@straythoughts.bsky.social
Bioinformatics, history, photography, cats
Reposted
Our grasp on reality is slipping. The response rate to the survey behind the unemployment rate (and the rest of the household survey) is now lower than during the pandemic.
The decline in response rates during the first year of the Trump Admin 2.0 was larger than at any time outside the pandemic.
The decline in response rates during the first year of the Trump Admin 2.0 was larger than at any time outside the pandemic.
February 16, 2026 at 10:27 PM
Our grasp on reality is slipping. The response rate to the survey behind the unemployment rate (and the rest of the household survey) is now lower than during the pandemic.
The decline in response rates during the first year of the Trump Admin 2.0 was larger than at any time outside the pandemic.
The decline in response rates during the first year of the Trump Admin 2.0 was larger than at any time outside the pandemic.
Reposted
Reading American history will break your heart a thousand times but it will also fill you with such admiration and awe for all the people who were excluded from the protection of America’s founding principles and fought to promote, protect and expand them anyways
February 16, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Reading American history will break your heart a thousand times but it will also fill you with such admiration and awe for all the people who were excluded from the protection of America’s founding principles and fought to promote, protect and expand them anyways
Reposted
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life.
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...
www.science.org
February 15, 2026 at 3:16 AM
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life.
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This paper describes a ribozyme, a catalytic RNA molecule, able to do just that..
Fascinating stuff…
🧪🦠
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted
I thought this was a phenomenal read www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-median...
The Median Voter Theorem is a Clarity Trap
What the Democratic party needs - what it demands - is bold, persistent experimentation
www.programmablemutter.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I thought this was a phenomenal read www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-median...
Reposted
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
February 15, 2026 at 2:47 PM
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
Reposted
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
Reposted
A person on a bicycle is by far the most energy-efficient among animals and machines per distance traveled relative to body weight. The bicycle is magic.
www.jstor.org/stable/24923...
www.jstor.org/stable/24923...
November 24, 2024 at 11:12 PM
A person on a bicycle is by far the most energy-efficient among animals and machines per distance traveled relative to body weight. The bicycle is magic.
www.jstor.org/stable/24923...
www.jstor.org/stable/24923...
Reposted
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
Reposted
How bad do the facts have to be, how outrageous did the lies have to turn out to be, for a Trump-appointed US Attorney to say and do this?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/u...
February 13, 2026 at 3:30 AM
How bad do the facts have to be, how outrageous did the lies have to turn out to be, for a Trump-appointed US Attorney to say and do this?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/u...
Reposted
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu
February 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Reposted
If you can’t police in a free society without hiding your face, the problem is with the policing — not the public. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-s-mask...
ICE's Masks Are All a Lie
Working for ICE is actually less dangerous than being an elementary school student in America.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
February 10, 2026 at 5:39 PM
If you can’t police in a free society without hiding your face, the problem is with the policing — not the public. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-s-mask...
Reposted
The Victorian Society (@vicsocny.bsky.social) welcomes editor Geoff Wisner (@geoffwisner.bsky.social) to speak about, "George Templeton Strong" (published @libraryofamerica.bsky.social) tonight at 6:30pm.
We will be handling sales at the event this evening.
#booksigning #nycevents
We will be handling sales at the event this evening.
#booksigning #nycevents
February 9, 2026 at 8:56 PM
The Victorian Society (@vicsocny.bsky.social) welcomes editor Geoff Wisner (@geoffwisner.bsky.social) to speak about, "George Templeton Strong" (published @libraryofamerica.bsky.social) tonight at 6:30pm.
We will be handling sales at the event this evening.
#booksigning #nycevents
We will be handling sales at the event this evening.
#booksigning #nycevents
Reposted
"Eighty-two years after his execution by the Gestapo on June 16, 1944, the Jewish historian and resistance fighter Marc Bloch will be inducted into the Pantheon on June 23... His family requested that 'the far right, in all its forms, be excluded from any participation in the ceremony.'"
Marc Bloch, historien et résistant juif, entrera au Panthéon le 23 juin
Marc Bloch, historien et résistant juif, entrera au Panthéon le 23 juin
La date du 16 juin avait été dans un premier temps pressentie pour son entrée au Panthéon, mais la cérémonie a dû être décalée de quelques jours en raison du G7 à Evian-les-Bains.
www.lemonde.fr
February 8, 2026 at 7:02 PM
"Eighty-two years after his execution by the Gestapo on June 16, 1944, the Jewish historian and resistance fighter Marc Bloch will be inducted into the Pantheon on June 23... His family requested that 'the far right, in all its forms, be excluded from any participation in the ceremony.'"
Reposted
1. In Washington yesterday, at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president actually took credit for the Bible being a bestseller.
“In 2025, more copies of the Holy Bible were sold in the United States than at any time in the last 100 years,” Donald Trump said.
“In 2025, more copies of the Holy Bible were sold in the United States than at any time in the last 100 years,” Donald Trump said.
February 7, 2026 at 1:20 PM
1. In Washington yesterday, at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president actually took credit for the Bible being a bestseller.
“In 2025, more copies of the Holy Bible were sold in the United States than at any time in the last 100 years,” Donald Trump said.
“In 2025, more copies of the Holy Bible were sold in the United States than at any time in the last 100 years,” Donald Trump said.
Reposted
They’re trying to run the Kilmar Abrego Garcia playbook with a five year old boy in a bunny hat because nobody can find peace if they embarrass the Trump administration publicly. Normal people didn’t like it with Garcia and they really aren’t going to like it for Liam.
BREAKING: The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
DHS has requested expedited deportation proceedings against family of Liam Conejo Ramos
The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
www.mprnews.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:51 AM
They’re trying to run the Kilmar Abrego Garcia playbook with a five year old boy in a bunny hat because nobody can find peace if they embarrass the Trump administration publicly. Normal people didn’t like it with Garcia and they really aren’t going to like it for Liam.
Reposted
BREAKING: The Trump administration repeatedly said the aggressive apartment raid in Chicago last fall was prompted by intel on a gang takeover.
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building
The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “ille...
www.propublica.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:47 PM
BREAKING: The Trump administration repeatedly said the aggressive apartment raid in Chicago last fall was prompted by intel on a gang takeover.
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted
Remarkable: Trump's planned migrant prison camps are hitting deep resistance in red areas. In Virginia's partly rural Hanover (+26 Trump) opposition is intense. GOP leaders in other states are opposed.
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Trump’s New “Prison Camp” Threat Unleashes Fury Even in MAGA Country
The next phase of ICE’s big ramp-up: a nationwide network of vast detention facilities. But guess what? Even parts of Red America are saying no.
newrepublic.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Remarkable: Trump's planned migrant prison camps are hitting deep resistance in red areas. In Virginia's partly rural Hanover (+26 Trump) opposition is intense. GOP leaders in other states are opposed.
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Reposted
Senator Hale, 1851, dropping truth bombs about the Fugitive Slave Act that apply just as well to Trump's efforts to send troops do "mass deportation" against the will of the people (Cong. Globe, 31st Congress, session 2, p. 598)
October 14, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Senator Hale, 1851, dropping truth bombs about the Fugitive Slave Act that apply just as well to Trump's efforts to send troops do "mass deportation" against the will of the people (Cong. Globe, 31st Congress, session 2, p. 598)
Reposted
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account.
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
February 3, 2026 at 3:15 PM
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account.
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
Reposted
No masks on cops. No masks on cops. No masks on cops. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Real Reason ICE Agents Wear Masks
Face-coverings may work less to protect federal agents from danger than to make it easier for them to do unconstitutional things.
www.theatlantic.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:41 PM
No masks on cops. No masks on cops. No masks on cops. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Reposted
Folks:
This is important.
SHEAR—the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (a GREAT organization)—is tracking examples of the regime erasing history.
More at the link below.
This is important.
SHEAR—the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (a GREAT organization)—is tracking examples of the regime erasing history.
More at the link below.
Please circulate and share this important resource: thepanorama.shear.org/2025/04/09/t...
The Early Republic Tracker
The Early Republic Tracker documents instances where the federal government is removing facts and stories essential to the public’s understanding American history from public historical sites, muse…
thepanorama.shear.org
February 2, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Folks:
This is important.
SHEAR—the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (a GREAT organization)—is tracking examples of the regime erasing history.
More at the link below.
This is important.
SHEAR—the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (a GREAT organization)—is tracking examples of the regime erasing history.
More at the link below.
Reposted
Lots and lots of teargas and various other munitions. People yelling for medics. Ambulance came for one person already and there was a brutal arrest amidst all of this
February 2, 2026 at 3:39 AM
Lots and lots of teargas and various other munitions. People yelling for medics. Ambulance came for one person already and there was a brutal arrest amidst all of this
Reposted
The world is with us.
Bruce Springsteen is currently number one in iTunes in 19 countries.
February 1, 2026 at 3:47 PM
The world is with us.
Reposted
there has been no de-escalation.
This morning, federal agents staged at the Powderhorn Park Recreation Center lot and began to throw chemical irritants at observers. They also kidnapped an observer. Our parks are meant for our children, youth, and neighbors. They should never be militarized zones meant to separate families. 1/
February 1, 2026 at 3:45 PM
there has been no de-escalation.
Reposted
ICE and CBP agents seem to enjoy gratuitously breaking glass—from car windows to store fronts to homes. It’s an expression of unchecked power and dominance: “We’re in charge. We break and shatter what we want.”
And nights of broken glass have been a harbinger of worse to come.
And nights of broken glass have been a harbinger of worse to come.
January 31, 2026 at 1:51 PM
ICE and CBP agents seem to enjoy gratuitously breaking glass—from car windows to store fronts to homes. It’s an expression of unchecked power and dominance: “We’re in charge. We break and shatter what we want.”
And nights of broken glass have been a harbinger of worse to come.
And nights of broken glass have been a harbinger of worse to come.