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David Bapst

@dwbapst.bsky.social

2.6K followers 5.8K following 1.3K posts

Paleontologist, Graptolite Geek, R Programmer, creator of paleotree, Tabletop Roleplaying Game Nerd, Catcher of Pokémon, faculty senator. All comments are my trash opinion alone.

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David Bapst @dwbapst.bsky.social · 28d

You know what happens when you don’t have a faculty senate? In a crisis, there is no one to ask questions — even to give illusion of holding anyone responsible — so misinformation spreads like wildfire among faculty & students, admin aren’t believed, and no one else has authority to clarify facts.

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Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · 6h

Sometimes I (blissfully) forget there was a group of hardcore cladists that philosophized so hard they rejected even parsimony-based phylogenetics and inadvertently became science nihilists

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David Bapst @dwbapst.bsky.social · 6h

The true last gasp
Of monoculture is
K Pop Demonhunters

a group of cartoon girls are standing next to each other with their arms in the air .

Alt: a group of cartoon girls are standing next to each other in their lair with their arms in the air .

media.tenor.com

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 10h

Portlandia is a central document of the American anti-fascist movement.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11h

#WarRavagedPortland

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James @gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social · 2d

Just fucking call his bluff. Oh, you're gonna send troops everywhere? Gonna do Zero Dark Thirty on random Chicago apartments? With what money, bozo?

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James @gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social · 2d

Okay. Well, if Trump is going to attempt legal end-arounds like federalizing the NG of GOP states to send them to Dem states over the objections of governors and courts, I think the Democrats should just keep the federal government shut down indefinitely.

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 1d

Donald Trump’s deployments of the National Guard to American cities “are best understood as an effort to erode the nation’s sense that such use of the military is unacceptable,” Quinta Jurecic argues.

Trump Is Destroying One of America’s Oldest Traditions

America has always had a strong aversion to seeing the military on the country’s streets. That is not stopping the current president.

bit.ly

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Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · 1d

"if you take seriously that the President has managed at some level to enact his goals—have to engage in similar actions to prevent the military from acting as a center of power against your political prerogatives."

James @gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social · 1d

Babe, wake up. I'm complaining about civil-military relations by making references to The Beths again.

othermeans.io/p/expert-in-...

Expert in a Dying Field

The Breaking of the Bipartisan Military Consensus

othermeans.io

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 1d

Trustee, Full Professor, Assistant Professor.

Ryan Teague Beckwith @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social · 1d

Editor in chief, city editor, features editor

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Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 1d

University general counsel, university trustee, university president

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DiscoPriest @discopriest.bsky.social · 1d

Petroleum geologist, marine geologist, paleontologist

Ryan Teague Beckwith @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social · 1d

Editor in chief, city editor, features editor

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Prof Col Macpherson @colinmacpherson.bsky.social · 1d

Quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar

Ryan Teague Beckwith @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social · 1d

Editor in chief, city editor, features editor

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James @gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social · 1d

Babe, wake up. I'm complaining about civil-military relations by making references to The Beths again.

othermeans.io/p/expert-in-...

Expert in a Dying Field

The Breaking of the Bipartisan Military Consensus

othermeans.io

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Reposted by David Bapst

Micah @rincewind.run · 2d

Discworld QOTD, from I Shall Wear Midnight

What was it that Granny Weatherwax had said once? "Evil starts when you begin to treat people as things". And right now it would happen if you thought there was a thing called a father, and a thing called a mother, and a thing called a daughter, and a thing called a cottage, and told yourself that if you put them all together you had a thing called a happy family.

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David Bapst @dwbapst.bsky.social · 1d

Dear Journal, today I learned that Harry Turtledove apparently reads Secretary of Defense Rock, and it’s still a little wild for some reason when random people I follow for military history shit posts start quote replying each other on BlueSky…

Reposted by David Bapst

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 1d

i had no idea this is how canada's supreme court dresses

Nine members of the Canadian Supreme Court sitting for a photo. They are dressed in red robes trimmed in white.

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Prof Ceri Lewis @cezzalew.bsky.social · 2d

Congratulations Beatriz, Tim, Paul and team on this important new study! @gsiexeter.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Recent and early 20th century destabilization of the subpolar North Atlantic recorded in bivalves

Clams reveal North Atlantic destabilization in the early 20th century and at present.

www.science.org

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David Bapst @dwbapst.bsky.social · 2d

a man says " you don t have to remind me of that "

Alt: a man says " you don t have to remind me of that "

media.tenor.com

David Bapst @dwbapst.bsky.social · 4d

All these articles and thought pieces on the Compact being bad but few consider just how bad they are for university budget-lines. It’s almost satire. The financial constraints would hobble if not shutter many universities…

Reposted by David Bapst

Walter Hickey @walthickey.bsky.social · 5d

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/a...

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Brian O'Meara @omearabrian.bsky.social · 4d

We need some modern Blaschkas to make these in glass (or 3d printed resin) with LEDs as Christmas tree ornaments.

JA Fields | NonCompliantCyborg @noncompliantcyborg.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Ctenophore Day!
🐙🦑🧪

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Alabama Museum of Natural History @almnh.bsky.social · 4d

𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪, or the Saban crab 🦀, made its debut on ESPN College GameDay! This fossil is housed in UA Museums' paleontology collection under the care of the Department of Museum Research and Collections.

LEARN MORE: ➡️ bit.ly/46Mrhxm

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Chicken Puppet @chickenpuppet.online · 6d

If this is going to blow up I should link the actual story

Pentagon wants out of the grocery business, asks industry for proposals

The move to privatize the military’s commissaries could lead to changes at 178 stores in the U.S., including 3 in San Antonio and 10 other Texas sites.

www.expressnews.com

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Heather is chugging pumpkin spice @katanaangel.bsky.social · 6d

Oh my god. I cannot stress this enough, if they close the commisaries, there is going to be absolute bedlam.

Chicken Puppet @chickenpuppet.online · 6d

I know these guys are all dumber than a sack of hammers, but it is fascinating to see the military decide “logistics are gay” in real time

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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 8d

Nudibranchs as pictured by a Japanese illustrator named Kumataro Ito, artist for the USS Albatross’ Philippine Expedition, 1907–10. More of his stunning images here: publicdomainreview.org/collection/k...

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Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 5d

This really is THE issue - you've got a situation where Dems can sweat and bleed to get their stuff in a bipartisan bill, and Rs can nix it with 51 votes (or just impoundment).

That's new, and it removes the incentive to deal.

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 5d

I've noticed that @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social is getting a little more comfortable talking about the shutdown as actually being about rejecting passage of a budget when the president won't honor it. From MSNBC today:

MELISSA MURRAY: Can we talk a little bit about what you just said? The Democrats have been very clear in their messaging. You are emphasizing that the shutdown is about the Republicans refusing to restore healthcare funding, but some have argued that it would be equally compelling for the party to say that it is refusing to fund an administration and government that is bent on abusing its power. Why focus exclusively on healthcare? Why not carry both messages forward?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, in the legislation that we introduced as part of our Democratic approach related to avoiding a shutdown—or in this instance, now reopening it—we made clear two things: that we're faced with a massive Republican healthcare crisis related to the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing all across the country, including in rural America. And now Republicans are refusing to renew the Affordable Care Act tax credits for working-class Americans, everyday Americans and those who are struggling in this Trump economy, where life has already become far too expensive. And so, we believe that healthcare is a central issue. Republicans have said it's an extraneous issue. At the same time, in the Democratic proposal to continue funding, we've also indicated that we can't simply proceed as if this is business as usual. If we reach a bipartisan agreement, then we've got to make sure there are enforceability mechanisms to ensure that the agreement that was reached is actually kept and that the Trump administration follows the law.

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