Empty Bag of Ducks📎
@emptybagofducks.bsky.social
Ex-Army officer. Retired Fed civil service/SES. Historian. Battling advanced metastatic bile duct cancer. Hoya. Diehard Packer fan. Fighting the dying of the light, the dying of liberal democracy and the death of the American Republic.
Pinned
More and more as I follow things here on Bluesky I’m taken back to my days as a U.S. history PhD candidate. I was staring at the bookcase of the professor I was TA’ing for and remarked how well grounded she was in theory. She replied, “Yes, but now I wish I’d had more history and less theory.”
I found this quote from Ben Sasse in his message announcing he has stage four pancreatic cancer arresting and true. I wish him the best in treatment and if you can find the time to read his entire message I wish I could be as eloquent as our situations are similar.
"the process of dying is still something to be lived"
Former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse says he doesn’t have much time left.
Sasse is just 53 years old.
Sasse is just 53 years old.
December 23, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I found this quote from Ben Sasse in his message announcing he has stage four pancreatic cancer arresting and true. I wish him the best in treatment and if you can find the time to read his entire message I wish I could be as eloquent as our situations are similar.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
"Wars don’t end unless all sides agree, and Ukraine and its allies can’t agree with Putin on what the post-war world should look like—which, by the way, is why there’s a war in the first place."
New from @daliborrohac.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4sh3zDw
New from @daliborrohac.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4sh3zDw
Security Guarantees for Ukraine Are Useless Without Action to Back Them Up
Non-credible promises could make things worse for everyone.
lnk.thebulwark.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"Wars don’t end unless all sides agree, and Ukraine and its allies can’t agree with Putin on what the post-war world should look like—which, by the way, is why there’s a war in the first place."
New from @daliborrohac.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4sh3zDw
New from @daliborrohac.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4sh3zDw
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
Odds that we're in the "Trump is dying and trying to slap his name on EVERYTHING -- battleships, the Kennedy Center, Greenland -- before he goes" phase of the administration?
December 23, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Odds that we're in the "Trump is dying and trying to slap his name on EVERYTHING -- battleships, the Kennedy Center, Greenland -- before he goes" phase of the administration?
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
I cant believe the navy that literally did the great Marianas turkey shoot has devolved into *handwaves* whatever this is
December 23, 2025 at 12:07 AM
I cant believe the navy that literally did the great Marianas turkey shoot has devolved into *handwaves* whatever this is
The only potential silver lining is he may stiff the primes
President Trump will announce on Monday a new type of large warship he is calling “battleships,” marking a step toward achieving the president’s vision for a new “Golden Fleet.”
Trump To Announce Navy Will Buy New ‘Battleship’
The new warship will be the latest in what the White House envisions as a “Golden Fleet.”
on.wsj.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The only potential silver lining is he may stiff the primes
My project as I sat in my infusion chair today getting chemo. They frame and hang these in the waiting areas.
December 22, 2025 at 8:23 PM
My project as I sat in my infusion chair today getting chemo. They frame and hang these in the waiting areas.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
the vice president is a klansman
JD Vance: "In the United States of America you don't have to apologize for being white anymore"
December 21, 2025 at 8:22 PM
the vice president is a klansman
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
This is fucking unChristian. This is fucking bullshit.
December 21, 2025 at 12:36 AM
This is fucking unChristian. This is fucking bullshit.
This so stupid on so many levels. First semester macro student could run circles around him.
Lutnick: "He's going to pick a new Fed governor, a new Fed chairman, and they're gonna bring rates down. Why does the strongest country in the world have the 34th highest interest rate in the world? It makes no sense."
December 18, 2025 at 10:54 PM
This so stupid on so many levels. First semester macro student could run circles around him.
Hey Andy, did you ever wonder why the Latter-Day Saints ended up in Utah? Because when they were forced out of Nauvoo, ILino is they were deemed impossible to assimilate into U.S. culture. The agreement signed by Brigham Young and the State of Illinois reads like that ending the Black Hawk War.
Rep. Andy Ogles calls for a stop to all visas: "We've got to acknowledge there are certain religions and cultures that don't work here. They're incompatible with the West, with the United States of America ... they bring nothing to our nation except a drain on our resources."
December 18, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Hey Andy, did you ever wonder why the Latter-Day Saints ended up in Utah? Because when they were forced out of Nauvoo, ILino is they were deemed impossible to assimilate into U.S. culture. The agreement signed by Brigham Young and the State of Illinois reads like that ending the Black Hawk War.
So when do we invade Saudi Arabia, who also nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s?
December 17, 2025 at 11:03 PM
So when do we invade Saudi Arabia, who also nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s?
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
Not for nothing but federal law contains several statutory provisions that restrict, if not outright prohibit, this unilateral action by the senile dementia patient in the Oval.
War Powers Act. War Crimes Act. Anti-Piracy Act. Neutrality Act.
All still on the books.
War Powers Act. War Crimes Act. Anti-Piracy Act. Neutrality Act.
All still on the books.
Trump: "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled ... It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the USA all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us."
December 17, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Not for nothing but federal law contains several statutory provisions that restrict, if not outright prohibit, this unilateral action by the senile dementia patient in the Oval.
War Powers Act. War Crimes Act. Anti-Piracy Act. Neutrality Act.
All still on the books.
War Powers Act. War Crimes Act. Anti-Piracy Act. Neutrality Act.
All still on the books.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
lmfao "top-secret"
pete doesn't know what that actually means but I can all but guarantee the video when originally recorded was at most classified secret
pete doesn't know what that actually means but I can all but guarantee the video when originally recorded was at most classified secret
Oh, so the second video is top secret (exceptionally grave danger to national security is the legal standard here, by the way), but the first one wasn't?
Get the fuck outta here. Hegseth is such a sneering, ignorant fool.
Get the fuck outta here. Hegseth is such a sneering, ignorant fool.
Public won't see Venezuela second strike video: Hegseth
Lawmakers will see it, but the public won't.
share.google
December 16, 2025 at 9:30 PM
lmfao "top-secret"
pete doesn't know what that actually means but I can all but guarantee the video when originally recorded was at most classified secret
pete doesn't know what that actually means but I can all but guarantee the video when originally recorded was at most classified secret
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
For the second year in a row, the wealth gains for the 100 richest Americans exceeded what ALL American households spent on groceries combined.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
December 14, 2025 at 11:28 PM
For the second year in a row, the wealth gains for the 100 richest Americans exceeded what ALL American households spent on groceries combined.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.
We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
It's because she doesn't know how to be the head of CBS News. Just no clue what a person in this role does. Similar to how Pete Hegseth and Sean Duffy don't know how to be cabinet secretaries.
A hallmark of this movement is people being out of their depth. It says, "expertise is unnecessary."
A hallmark of this movement is people being out of their depth. It says, "expertise is unnecessary."
I’m sorry but why is the head of cbs news on tv herself
December 14, 2025 at 2:12 AM
It's because she doesn't know how to be the head of CBS News. Just no clue what a person in this role does. Similar to how Pete Hegseth and Sean Duffy don't know how to be cabinet secretaries.
A hallmark of this movement is people being out of their depth. It says, "expertise is unnecessary."
A hallmark of this movement is people being out of their depth. It says, "expertise is unnecessary."
Someday the Nate Silvers of the world will understand that public opinion is not a stand alone authority. It is amorphous and can be shaped.
December 14, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Someday the Nate Silvers of the world will understand that public opinion is not a stand alone authority. It is amorphous and can be shaped.
I have a Christmas music problem. My “no repeat” playlist (a playlist where there are no multiple versions of a song) has now reached 18 hours in length.
Oh, that doesn’t include my classical/choral works. The “master” playlist is 30+ hours.
Oh, that doesn’t include my classical/choral works. The “master” playlist is 30+ hours.
December 14, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I have a Christmas music problem. My “no repeat” playlist (a playlist where there are no multiple versions of a song) has now reached 18 hours in length.
Oh, that doesn’t include my classical/choral works. The “master” playlist is 30+ hours.
Oh, that doesn’t include my classical/choral works. The “master” playlist is 30+ hours.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
must suck for a white supremacist swine when white people from extremely white countries don’t want to be come to the shithole he’s making of his country because among other things they have democracy with sane leaders and health care
TRUMP: “I said why is it we only take people from shithole countries? Why can't we have some people from Norway, Sweden, Denmark… But we always take people from Somalia— places that are filthy, dirty, disgusting.”
Such a mystery what he means when he says this stuff, isn’t it?
Such a mystery what he means when he says this stuff, isn’t it?
December 11, 2025 at 1:33 AM
must suck for a white supremacist swine when white people from extremely white countries don’t want to be come to the shithole he’s making of his country because among other things they have democracy with sane leaders and health care
This is like asking us to shop for police or fire services.
Healthcare for profit is evil as it is but "want patients to become consumers" is just despicable.
Roger Marshall: "We want patients to become consumers again. We want patients to see what the actual prices are. We believe that if we would add the price tags to this bill, that it would save the country a trillion dollars a year."
December 11, 2025 at 1:12 AM
This is like asking us to shop for police or fire services.
What the hell does this mean? As a senior leader of a senior staff responsible for providing best professional judgement I struggled with AI. Saw its value in terms of querying regs 1000s of pages in length and workflows…but detrimental to creating a new generation of strategic thinkers
🚨 War Dept. Deploys Google AI, To “Unleash Experimentation”
Pentagon announced today the deployment of Gemini for Gov on its new GenAI. mil platform, declaring that the system “empowers intelligent agentic workflows, unleashes experimentation, and ushers in an AI-driven culture change that will...
Pentagon announced today the deployment of Gemini for Gov on its new GenAI. mil platform, declaring that the system “empowers intelligent agentic workflows, unleashes experimentation, and ushers in an AI-driven culture change that will...
December 9, 2025 at 7:28 PM
What the hell does this mean? As a senior leader of a senior staff responsible for providing best professional judgement I struggled with AI. Saw its value in terms of querying regs 1000s of pages in length and workflows…but detrimental to creating a new generation of strategic thinkers
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
Americans will demand that Europe does more to rearm and then complain when Europeans ignore an America they no longer need.
It ain't just Trump, folks. NYT says it's time to pony up, U.S. allies: "A more secure world will almost certainly require more military commitment from allies like Canada, Japan, and Europe, which have long relied on American taxpayers to bankroll their protection." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Must Reinvent Itself
Investing in the old ways of war leaves America at risk.
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Americans will demand that Europe does more to rearm and then complain when Europeans ignore an America they no longer need.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
This is a big deal. Essentially a reversal of the US export control policy on advanced chips. Possibly decisive in the AI race. Compute is our main advantage — China has more power, engineers, and the entire edge layer — so by giving this up we increase the odds the world runs on Chinese AI.
December 9, 2025 at 1:59 AM
This is a big deal. Essentially a reversal of the US export control policy on advanced chips. Possibly decisive in the AI race. Compute is our main advantage — China has more power, engineers, and the entire edge layer — so by giving this up we increase the odds the world runs on Chinese AI.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
"As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free," goes harder than any Civil War song has any right to go.
December 9, 2025 at 2:22 AM
"As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free," goes harder than any Civil War song has any right to go.
Reposted by Empty Bag of Ducks📎
We could have had a smooth glide-path to “first among the great powers” but a bunch of fascists and kleptocrats had to burn it all down.
December 9, 2025 at 2:47 AM
We could have had a smooth glide-path to “first among the great powers” but a bunch of fascists and kleptocrats had to burn it all down.
Actually what would be helpful is marking a start location and then quarter mile marks inside terminals. Would have saved me using my pace count to measure how far I’d walked in those cases I actually wanted to get exercise in during long layovers.
Duffy on what he's doing to improve the airport experience for travelers: "Maybe I want a workout area where people might get some blood flowing doing some pull ups or step ups in the airport."
December 8, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Actually what would be helpful is marking a start location and then quarter mile marks inside terminals. Would have saved me using my pace count to measure how far I’d walked in those cases I actually wanted to get exercise in during long layovers.