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mnemosynec.bsky.social
@mnemosynec.bsky.social
160 followers 610 following 500 posts
STEM. Love books and libraries. Disrespect ad hominem and BS. Stanford grad. Degrees in Geology and Environmental Earth Sciences. Medical Doctor (MD)
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Reposted
stevevladeck.bsky.social
Today at 2:30 ET:

I'll be the minority witness at a (twice-postponed) hearing before Senator Cruz's subcommittee, titled "Impeachment: Holding Rogue Judges Accountable."

Here's a link to the witness statements, and where you should also be able to find live video this afternoon:
Impeachment: Holding Rogue Judges Accountable | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
www.judiciary.senate.gov
January 7, 2026 at 2:14 PM
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ashleyrparker.bsky.social
Stephen Miller's persona of the gleeful contrarian persona has now become more true character than occasional outlandish caricature. My latest, w @michaelscherer.bsky.social + @nickmiroff.bsky.social, on Donald Trump's accelerant. www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
The Wrath of Stephen Miller
The man who turns President Trump’s most incendiary impulses into policy
www.theatlantic.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:00 PM
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danielsuitor.com
This is the video.
January 7, 2026 at 5:47 PM
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andycraig.bsky.social
It's fine to challenge Republicans to join them, and of course you can do a lot more if you have a willing majority. But posing as utterly helpless and without any power to do anything is unhelpful and infuriates people because it's not true, and it's insulting to expect people to believe lies.
January 5, 2026 at 5:48 PM
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dailyrotation.bsky.social
Gift link

Yes, he has always been rhetorically bellicose. But now...

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/o...
Opinion | The Danger of Trump’s Flamboyant Violence
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM
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eliothiggins.bsky.social
In the UK, you can make a complaint about the content here, even if you aren't a target:
www.ofcom.org.uk/make-a-compl...
Complain about online services, websites or apps
www.ofcom.org.uk
January 5, 2026 at 2:51 PM
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eliothiggins.bsky.social
What X is allowing Grok to do is unlawful or regulatory-illegal in multiple jurisdictions, creates clear DSA violations, and continues despite regulator scrutiny. The images do not need to be pornographic, non-consensual sexualised or intimate depictions are enough.
esghound.com Rude Law Dog @esghound.com · 3d
Elon Musk chatbot repeatedly making CSAM on demand should be one of the single biggest stories right now and it's effectively a collective shrug instead
Ashley St. Clair @stclairashley Just saw a photo that Grok produced of a child no older than four years old in which it took off her dress, put her in a bikini + added what is intended to be semen. ChatGPT does not do this. Gemini does not do this. Another girl who appears to be just 11 or 12 with a brain tumor, Grok removed her shirt completely. Stating that the people producing the prompts are the only ones responsible puts an undue burden on victims, most of which have no idea this is happening. This problem + exploitation of children could be fixed in a matter of minutes by the MechaHitler team.
January 5, 2026 at 2:42 PM
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robertscotthorton.bsky.social
A superb summary of key international (and related domestic law) questions pertaining to the Venezuela escapade. Don't miss it. Most major US publications and broadcast reporting is missing all of this in their exceedingly dumbed-down narratives.
International Law and the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement Operations in Venezuela
Experts survey the international law issues of Operation Absolute Resolve.
www.justsecurity.org
January 4, 2026 at 11:23 PM
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walterolson.bsky.social
Statement from Cato VP Clark Neily: Courts probably won't rule against the rendition. Yet Trump has chosen to bypass the constitutional provisions designed to cabin the president's powers in using force against other countries. And an indictment does not supply him with those powers.
Statement on Trump's Venezuela action by Cato Vice President for Legal Studies Clark Neily: * As a legal matter, any challenge by Nicolas Maduro to his capture last night and subsequent rendition to the United States would run headlong into precedents involving the prosecution of Manuel Noriega in the 1990s. Courts have already upheld the unilateral seizure, prosecution, and conviction of a foreign leader under materially similar circumstances, and given longstanding judicial deference in foreign-affairs cases, judges are unlikely to distinguish that line of authority in Maduro's case. That conclusion, however, should not obscure the deeper constitutional concern here, which is profound. The Constitution deliberately assigns to Congress—not the President—the power to decide when the United States will initiate hostilities against foreign sovereigns. That assignment includes the power to declare war and the related authority to issue letters of marque and reprisal to private entities, both of which reflect a constitutional judgment that decisions risking international conflict, retaliation, and escalation should not rest with a single executive actor. When a President unilaterally deploys military force abroad to seize a foreign head of state—effectively collapsing war powers, foreign relations, and criminal law enforcement into a single executive decision—the constitutional safeguards designed to cabin the use of force against other countries are bypassed entirely. That concern is not cured by the existence of a valid indictment. An indictment may (or may not) explain why a President wishes to act, but it cannot supply the constitutional authority to do so through military force without meaningful congressional engagement, let alone authorization.
January 3, 2026 at 6:43 PM
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cristianfarias.com
Best thing I’ve read this morning, from a human rights lawyer in Mexico. Translation is in the ALT-text.
Twitter thread in Spanish by José Mario de la Garza, a human rights lawyer in Mexico, translated using Google Translate: 1. Overthrowing a dictator sounds morally right. No one mourns a tyrant. But international law wasn't built to protect the good, but to restrain the powerful. That's why it prohibits force almost without exception: not because it ignores injustice, but because it knows that if each country decides whom to "liberate" by force, the world reverts to the law of the strongest. 2. The problem is not Maduro. The problem is the precedent. When military force is used to change governments without clear rules, sovereignty ceases to be a limit and becomes an obstacle. Today it is “overthrowing a dictator”; tomorrow it will be “correcting an election,” “protecting interests,” “restoring order.” The law does not absolve dictatorships, but neither does it legitimize unilateral crusades. Cont’d: 3. The uncomfortable question is not whether a tyrant deserves to fall, but who decides when and how. Because history teaches something brutal: removing a dictator is easy; building justice afterward is not. And when legality is broken in the name of good, what almost always follows is not freedom, but chaos, violence, and new victims. The law exists to remind us of this, even when it makes us uncomfortable. Maduro isn't the problem: he's the face of the problem. Removing him from power would be merely opening the door. Behind him is the machine: Rodríguez, Cabello, the military command, the operators of repression and plunder. If you only change the person at the top and leave the system intact, what follows isn't democracy: it's a reshuffling. And there's something even more difficult: Chavismo didn't just capture institutions, it captured daily life. Economy, media, bureaucracy, employment, fear, favors, blackmail. A country can't be "de-Chavistaized" by decree or by an electoral miracle. The real transition begins when that network is broken without setting the country ablaze. The challenge is enormous, and it's also a moral one: to unite without vengeance, but without impunity. Targeted justice for those most responsible, truth for the victims, guarantees that the rest will dismantle the system, and a plan for people to live again—not just survive. Because freedom doesn't come with a new president: it comes when the state ceases to be a threat.
January 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
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nachristakis.bsky.social
I don’t carry “immigration documents” with me at all times. Americans have not had to produce “their papers” for police without cause. Is this the new standard, given Kavanaugh stops? reason.com/2025/12/31/d...
DHS says REAL ID, which DHS certifies, is too unreliable to confirm U.S. citizenship
It's the punch line to a bad joke that started 20 years ago when Congress passed the REAL ID Act.
reason.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:21 PM
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evacide.bsky.social
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.

consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
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docthad.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I read articles like this and can think only that Trump has sold us out to Putin. The entire Trump cabal is treasonous.
The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership (Gift Article)
As President Trump sought a peace deal and Vladimir V. Putin sought victory, factions in the White House and Pentagon bled the Ukrainian war effort.
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:36 PM
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militarynewsua.bsky.social
❗️Officially! Santa has arrived in Ukraine and brought not only gifts, but also "security guarantees" — SBGSU
December 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
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isonope.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/wessiler...
NOOOOOOOOO
They’re Coming For Your Wildlife Refuges
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s over-holiday review, and what it means for 850 million acres of public land and water
open.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:03 AM
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asharangappa.bsky.social
Heads up that this is authorization for Trump to create his own version of the Wagner Group. Which would bring the number of “armies” at his disposal to four:

*regular armed forces (most regulated)
*ICE (minimally regulated)
*private mercenaries (?)
*MAGA thugs/militias (rogue)

All pardonable
fedbillbot.bsky.social Congressional Bill Bot @fedbillbot.bsky.social · 17d
S.3567
A bill to authorize the President of the United States to ...

SPONSOR: Sen. Mike Lee (R), UT
№ CO-SPONSORS: 0

STATUS: Introduced

LATEST ACTION: Senate - 2025-12-18 Read twice and referred to the Committee on ...

#Republicans

Details at congress.gov
S.3567 A bill to authorize the President of the United States to ... SPONSOR: Sen. Mike Lee (R), UT № CO-SPONSORS: 0 STATUS: Introduced LATEST ACTION: Senate - 2025-12-18 Read twice and referred to the Committee on ... #Republicans Details at congress.gov
December 29, 2025 at 9:04 PM
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jimalwine.bsky.social
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that the 1918 flu pandemic was caused by a lab virus from vaccine research, a defective influenza vaccine. Let’s analyze what a lie this is. First, in 1918, 107 years ago, virology was in its infancy
December 27, 2025 at 11:42 PM
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jayrosen.bsky.social
"One Word Describes Trump" www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

I missed this on its first trip around, then saw it on the "most popular with readers" list for 2025. Recommended, despite the cheesy headline.

Especially valuable if you have ever compared him to a mob boss.

[Gift link]
One Word Describes Trump
A century ago, a German sociologist explained precisely how the president thinks about the world.
www.theatlantic.com
December 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
mnemosynec.bsky.social
"Patrimonialism suffers from two inherent and in many cases fatal shortcomings.

The first is incompetence.

...

But helping the public understand patrimonialism’s other, even greater vulnerability—corruption—requires relentless messaging."
jayrosen.bsky.social Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 12d
"One Word Describes Trump" www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

I missed this on its first trip around, then saw it on the "most popular with readers" list for 2025. Recommended, despite the cheesy headline.

Especially valuable if you have ever compared him to a mob boss.

[Gift link]
One Word Describes Trump
A century ago, a German sociologist explained precisely how the president thinks about the world.
www.theatlantic.com
December 27, 2025 at 10:26 PM
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ducugavril.nafoforum.org
Forum Diagnostic Example - When Religious Authority Is Used to Legitimize Violence

Context:

The image shows two Orthodox clerics standing indoors, formally posed, holding a red flag. Behind them are framed religious portraits and a state emblem.
December 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
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kevinmkruse.bsky.social
We don’t spend enough time discussing how the entire MAGA movement is kept afloat by the constant threats of stochastic terrorism orchestrated by the president of the United States.

Congress, the courts, much of the media … all kept in line by the mob boss and his army of anonymous goons.
December 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
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yasharali.bsky.social
Former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse says he doesn’t have much time left.

Sasse is just 53 years old.
Ben Sasse • @BenSasse G... Friends- This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I'll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die. Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it's a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too - we all do. I'm blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers. As one of them put it, "Sure, you're on the clock, but we're all on the clock." Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all. Still, I've got less time than I'd prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad. I can't begin to describe how great my people are. During the past year, as we'd temporarily stepped back from public life and built new family rhythms, Melissa and I have grown even closer - and that on top of three decades of the best friend a man could ever have. Seven months ago, Corrie was commissioned into the Air Force and she's off at instrument and multi-engine rounds of flight school. Last week, Alex kicked butt graduating from college a semester early even while teaching gen chem, organic, and physics (she's a freak). This summer, 14-year-old Breck started learning to drive. (Okay, we've been driving off-book for six years — but now we've got paper to make it street-legal.) I couldn't be more grateful to constantly get to bear-hug this motley crew of sinners and saints. There's not a good time to tell your peeps you're now marching to the beat of a faster drummer - but the season of advent isn't the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what's to come. There's not a good time to tell your peeps you're now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn't the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what's to come. Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle | once prided myself in). Nope — often we lazily say "hope" when what we mean is "optimism." To be clear, optimism is great, and it's absolutely necessary, but it's insufficient. It's not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you're not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they're gonna bury their son. A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That's why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears. Such is the calling of the pilgrim. Those who know ourselves to need a Physician should dang well look forward to enduring beauty and eventual fulfillment. That is, we hope in a real Deliverer — a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place. But the eternal city - with foundations and without cancer - is not yet. Remembering Isaiah's prophecies of what's to come doesn't dull the pain of current sufferings. But it does put it in eternity's perspective: "When we've been there 10,000 years...We've no less days to sing God's praise." I'll have more to say. I'm not going down without a fight. One sub-part of God's grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren't the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We're zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I've pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape. But for now, as our family faces the reality of treatmen…
December 23, 2025 at 3:36 PM
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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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dariaphoebe.com
Amazing work from whoever was up in N6914W over Ohio … www.flightaware.com/live/flight/...
A flight path in the shape of the Grinch
December 22, 2025 at 12:03 AM
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will-smiley.bsky.social
The obvious problem here is that the economic incentive for privateering is to resell the ship and cargo. The boats here aren't worth much and the cargo...is illegal drugs.

If it WERE worth seizing and reselling the boats, then wouldn't the Coast Guard could do it Trump could brag about the money?
joshtpm.bsky.social Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 19d
Plus side of this is that I have some academic expertise in letters of marque and privateering and related albeit rather archaic state licensed piracy on the high seas so I could go on tv as an expert in something.
jennycohn.bsky.social Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 19d
😳 On 12/18/25, Senator Mike Lee posted:

“Would you like to seize cartel assets as a privateer?

My bill would allow the president to issue you a letter of marque.

Time to take these pirates down. 🏴‍☠️” 1/ x.com/senmikelee/s...
December 20, 2025 at 7:35 PM