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hellfire51.bsky.social
@hellfire51.bsky.social
83 followers 360 following 2 posts
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Reposted
mmasnick.bsky.social
The problem with stories like this is that "regulations" can mean very, very different things to different people. It's easy to say "regulate AI." It's extremely difficult to come up with actual regulations that won't kick off another partisan shitshow fight once it gets distorted.
jakecole.bsky.social Jake Cole @jakecole.bsky.social · 10h
There’s a funny Politico story showing that the latest polling on AI shows 80-20 in favor of heavy regulations, an absolute slam dunk platform, but Dems are worried about not winning back mask-off tech CEO donors
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
December 29, 2025 at 5:20 PM
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mmasnick.bsky.social
Yup. www.techdirt.com/2023/05/24/s...
Sam Altman Wants The Government To Build Him A Moat
For my final post of last year, I wrote about the many reasons to be optimistic about a better future, one of which was that we were seeing the crumbling of some large, bureaucratic (enshittified) …
www.techdirt.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:33 PM
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aclu.org
Let’s be clear: President Trump’s attacks on birthright citizenship are a blatant attempt to strip away the rights and humanity of children and their immigrant family members.
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
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marisakabas.bsky.social
Trump confirms his belief that the US bombed Venezuela on land last week:
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5h
Q: Can you say any more about the explosion in Venezuela that you mentioned in a radio interview. Did the military do that?

TRUMP: Well, it doesn't matter. But there was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. We hit the area.
December 29, 2025 at 6:39 PM
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jeffjarvis.bsky.social
Once again, @theguardian.com's journalism shows the way:
Donald Trump in his own words – the year in racism and misogyny
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Donald Trump in his own words – the year in racism and misogyny
The president has increased the amount of invective he’s spewed against women and people of color
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:56 PM
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kenwhite.bsky.social
The GOP has really leaned in to singling out Somalis for very explicit racism. Ron Johnson and the rest of the party are just loathsome, un-American people.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Ron Johnson: "Understand, Somalis have just been in this country a few years. They're amateurs when it comes to fleecing the federal government."
December 28, 2025 at 4:21 PM
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malwarejake.bsky.social
Fantastic and accessible discussion of the potential ban on TP-Link from @zackwhittaker.com

I'll add one consideration: China would eliminate demand for ALL its tech products to everyone OVERNIGHT if it weaponized access to any smart devices like routers 1/2
this.weekinsecurity.com/banning-tp-l...
Banning TP-Link won't save America from its own terrible cybersecurity
TP-Link routers face a ban in the U.S. over the company's alleged links to China, but shoddy cybersecurity is the real insider threat to the United States.
this.weekinsecurity.com
December 28, 2025 at 10:26 PM
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oalexanderdk.bsky.social
Sauron wants to see Frodo succeed.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. It sounds a little strange but President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices."
December 28, 2025 at 10:58 PM
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johnfugelsang.bsky.social
“You guys, Hitler wants to see Poland succeed”
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. It sounds a little strange but President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices."
December 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM
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mayaofaotearoa.bsky.social
December 28, 2025 at 1:04 AM
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annabower.bsky.social
“These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their
stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.”
annabower.bsky.social Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 7d
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
News Team, Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier. I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity. Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient. If the standard for airing a story becomes "the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state. These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless. CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones. We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet. I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight. Sharyn
December 22, 2025 at 3:42 AM
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jeffjarvis.bsky.social
Bari Weiss gives Donald Trump a "kill switch" over 60 Minutes at #BrokenCBS.
RIP 60 Minutes. September 24, 1968 - December 21, 2025.
CBS News delays 60 Minutes segment featuring investigation into El Salvador’s Cecot megaprison
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/d...
CBS News delays 60 Minutes segment featuring investigation into El Salvador’s Cecot megaprison
Backlash after broadcaster announces the program, due to air on Sunday night, ‘needs additional reporting’
www.theguardian.com
December 22, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Reposted
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Reposted
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Bari Weiss spiked the CECOT story because she wanted to have Stephen Miller included and demanded to control the language 60 Minutes used to describe the men who were brutally tortured after being sent to El Salvador without due process.
One of Ms. Weiss's suggestions was to include an interview with Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of Mr. Trump's immigration crackdown, or a similarly high-ranking Trump administration official, two of the people said. Ms. Weiss provided contact information for Mr. Miller to the "60 Minutes" staff. Ms. Weiss also questioned the use of the term "migrants" to describe the Venezuelan men who were deported, noting that they were in the United States illegally, two of the people said. In her note, Ms. Alfonsi said that her team had requested comment from the White House, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. "If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a 'kill switch' for any reporting they find inconvenient," Ms. Alfonsi wrote.
December 22, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Reposted
annabower.bsky.social
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
News Team, Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier. I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity. Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient. If the standard for airing a story becomes "the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state. These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless. CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones. We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet. I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight. Sharyn
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
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ryanmarino.bsky.social
Americans & Europeans needlessly exposing African babies to preventable diseases just to see if they can find something that would justify their preexisting antivaccine beliefs is not only unscientific and actually anti-science, it is very much reminiscent of colonialist, racist human rights abuses
ryanmarino.bsky.social Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 8d
“It is not clear what the research question is. It seems to be about the safety of the vaccine rather than its effectiveness, but both are already well-established, and to undertake such a study in a population where almost 1/5 of the adult population has a marker of infection seems extremely risky”
US plan for $1.6m hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa called ‘highly unethical’
Experts decry ‘neocolonialist’ Guinea-Bissau study after Trump administration changed advice for US babies
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:07 AM
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peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social
MAHA Wins
December 21, 2025 at 2:01 AM
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kenwhite.bsky.social
Yes, it’s illegal. Like changing it to Department of War, like ten thousand other things. Part of the Trump strategy is to break the law and convey “the rule of law is weak and feminine and laughable and should be overridden by Our Guy.” Trump is fundamentally anti-law.
/1
December 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted
aclu.org
Every court that's heard our birthright citizenship lawsuits have rejected President Trump's attempt to rewrite the 14th Amendment.

Now it's up to the Supreme Court to uphold the fundamental right that everyone born on U.S. soil is an American citizen.
Trump's Birthright Citizenship Executive Order: What Happens Next | Supreme Court Takes Up Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
Children born to parents who are undocumented or have temporary status will retain their right to birthright citizenship, but the fight is heading to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will review Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship as legal protections for U.S.-born children of undocumented and temporary-status parents remain in place.
www.aclu.org
December 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
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brendelbored.bsky.social
He knows giraffe and elephant and u still don’t think he’s playing 4-D chess?
December 20, 2025 at 9:09 PM
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elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
It is utterly catastrophic that RFK Jr. plans to end CDC recommendations for most childhood vaccines.

It’s a betrayal of science, ethics, compassion, and the people of the United States.

And it was also a specific goal of Project 2025 (page 254).
Screenshot from project 2025 that says By statute or regulation, CDC guidance must be prohibited from taking on a prescriptive character. For example, never again should CDC officials be allowed to say in their official capacity that school children "should be" masked or vaccinated (through a schedule or otherwise) or prohibited from learning in a school building. Such decisions should be left to parents and medical providers. We have learned that when CDC says what people "should" do, it readily becomes a "must" backed by severe punishments, including criminal penalties. CDC should report on the risks and effectiveness of all infectious disease-mitigation measures dispassionately and leave the "should" and "must" policy calls to politically accountable parties. Conflicts of Interest. There was a time when the CDC could not take money
December 20, 2025 at 12:50 AM
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erratarob.bsky.social
On one hand, we know the back story, RFKjr is doing crazy anti-vaxx stuff trying to make it look like it's sane.

But just because we know their side is wrong doesn't mean we can be lazy. This NYtimes article is incredibly lazy.

Vaccines are technical, we deserve technical information.
apoorvanyt.bsky.social Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 10d
RFK Jr. is expected to announce in the new year that American children should be immunized according to the schedule followed by Denmark — which is much smaller, mostly homogenous and has universal health care.
(Free link)

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
R.F.K. Jr. Likely to Swap U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule for Denmark’s
www.nytimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:25 AM
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cnn.com
President Donald Trump made a series of false claims during his prime-time address from the White House. Here is a fact check. https://cnn.it/49fKEBg
December 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM
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crampell.bsky.social
theonion.com/trump-announ...
Trump Announces 5,000% Increase In All Numbers
WASHINGTON—Touting his latest executive order as a historic win for the U.S. economy, President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was mandating a 5,000% increase in all numbers nationwide. “Effect...
theonion.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:18 AM
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hankgreen.bsky.social
Malicious optimism @acollierastro.bsky.social
paleofuture.bsky.social Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 11d
The wealthiest person in the world says you shouldn’t give away money because in the future everyone will be rich
Ray Dalio @ @RayDalio • 8h X I personally appreciate the Trump administration's launch of the Trump accounts, appreciate the Dells for piling on with their support, and appreciate both of them for allowing Dalio Philanthropies and others to join in. This emerging bipartisan effort exemplifies the sort of Show more Elon Musk • X @elonmusk X.com It is certainly a nice gesture of the Dells, but there will be no poverty in the future and so no need to save money. There will be universal high income. 10:39 AM • 12/17/25 • 933K Views
December 18, 2025 at 4:49 AM