by Laurence
Reposted by Laurence
Forbidden eggnog
The bones of Santa have been leaking liquid for 1,700 years.
December 9, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Forbidden eggnog
Reposted by Laurence
Weird Al on stage singing “some of those who work forces are the same that burned crosses” feels like a turning point.
December 8, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Weird Al on stage singing “some of those who work forces are the same that burned crosses” feels like a turning point.
Reposted by Laurence
zero pull-ups achieved
December 8, 2025 at 11:19 PM
zero pull-ups achieved
Reposted by Laurence
Has there ever been a better use case for this?
December 8, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Has there ever been a better use case for this?
Reposted by Laurence
The conservatives’ bleating about the big bad bureaucracy gets harder to stomach when juxtaposed w the monarchical presidency they’ve created, making him immune from prosecution for his crimes and now likely putting the entire executive branch under his thrall. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/roberts...
Roberts on Cleanup Duty as Court Prepares to Kill Independent Government Agencies
Chief Justice John Roberts scrambled around with a verbal broom and dustpan...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The conservatives’ bleating about the big bad bureaucracy gets harder to stomach when juxtaposed w the monarchical presidency they’ve created, making him immune from prosecution for his crimes and now likely putting the entire executive branch under his thrall. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/roberts...
Reposted by Laurence
Oh my GOD I am sick of AI art slop. Whatever era this is, I hate it and I am pissed off all the time.
Sorry, just REALLY need to get that out. It’s so infuriating and ugly and off putting and bad for basically everyone.
Sorry, just REALLY need to get that out. It’s so infuriating and ugly and off putting and bad for basically everyone.
December 8, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Oh my GOD I am sick of AI art slop. Whatever era this is, I hate it and I am pissed off all the time.
Sorry, just REALLY need to get that out. It’s so infuriating and ugly and off putting and bad for basically everyone.
Sorry, just REALLY need to get that out. It’s so infuriating and ugly and off putting and bad for basically everyone.
Reposted by Laurence
Oh, here's a big surprise. The transphobes don't believe in ADHD either.
then, the transphobes , feeling victorious at how many people they have made unhappy and despairing in the previous week, move on to anything else that has a spectrum and the possibility of more colours than they can conceive - such hateful people - they cannot understand anything that is not THEM
December 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Oh, here's a big surprise. The transphobes don't believe in ADHD either.
Reposted by Laurence
"detention feels like torture, and for me, it was only three days. Many women in those cells had been in the system for months, even a year."
I Wanted to Surprise My Family on Thanksgiving. ICE Deported Me Instead.
How the Trump administration turned a college freshman’s life upside down.
www.thecut.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM
"detention feels like torture, and for me, it was only three days. Many women in those cells had been in the system for months, even a year."
Reposted by Laurence
Netflix sucks but the mobsters in our government will do whatever it takes to ensure Ellison runs CNN
Jared Kushner's involvement was "not mentioned in Paramount's press release on Monday morning about its $108 billion bid, nor were participating sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar."
fancy that
fancy that
Jared Kushner is part of Paramount's hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount is telling WBD shareholders that it has a smoother path to regulatory approval than does Netflix.
www.axios.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Netflix sucks but the mobsters in our government will do whatever it takes to ensure Ellison runs CNN
Reposted by Laurence
cool just let me know when they're all dead
The online MAGA-verse were at each other’s throats more than usual this weekend, as right-wing commentators Benny Johnson, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Tucker Carlson were all points of controversy.
Here's what happened: trib.al/UcjcHOn
Here's what happened: trib.al/UcjcHOn
MAGA Straight Up Imploded This Weekend—And It’s Beyond Messy
Tucker Carlson, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Benny Johnson are just more proof that the MAGA base is fraying at the seams.
trib.al
December 8, 2025 at 5:30 PM
cool just let me know when they're all dead
Reposted by Laurence
Tremendous DOGE savings can be realised in desk name-plate costs by getting rid of these clowns.
Councillor quits Reform for second time in two weeks and defects to Ben Habib's party.
"Brown previously resigned from Reform UK on November 28. However, she withdrew her resignation and was re-listed as a Reform UK councillor." 🤡 ~AA
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"Brown previously resigned from Reform UK on November 28. However, she withdrew her resignation and was re-listed as a Reform UK councillor." 🤡 ~AA
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Doncaster Reform UK councillor quits party for second time in two weeks
Nicola Brown resigns over Reform UK decision to vote to borrow £57m to re-open Doncaster airport.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Tremendous DOGE savings can be realised in desk name-plate costs by getting rid of these clowns.
Reposted by Laurence
Trump hung up on a ProPublica reporter after being asked whether his Florida mortgages were similar to those of others he had accused of fraud. 🤔
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing ...
www.propublica.org
December 8, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Trump hung up on a ProPublica reporter after being asked whether his Florida mortgages were similar to those of others he had accused of fraud. 🤔
Reposted by Laurence
No print mags have the reach they once did. But it's notable to me that I keep seeing articles like this in People, very broad-spectrum, apolitical, at least in my experience. Gives a sense of how much this stuff is breaking through.
They are now targeting people who did everything by the book and were literally at the ceremony where they were going to become citizens...
"Immigrants lined up to become U.S. citizens in Boston on Dec. 4 were pulled from line by USCIS officials moments before the oath ceremony"
"Immigrants lined up to become U.S. citizens in Boston on Dec. 4 were pulled from line by USCIS officials moments before the oath ceremony"
Immigrants Approved for Citizenship ‘Plucked Out’ of Line Moments Before Pledging Allegiance: Report
Immigrants lined up to become U.S. citizens in Boston on Dec. 4 were pulled from line by USCIS officials moments before the ceremony. The incident comes after USCIS told employees to halt all immigrat...
people.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:17 PM
No print mags have the reach they once did. But it's notable to me that I keep seeing articles like this in People, very broad-spectrum, apolitical, at least in my experience. Gives a sense of how much this stuff is breaking through.
Reposted by Laurence
Reposted by Laurence
As article notes, they're saying explicitly that the President is on their side so the merger the companies want is doomed. The guy in the picture, Ellison's failson typifies the corrupt crony capitalism of the age.
Paramount Skydance launches hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix wins bidding war
Paramount Skydance launches hostile bid for WBD after Netflix wins bidding war
Netflix won a bidding war for the Warner Bros. film studio and HBO Max streaming service, but it doesn't plan to buy WBD's TV networks.
www.cnbc.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:28 PM
As article notes, they're saying explicitly that the President is on their side so the merger the companies want is doomed. The guy in the picture, Ellison's failson typifies the corrupt crony capitalism of the age.
Reposted by Laurence
It's being reported internationally. In the UK, mostly, silence.
"Representatives from the crypto industry have held meetings with Reform feeding into the party’s strategy... Farage has championed several industry causes since including picking a fight with the Bank of England over regulation." ~AA
"Representatives from the crypto industry have held meetings with Reform feeding into the party’s strategy... Farage has championed several industry causes since including picking a fight with the Bank of England over regulation." ~AA
December 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM
It's being reported internationally. In the UK, mostly, silence.
"Representatives from the crypto industry have held meetings with Reform feeding into the party’s strategy... Farage has championed several industry causes since including picking a fight with the Bank of England over regulation." ~AA
"Representatives from the crypto industry have held meetings with Reform feeding into the party’s strategy... Farage has championed several industry causes since including picking a fight with the Bank of England over regulation." ~AA
Reposted by Laurence
So love wobbegongs. Everything is good about the wobbegong. Its name. Its flattened Oscar the Grouch face. Its frondy bits. Its lazy life as a hungry rug. And it’s a shark. Outstanding animal 10/10
The Tasselled Wobbegong is a master of disguise that can eat a fish almost as big as itself in one gulp. It's classified as a shark, but when it lays on the sea floor it looks like a harmless rug if you manage to see it. But with powerful jaws and sharp teeth they are no fish to mess with.
December 8, 2025 at 9:49 AM
So love wobbegongs. Everything is good about the wobbegong. Its name. Its flattened Oscar the Grouch face. Its frondy bits. Its lazy life as a hungry rug. And it’s a shark. Outstanding animal 10/10
Reposted by Laurence
"Incidentally, in the 1960s and 1970s, when net migration was running at minus 50,000 a year, more than 85% of Britons still thought immigration was too high."
Last week's New World column ocncerned immigration to the UK.
Last week's New World column ocncerned immigration to the UK.
Nerd's Eye View: 11 things you need to know about immigration
Digging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news
www.thenewworld.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 11:36 AM
"Incidentally, in the 1960s and 1970s, when net migration was running at minus 50,000 a year, more than 85% of Britons still thought immigration was too high."
Last week's New World column ocncerned immigration to the UK.
Last week's New World column ocncerned immigration to the UK.
Reposted by Laurence
“In the past year, the largest donors to global health have reduced their spending by nearly 27%, and the report estimates that if such reductions continue or even expand to 30%, an additional 16 million more children (or more) will die of preventable causes by 2045.”
"For the first time in 25 years, child mortality rates for preventable diseases are projected to increase, after having declined for 25 years."
This is the legacy of aid cuts. ~AA
time.com/7338791/chil...
This is the legacy of aid cuts. ~AA
time.com/7338791/chil...
For the First Time This Century, Child Mortality Is Likely to Rise
The latest report from the Gates Foundation predicts an alarming trend for the health of children around the world.
time.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:59 PM
“In the past year, the largest donors to global health have reduced their spending by nearly 27%, and the report estimates that if such reductions continue or even expand to 30%, an additional 16 million more children (or more) will die of preventable causes by 2045.”