Rachel Lazerus
@rachellazerus.bsky.social
Mom of three and a recovering policy wonk. Openly sincere on main. Definitely sleep-deprived. She/her
Pinned
Rachel Lazerus
@rachellazerus.bsky.social
· Sep 20
Do you actually want me to explain why I think this way, or are you being reflexively defiant at anyone who doesn't agree with your interpretation of the narrative? Because I've got stuff to do today.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
You’re about to hear many in the commentariat claim a permitting bill, the SPEED Act, will help all energy sources.
The thing folks like Matt Yglesias don’t mention is that SPEED would fail to do anything for renewables without addressing Trump’s bottleneck.
That’s not “sources say” — it is fact.
The thing folks like Matt Yglesias don’t mention is that SPEED would fail to do anything for renewables without addressing Trump’s bottleneck.
That’s not “sources say” — it is fact.
i have a story coming today that explains how this tweet is… unacceptable levels of weirdly inaccurate
November 25, 2025 at 8:57 PM
You’re about to hear many in the commentariat claim a permitting bill, the SPEED Act, will help all energy sources.
The thing folks like Matt Yglesias don’t mention is that SPEED would fail to do anything for renewables without addressing Trump’s bottleneck.
That’s not “sources say” — it is fact.
The thing folks like Matt Yglesias don’t mention is that SPEED would fail to do anything for renewables without addressing Trump’s bottleneck.
That’s not “sources say” — it is fact.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
“DOGE failed” is basically saying the lives of poor people and non-white people don’t count
November 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“DOGE failed” is basically saying the lives of poor people and non-white people don’t count
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Don’t do this, you guys. The enormous pile of dead bodies, and small but still massive of dead careers, would point to the opposite being true: DOGE was a massive financial and political boon to Elon Musk and it paid off marvelously for him at horrendous cost.
DOGE is one of the greatest failures of the Trump administration. The next Democratic administration should pick up that issue and actually work to cut government waste, fraud, and abuse. I’d suggest starting by taking a look at Elon Musk’s government contracts.
November 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Don’t do this, you guys. The enormous pile of dead bodies, and small but still massive of dead careers, would point to the opposite being true: DOGE was a massive financial and political boon to Elon Musk and it paid off marvelously for him at horrendous cost.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
the lesson from doge is not that we need to cut waste fraud and abuse better. the lesson is that GOVERNMENT FULFILLS MANY VERY IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS and that among those is SAVING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS OF CHILDREN.
November 24, 2025 at 5:17 PM
the lesson from doge is not that we need to cut waste fraud and abuse better. the lesson is that GOVERNMENT FULFILLS MANY VERY IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS and that among those is SAVING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS OF CHILDREN.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Discworld QOTD, from Guards! Guards!
November 22, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Discworld QOTD, from Guards! Guards!
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Honestly crazy how no man has ever had any problem that oppressing women couldn’t solve.
November 24, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Honestly crazy how no man has ever had any problem that oppressing women couldn’t solve.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
The American voter was really stupid on a random Tuesday in November and now my country is bleeding out because of a realtor
November 23, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The American voter was really stupid on a random Tuesday in November and now my country is bleeding out because of a realtor
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
All this to say that Elon is a white supremacist mass murderer and DOGE was not a failure. It functioned as designed. I wish people would cover this accurately. It's not difficult.
November 23, 2025 at 4:55 PM
All this to say that Elon is a white supremacist mass murderer and DOGE was not a failure. It functioned as designed. I wish people would cover this accurately. It's not difficult.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
A suitable nickname would be Elon '88' (deaths per hour). And that's just from the DOGE cuts, it doesn't include his deathbox vehicles.
November 23, 2025 at 4:08 PM
A suitable nickname would be Elon '88' (deaths per hour). And that's just from the DOGE cuts, it doesn't include his deathbox vehicles.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
There seems to be an emerging consensus on the importance of shame for responding to our present situation. Interesting to think through this excellent piece from @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org alongside @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social's piece from September.
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
November 24, 2025 at 12:44 AM
There seems to be an emerging consensus on the importance of shame for responding to our present situation. Interesting to think through this excellent piece from @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org alongside @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social's piece from September.
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
In 2018-19 I was creating lit reviews of the harms Facebook was doing at the time, I remember wanting to find the research FB was conducting _including_ this, and none of my fucking supervisors thought that was as worthwhile as cherrypicked stats about teen suicide from Jonathan Haidt.
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
www.cnbc.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In 2018-19 I was creating lit reviews of the harms Facebook was doing at the time, I remember wanting to find the research FB was conducting _including_ this, and none of my fucking supervisors thought that was as worthwhile as cherrypicked stats about teen suicide from Jonathan Haidt.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Ah, I'm awake again. Time to open the psychological harm app
November 22, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Ah, I'm awake again. Time to open the psychological harm app
The new Netflix kid movie is so precisely catered to Elder Millennials that l feel like making major parenting lifestyle changes and I'm figuring out how to stream the soundtrack.
November 22, 2025 at 11:46 PM
The new Netflix kid movie is so precisely catered to Elder Millennials that l feel like making major parenting lifestyle changes and I'm figuring out how to stream the soundtrack.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
NEW: I spoke with David Vickrey, the Daily Kos blogger Robert Kennedy Jr. spent the last five years pursuing in court with a dead-end, costly defamation lawsuit.
Here’s what he had to say:
www.importantcontext.news/p/robert-ken...
Here’s what he had to say:
www.importantcontext.news/p/robert-ken...
Robert Kennedy Jr. ‘Absolutely Tried to Silence’ Me: Blogger Sued by HHS Secretary Speaks Out
David Vickrey spoke with Important Context about the legal battle that consumed the last five years of his life.
www.importantcontext.news
November 22, 2025 at 8:45 PM
NEW: I spoke with David Vickrey, the Daily Kos blogger Robert Kennedy Jr. spent the last five years pursuing in court with a dead-end, costly defamation lawsuit.
Here’s what he had to say:
www.importantcontext.news/p/robert-ken...
Here’s what he had to say:
www.importantcontext.news/p/robert-ken...
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
New at Media Nation: @marisakabas.bsky.social is the alternative to wallowing in Olivia Nuzzi's tale of dysfunction and deceit. There are 42,000 journalists across the U.S., and the vast majority are performing honorably and ethically. dankennedy.net/2025/11/22/m...
Marisa Kabas is the alternative to wallowing in Olivia Nuzzi’s tale of dysfunction and deceit
Colby Hall’s Mediaite commentary about Olivia Nuzzi is winning a lot of praise. The redoubtable Jay Rosen goes so far as to call it “the best thing I have read about her.” Sign up…
dankennedy.net
November 22, 2025 at 2:45 PM
New at Media Nation: @marisakabas.bsky.social is the alternative to wallowing in Olivia Nuzzi's tale of dysfunction and deceit. There are 42,000 journalists across the U.S., and the vast majority are performing honorably and ethically. dankennedy.net/2025/11/22/m...
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Today on Volts: the subset of cleantech known as "electrotech" -- solar, batteries, heat pumps, etc. -- is marching toward inevitable victory, not because it's low-emissions (though it is), but because it's more efficient & cheaper. I discuss the good news with @kingsmillbond.bsky.social.
Clean electrification is inevitable
Kingsmill Bond explains why the global march of "electrotech" has moved beyond the reach of US political interference.
www.volts.wtf
November 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Today on Volts: the subset of cleantech known as "electrotech" -- solar, batteries, heat pumps, etc. -- is marching toward inevitable victory, not because it's low-emissions (though it is), but because it's more efficient & cheaper. I discuss the good news with @kingsmillbond.bsky.social.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Just remembering how one of the most important and widely read and dropped-with-maximally-damaging-timing "Biden is old and senile" pieces was reported by Nuzzi. It makes you think!
well, I read it, and the salient, non-gross part is Lizza alleging, midsentence and without elaboration, that Nuzzi ran numerous “catch-and-kill operations” on RFK’s behalf, which would give her a role in both his appointment and the untold preventable deaths he has abetted in office. Cool.
November 22, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Just remembering how one of the most important and widely read and dropped-with-maximally-damaging-timing "Biden is old and senile" pieces was reported by Nuzzi. It makes you think!
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
“Vibes” is when your existing theory of power is insufficient to explain reality so you blame reality
Someone is going to have the write the thing about how “vibe” has become a substitute for meaningful theory in a world where the theory is so clear — grift and power — but we collectively refuse if because it isn’t sophisticated enough to generate make work for empiricists.
November 22, 2025 at 1:26 PM
“Vibes” is when your existing theory of power is insufficient to explain reality so you blame reality
As someone who attended a religious Zionist day school that had a day of celebration when Netanyahu was elected in 1996 -- Hurwitz's comments are an obscenity.
And shame too on American Jews who thought "supporting Israel" meant "support whatever the government does at 100%," even during Trump 1.0.
And shame too on American Jews who thought "supporting Israel" meant "support whatever the government does at 100%," even during Trump 1.0.
I felt like I was losing my mind watching this person's remarks and had to write about how disgusting they are.
Sarah Hurwitz Profanes the Holocaust
Holocaust education has worked too well for the Obama speechwriter, since when she rationalizes Israel's genocide, "I sound obscene." Maybe sit with that, Sarah
www.forever-wars.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
As someone who attended a religious Zionist day school that had a day of celebration when Netanyahu was elected in 1996 -- Hurwitz's comments are an obscenity.
And shame too on American Jews who thought "supporting Israel" meant "support whatever the government does at 100%," even during Trump 1.0.
And shame too on American Jews who thought "supporting Israel" meant "support whatever the government does at 100%," even during Trump 1.0.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
MTG is running for President and she'll do way better than people think
The media fell in love with Trump — the most mendacious person in the world — because he gave them “interesting stories” and now they’re doing the same with her for the exact same reason
November 22, 2025 at 12:06 PM
MTG is running for President and she'll do way better than people think
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
In an era filled with tech dipshits who never developed emotionally past the age of 13 & use their wealth to become odious monsters ...
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
November 21, 2025 at 7:41 PM
In an era filled with tech dipshits who never developed emotionally past the age of 13 & use their wealth to become odious monsters ...
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
... listen to Steve Wozniak.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
The thing is, they lie. Over and over and over again. I don't think there's been a single incident in Chicago where their initial account proved out. Reporters should simply *not* be reporting what they say as fact, ever.
This is a thread detailing a series of incidents where federal Judge Ellis rules that Gregory Bovino and his agents lied or misrepresented what was happening on the streets of Chicago. In this one, she says body cam footage suggests they brake checked to cause accidents
November 20, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The thing is, they lie. Over and over and over again. I don't think there's been a single incident in Chicago where their initial account proved out. Reporters should simply *not* be reporting what they say as fact, ever.