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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 7h

Nobody authorized Trump to destroy the East Wing of the White House. Congress didn't fund a ballroom in its place. He just did it. His lackeys in the administration will fund it on their own authority. Trump is a de facto dictator. No guardrails.
www.npr.org/2025/10/20/g...

The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump's ballroom

Dramatic photos show construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows, though the federal agency that oversees such projects has not approved President Trump's 90,000-square-foot, ...

www.npr.org

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 1d

We haven't seen this kind of abuse of people by the government since the days of the Civil Rights movement. They simply called him "migra" and thought they could manhandle him in any way they pleased. Back then it was the local police. Now it is federal agents.

charvakan @charvakan.bsky.social · Jul 31

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This is so wrong. Are Americans going to tolerate, even approve, of crap like this?

Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: ‘You’ve got no rights.’ He secretly recorded his brutal arrest

Video from Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio, 18, puts fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used to reach the Trump administration’s ambitious enforcement targets

www.theguardian.com

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 1d

Oh, no! Donald Trump's Nobel Peace Prize is at risk! Maybe it would help if he renamed the Department of War to the Department of Peace?
www.npr.org/2025/10/19/n...

Israel strikes Gaza as both IDF and Hamas accuse each other of breaching ceasefire

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it responded after "terrorists" attacked troops operating in the Rafah area with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Hamas said it was unaware of the clashes.

www.npr.org

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 3d

Trump decided to have a talk with Putin. Suddenly, he is Putin's buddy again. No Tomahawk missiles and no security agreement for Ukraine. He is not called "TACO" for nothing.
www.axios.com/2025/10/17/t...

Trump rejects Zelensky on Tomahawk missiles in "tough" meeting

One source said the meeting "was not easy." Another simply said "it was bad."

www.axios.com

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 4d

Did he not store it in a secure bathroom in his home? Why is this a crime?
apnews.com/article/john...

Ex-Trump national security adviser Bolton charged with storing and sharing classified information

Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has been charged with storing top secret records at home and sharing with relatives notes that contained classified information.

apnews.com

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 5d

The Republican majority on the Supreme Court understands the impact that the Voting Rights Act has on their party's chances to stay in power.

The Supreme Court Might Net Republicans 19 Congressional Seats in One Fell Swoop

On Wednesday, the justices will take the extraordinary step of rehearing Louisiana v. Callais.

slate.com

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 7d

It's just a generated summary of texts that the chatbot selects as statistically relevant to an input prompt. So the results can be useful, depending on the quality of the texts it was trained on and your skill at creating a good input prompt. Don't trust and do verify.

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 11d

Jeh Johnson believes that there should be reconciliation after Trump, that there should be few, if any, prosecutions of those who carried out his illegal orders. He called it political retaliation, but where is the rule of law if there are no consequences for breaking laws?

The Briefing with Jen Psaki @briefingwithpsaki.bsky.social · 11d

Jeh Johnson: "Somebody managed to snatch scandal out of the jaws of victory. This should have been a good news day for President Donald Trump."

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 11d

In Dates in the Month of May That are of Interest to Linguists, Jim McCawley wrote:
May 05, 1403: "The Great English Vowel Shift begins. Giles of Tottenham calls for ale at his favorite pub and is perplexed when the barmaid tells him that the fishmonger is next door."
specgram.com/LP/10.mccawl...

Lingua Pranca—Dates in the Month of May that Are of Interest to Linguists—James D. McCawley

specgram.com

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 13d

Conservatives on the Supreme Court want to allow legislators to restrict what teachers can say in a classroom and how doctors can advise and treat patients. Now they seem seem to want to block legal bans on conversion therapy. How will they thread that needle? Should be interesting.

www.reuters.com

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 16d

The verb 'should' is literally the past tense form of 'shall'. When you say "I should eat healthy food, but..." you are talking about an imagined situation (irrealis frame) in which your good intention is prior to contrary behavior.

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 16d

If intention is a semantic component of agency, then 'want' is not really an agentive verb. The verb 'choose' is. People experience moods and emotions, but they don't necessarily act on them. What is interesting about 'should' is that sometimes you shouldn't.

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 18d

When she mentioned Trump's unhinged performance before the generals, Johnson said "I didn't see it" almost before the words were out of her mouth. He was ready for the question because he very much did see it.

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 19d

Supreme Court has made racial profiling legal. The justification was left unsaid, but it was ostensibly to allow Trump's ICE police to randomly detain people they feel look like illegal immigrants. The result, of course, is that a lot of actual US citizens are being harassed and detained.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh and racial proxies

Immigration Matters is a recurring series by César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández that analyzes the court’s immigration docket, highlighting emerging legal questions about new policy and enforcement prac...

www.scotusblog.com

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 24d

The CEO at Sinclair has suddenly discovered that censoring shows for political reasons isn't the best business strategy.

Sinclair brings Jimmy Kimmel's show back to its ABC-affiliated stations, ending blackout

Sinclair Broadcast Group has decided to bring Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show back to its ABC affiliate stations.

apnews.com

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Reposted by Rick Wojcik

Michael Pleyer @symbolicstorage.bsky.social · Oct 18

Hello new followers! If you're interested in what I do why not have a look at @stefanhartmann.bsky.social and my little #openaccess monograph on Cognitive #Linguistics and #Language Evolution!
As a colleague said: "I really liked it, because it's very short!"
www.cambridge.org/core/element...

The title page of our monograph. It says: Cambridge Elements Cognitive Linguistics Cognitive Linguistics and Language Evolution
Michael Pleyer and Stefan Hartmann

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Reposted by Rick Wojcik

About Linguistics @aboutlinguistics.bsky.social · 27d

Did you know that investigators can use spectrograms (visual displays of speech) to help identify speakers or verify audio recordings in legal cases?

This is thanks to acoustic phonetics: https://aboutlinguistics.com/explore/what-is-acoustic-phonetics

#Phonetics #Linguistics #Languages #Forensics

What is Acoustic Phonetics?

Acoustic phonetics is a subfield of phonetics that studies the sound waves produced when we speak, analysing how vocal vibrations travel through the air.

aboutlinguistics.com

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 26d

The Trump administration is being forced to clean up some of the expensive mess left behind by the DOGE job massacres. Those returning will have had a long paid vacation at taxpayer expense.
www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/p...

Trump administration rehires hundreds of federal employees laid off by DOGE | CNN Politics

Hundreds of federal employees who lost their jobs in Elon Musk’s cost-cutting blitz are being asked to return to work.

www.cnn.com

Reposted by Rick Wojcik

George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 27d

1.2K 8.8K 31K

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 28d

It will be interesting to see whether Trump tries to make good on the regulatory threats in retaliation for letting Kimmel back on the air.

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · 29d

The MAGA regime is arguably the most corrupt administration in US history. When it comes to criticizing other countries for corruption, we now hold the moral underground.

Trump Border Czar Caught on Camera Taking Cash in FBI Sting

The Trump DOJ shut down the investigation.

www.thedailybeast.com

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · Sep 21

Confusion and chaos are normal for an administration that issues decrees without any apparent foresight, planning, or feedback. The inexperienced lackeys running government departments don't know what it will take to implement the decrees, but they know the consequences of disobeying orders.

White House tries to tamp down corporate panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul

The Trump administration announced Friday that H-1B visas will now come with a $100,000 annual fee, but the White House says it will only apply to new visa applicants.

www.politico.com

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · Sep 20

I agree that he should sue, but it is going to be very expensive. Trump is experienced at drawing out lawsuits and could easily afford to tie this up for a long time. Trump also has the full services of the DoJ to deploy against Kimmel. This lawsuit won't be that easy to win.

Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · Sep 20

Linguistic usage has always been political. Here is an excellent example of politicians fighting over the usage of linguistic gender. In an attempt to legislate preferred gender pronoun and title usage, Republicans accidentally tried to ban their own preferred pronouns and titles. Er...what? 🤔

Nelson Flores @nelsonlflores.bsky.social · Sep 20

GOP: We are putting forward a proposal to ban the use of all pronouns.

Dems: Um…we all use pronouns.

GOP: Oh. Withdrawn.

Anagram Man @conserveletters.bsky.social · Sep 19

LOL Awesome.

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Rick Wojcik @rickwojcik.bsky.social · Sep 20

The US is run by an increasingly unpopular tyrant who has seriously weakened the Western alliance of countries. Now is a time to expect both Russia and China to increase tests of their military defenses with incidents like this.

Russian jets over Estonia ignored signals from NATO pilots, officials say

A senior Estonian military official said Russian pilots ignored signals from Italian jets during a 12-minute violation of Estonian airspace.

apnews.com

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