Philip Eil
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phileil.bsky.social
Philip Eil
@phileil.bsky.social
Journalist.
Cat dad.
Rhode Islander.
Author of "Prescription for Pain: How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the 'Pill Mill Killer.'"

https://philipeil.com/
Programming note: the reckoning has been postponed indefinitely.
I am absolutely sickened by the many rich, powerful & famous men whose names are being outed in these files as having gone to Epstein's island.

Rep. Thomas Massie & I always said this would be a moral reckoning for our nation.

Looks like that reckoning begins today.
February 1, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Brett Ratner being creepily implicated in the Epstein files is one of the least surprising developments of all time.
February 1, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
Snowy Newport
February 1, 2026 at 4:36 PM
So where are folks in Providence putting their trash and recycle bins?

[a] On top of snow piles
[b] In the street (making already-narrow streets more difficult to navigate)
[c] blocking driveways, to a lesser/greater extent
[d] other (please explain)
February 1, 2026 at 3:52 PM
I'm scheduled to give a few "News Media in the Misinformation Age" talks at libraries in MA and RI this month.

First up: the evening of Monday, February 9, at the Milford, MA Town Library.
News Media in the Misinformation Age with Philip Eil
Between the relentlessness of the twenty-four-hour news cycle, rampant misinformation, and the influence of social media algorithms, staying informed today can be overwhelming. Join us for a conversat...
milfordtownlibrary.assabetinteractive.com
February 1, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Just edited an op-ed for an upcoming edition of @thepvdeye.bsky.social. So here's a PSA that we have a vibrant opinion section at the Eye which I edit. And if you're in Providence, and have something to say about life in the city, we'd love to publish you!

More detail:
Welcome to the Providence Eye’s Readers’ Voices Section. We’d Love For You to Join the Conversation. - The Providence Eye
For as long as I’ve worked in Rhode Island journalism, something has bothered me. The city of Providence – where I grew up and still live – is diverse, interesting, fresh, and exciting. It’s filled wi...
pvdeye.org
February 1, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
In an upset that rattled Republicans, a Democrat in Texas decisively won a state legislative special election on Saturday in a district that President Trump carried by more than 17 percentage points just over a year ago.
Democratic Upset in Deep Red Texas District Rattles Republicans
A Democrat won a state legislative special election in a district that President Trump carried by 17 percentage points, unnerving Republicans in Texas and beyond.
nyti.ms
February 1, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
“about 350,000 Haitians will lose their status on Tuesday — ending their right to live and work in the United States legally and putting them at risk of immediate detention and deportation”
"‘Reminds me of Anne Frank’: Jewish seniors are offering to hide their Haitian caregivers as Trump’s TPS end looms"
February 1, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
this week’s cover by Till Lauer
February 1, 2026 at 2:18 PM
We made it to February.
February 1, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps
February 1, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Reposted by Philip Eil
column A, column B, feedback loop
so there's only two options here, both of which are bad for the state of things for us regular folks but more importantly, *horrendous* for the regime

1. ICE goons are going buckwild with no direction at all, leading to this kind of thing

2. ICE goons have been *told* to do this kind of thing
February 1, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
Hundreds of people spelled out the distress signal "SOS" on Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 30.

📷️ Provided by Jeff Schad
January 31, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
Unmarked car, no lights or police insignia. Masked armed men leap out. Victim not in the act of committing any crime. This is not how a serious federal law enforcement agency acts in a free society.

How is this not supposed to be a “right wing paramilitary force loyal to the regime”?
This is just insane. It’s only a matter of time before DHS kills another innocent person here.

(clip via MPR and @davidjbier.bsky.social on X)
January 31, 2026 at 9:34 PM
It was warm enough to go for a walk in the neighborhood this afternoon. Some photos:
January 31, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
wow, who woulda thought?
January 31, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
the president of the united states should not be allowed to personally loot the treasury to the sum of ten billion dollars and that this is not resulting in immediate, unanimous impeachment is a dramatic indictment of what has become of our political system
President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, in which he demands that the IRS, which he as president controls, pay him $10 billion.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 30, 2026 at 4:33 AM
Interesting contrast in the lead stories for the Providence Journal and Globe Rhode Island websites right now.

ProJo: how many flowers will there be at Taylor Swift's wedding?
Globe: 1,000+ people protested ICE in the bitter cold yesterday in Providence.
January 31, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
I keep thinking again, in light of the latest Epstein files dump, about how MeToo “went too far.”
January 31, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Congratulations to everyone else who isn't in the Epstein files. A very low bar that -- it turns out -- a lot of people stumble on.
January 31, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
new CBS contributor Peter Attia
Here is Peter Attia MD emailing Epstein’s assistant claiming he goes into “JE withdrawal” when he doesn’t see him.
January 31, 2026 at 10:20 AM
The arrests of journalists who cover protests are an extension of a crackdown on dissent, itself.

Not only does the regime not want people to protest its actions. They want to punish the people who are telling you about those protests.

Authoritarian stuff.
January 31, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
every epstein commentary is these immensely rich/powerful/influential people raving about what a genius epstein was, and every one of his emails is just “helo, my name jomfrie”
congragulations
January 31, 2026 at 4:28 AM
Coverage of protests is an essential beat in journalism.

And, in Rhode Island, nobody does that better than my friend and colleague @steveahlquist.bsky.social.

I just donated to support his work.

We're so lucky to have him here.
January 31, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Philip Eil
Just your standard protest-coverage video. Don Lemon enters, interviews people and leaves. Gift link. wapo.st/4t7c5VJ
What video shows about Don Lemon’s activities at the church protest
A Post review of videos from the protest at Minnesota’s Cities Church offers a detailed look at the events that led to the arrest of the former CNN anchor.
wapo.st
January 31, 2026 at 1:16 PM