Priya
@priyamatta.bsky.social
960 followers 570 following 590 posts
Art director, New Yorker, Hi-Chew aficionado, professional worrier. Go Bills.
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Reposted by Priya
runwithskizzers.bsky.social
adding alt text bc we all know that interview was rough to watch, but my god the background on it

(via www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...)
A few days before the taping, Colbert's producers held a prep call with the candidates and their aides. The sample questions covered basic political topics, such as the meaning of democratic socialism. Right before the candidates went onstage, the producers appeared in the greenroom and said that they wanted to go over a few more questions. Earlier that day, a group of prominent Jewish figures, including Elisha Wiesel, the son of Elie Wiesel, had sent a letter to Colbert demanding that he grill Mamdani on his views of Israel. According to people who were in the room, one of the producers suggested a "thumbs-up or thumbs-down" segment:
"Thumbs-up or thumbs-down: Hamas. Thumbs-up or thumbs-down: a Palestinian state."
Mamdani's face dropped. "I just couldn't believe what was happening," he told me. "That a genocide could be distilled into a late-night game." His aides were incensed. "You have the first Muslim candidate for mayor in the history of New York," Zara Rahim, a senior adviser to Mamdani, told one of the producers. "You don't want to ask him a question about that?" (CBS did not respond to a request for comment.) In the end, the game didn't happen, but Colbert did ask Mamdani whether he believed that Israel had the right to exist. "Yes, like all nations, I believe it has a right to exist," he said. "And a responsibility also to uphold international law."
Reposted by Priya
mjsdc.bsky.social
It is pretty galling that the Supreme Court spent four years telling Biden "you can't do that without Congress" then allowed Trump to seize a once-unthinkable amount of power from Congress within nine months and concentrate law-making authority almost entirely in the executive branch.
Reposted by Priya
seemiaroll.bsky.social
Any block grant is a cut to Medicaid. Don't believe their messaging. Block grants are cuts. #HandsOffMedicaid
christianrincon.com
we're 9 years into waiting for Trump's "affordable healthcare" plan
Trump’s Health Plan Would Convert Medicaid to Block Grants, Aide Says
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angryblacklady.blacksky.app
I would vote without question for anyone with the fucking stones to do this while refusing to 1) throw trans people under the bus and 2) fund Israel's genocide
mjsdc.bsky.social
This is why I think the next Democratic president needs to use the EXACT tools that SCOTUS has handed Trump. Don't leave room for any distinctions.

Impound funds for deportation. Give ICE the USAID treatment. Refuse to collect government-backed debt. Purge MAGA loyalists from the executive branch.
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brooklynspoke.bsky.social
To paraphrase @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social, if we want to have any sort of democratic society there needs to be some real social and political costs to this kind of blatant lying. Thune knows what he's saying isn't true. It's just a means to an end.
atrupar.com
Thune: "The president would like to overhaul Obamacare and give people health insurance that is higher quality and more affordable."
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brenttoderian.bsky.social
“In a city once choked with cars and infamous for its traffic snarls, Paris has pulled off a remarkable turnaround…the French capital has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently.” Via @momentummag.bsky.social

A victory for FAST leadership.
Paris Pedals to the Top: How the City of Light Became Europe’s Best for Young Cyclists
The French capital has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently
momentummag.com
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grudgie.bsky.social
Trump only got prosecuted for a small fraction of his voluminous criminal portfolio and frankly no one even tries to say he’s innocent. They just argue you can’t prosecute him bc that would be political.
pbump.com
I guess I should also add that a key difference between the Trump investigation and the Comey indictment is that *Trump did something obviously and significantly wrong*. Like, if you can't grok that distinction as important, I don't know what to say.
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weeder.bsky.social
Can't believe the President threatened to arrest a billionaire and I'm mad about it
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moiradonegan.bsky.social
"My husband loves me and will make sure that I never have to work again. It's what's right for our family. We're equals even though he makes all the money."
Samantha Jones saying "If you were 25, that would be adorable, but you're 32 now, so that's just stupid."
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repmcgovern.bsky.social
Republicans won’t come back to work because we can now force a vote on releasing the Epstein Files.

Meanwhile, folks' insurance is skyrocketing because they refuse to extend healthcare tax credits.

They’re putting Pedophiles before the American People.
atrupar.com
Mike Johnson ignores a question about when he'll swear in Rep.-elect Grijalva and walks away
Reposted by Priya
karlbode.com
twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross
photo of Google News search results for Amazon Prime Day (the second this year)
Reposted by Priya
keithwdickinson.bsky.social
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
Reposted by Priya
chadstanton.blacksky.app
I’m never going to get over this being described as the “wrong fight” from people who absolutely should’ve known better.
apnews.com
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted “no one has died” as a result of U.S. foreign aid cuts. In Myanmar, the grieving father of a 2-year-old boy who died after their food rations were cut calls such claims a lie.
Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.
bit.ly
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peter-butler.bsky.social
Bloomberg research found wholesale electricity up ~270% in areas near data centers

It doesn't seem like nearly enough people are taking it seriously

One A.I. image isn't too much energy, but 5 million videos? Per day/hour/minute whatever. It's not sustainable

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring
Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.
www.bloomberg.com
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murray.senate.gov
Here are the 10 states that will see the highest premium increases for families that lose tax credits if Republicans refuse to act.

West Virginia 387%
Wyoming 382%
Alaska 346%
Tennessee 320%
Mississippi 314%
Texas 289%
South Carolina 285%
Alabama 284%
South Dakota 235%
North Dakota 234%
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karnythia.bsky.social
You could just talk about Jim Crow. I promise you, there's no need to leave America's shores to talk about life in a fascist state
motherjones.com
Under the Third Reich, most Germans generally lived in the law-bound normative state, while Jews and other disfavored people were victims of the arbitrary and violent prerogative state.

The dual state is characterized by the facade of normalcy obscuring the fact of an authoritarian state.
The “dual state” theory was invented to describe Nazis. The Supreme Court could take us there.
Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law.
www.motherjones.com
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noupside.bsky.social
“Who was president in 2020?” is the question of our time
Senator Jim Banks V
@SenatorBanks
Follow g..
The 2020 Census was a fraud. The Biden admin used a shady "privacy" formula that scrambled the data and miscounted 14 states.
It included illegal immigrants and handed
Democrats extra seats. Americans deserve a fair count and l'm fighting to fix it.
Zinited Statcs SScnate
MASHNORON DEYNN
October 6, 2025
an. Thow arewutn
Socretary
U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DXC 20230
Dear Secretary Lutaick:
I urge you to investigate and correct erroes from the 2020 Census that handed disproportionntd political power to Democrats and illogal alicns. The Census Burcau adoptod a now and opaque
voting districts. As preparod by the Biden administration, the 2020 Censas roports miscountod the population of fourteen states, ' wrongly allocating six congressional scats aod Electoral
xx conwuu tmora uy, toc taroro tu mot đoo tnn Cunu lc pung t imber of votine districts. And the reoorts de aniovety inchaded ilecnl nhens widhout track those aliens' citiz enship status, If left uncorrected, these erroes will coetinue diluting the political power of American citizens.
Consus data plays a crucial role in allocating political roprescntation and goverment funding
Under the Constitution, cach state gets Congressional represcotutives and Electoeal College votes- based on "the whole number of persons" within the state." The number of persoes is in
tum clabaabod by a consttubocalty-mandalcd dcccacaal ccavas. Pcual agcco nely on census data to allocate billions of dollars in federal funding, much of which hinges ee opulation. And states use consus data to deaw congrossicnal and voting districts, »hich the
The it eiy of tie soaren alie n tor dur at ce hor inc ae oam toy ee n
nght wilbout statsica ly signilicant ciroo.
Diffcrcntial privacy is opaque and liable to mistakcn count totals. Sure cnough, the 2020 Ccnsus ovarocunted the noculation in cicht states and undercounted it in six." Tihe most extrcmi andercount was Arkansas, at 5.04%, and the larg…
Reposted by Priya
chadstanton.blacksky.app
I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that all these data centers are going into communities that have been historically targeted for exploitation and have the least amount of civic power wielded by the people living there.

wordinblack.com/2025/09/alab...
Why Are Plans for This Alabama Data Center So Hush-Hush?
Officials in Bessemer, Alabama, are mum on Project Marvel, a proposed data center the size of 18 Walmart Supercenters.
wordinblack.com
Reposted by Priya
chrislhayes.bsky.social
Just go ahead and delete article 1 entirely while you’re at it.
peark.es
Well that's not how appropriations work at all

*WHITE HOUSE TO TRANSFER TARIFF REVENUE TO FUND WIC: LEAVITT
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tomscocca.bsky.social
It's not just that they're going to strike down a law against conversion therapy, it's that they're going to do it on behalf of made-up claims from a straw plaintiff who can't honestly show the law affected her at all
tomscocca.bsky.social
One thing about American's widespread distrust and disapproval of the Supreme Court is that mainstream news coverage mostly doesn't dwell on stuff like standing, so people don't even begin to grasp how rigged the Court truly is www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
Supreme Court Live Updates: Justices Seem Set to Rule Against Colorado’s Ban on Conversion Therapy
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Priya
antheabutler.bsky.social
So since I'm annoyed let me say a few things today.Some folks have been writing about Christian Nationalism and apocalyptic right wing movements for YEARS here in the US. YEARS. Do we get to have a platform in major mags and newspapers... rarely.
priyamatta.bsky.social
They like the brutality though.
Reposted by Priya
heathercherone.bsky.social
Pritzker is also furious: “Should National Governors Association leadership choose to remain silent, Illinois will have no choice but to withdraw from the organization.”
Gov. JB Pritzker’s letter to the National Governors Association
priyamatta.bsky.social
A Time Machine to the year 2019.