banner
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox
@partialobserver.bsky.social
5.4K followers 7.6K following 3.8K posts
Penn State Astronomer (he/him), personal account. “We went and made everything a computer without ever bothering to fix computers.”
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · Jan 28
Thinking about how we are living the devolution of John Adams’ pronouncement: Where we had thought ourselves at liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, we find ourselves instead obliged to study politics and war.
5 18 65
Reposted by Derek Fox
bencollins.bsky.social
Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 2h
The nominative determinism of this specific atrocity is off the charts here.
patdeklotz.bsky.social
Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 4h
American citizen, read this. www.koin.com/news/portlan...
43 440 2.1K
Reposted by Derek Fox
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 4h
Bray is a historian at Rutgers who received death threats after landing on Turning Points USA's Professor Watchlist. As a result, he announced he was moving to Europe. And then this happened.

This kind of harassment and abuse of scholars is Charlie Kirk's legacy and it's only getting worse.
mark-bray.bsky.social
Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 5h
“Someone” cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second.

We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’
100 2.3K 5.9K
Reposted by Derek Fox
mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 12h
Virginia State Senate Dems just brought down fire and fury regarding the “Compact,” notifying the President and Rector that UVA would lose ALL STATE APPROPRIATIONS if it signs and cedes the University to “federal political control.” Notably, their letter directly restates points made here by @siva.
sivav.bsky.social
Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 14h
The “compact” for higher ed is an unserious document written by unserious people from a position of spectacular ignorance. No one should take it seriously. Sadly, my bosses are taking it seriously.

newrepublic.com/article/2013...
Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down
How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education
newrepublic.com
14 420 1.7K
Reposted by Derek Fox
kjephd.bsky.social
Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 5h
Just split screen this nonsense with a live feed from the streets of Portland
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9h
Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."
24 91 570
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 4h
Also no, he’s never had any strokes why would you think it’s unusual to have extra medical checkups when you haven’t had any strokes?
4
Reposted by Derek Fox
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h
NN: Dems say you won't swear in Grijalva bc you don't want her vote on Epstein

JOHNSON: No. It's scheduling

NN: But there have been Rs sworn in during pro forma sessions

MJ: Only reason was bc they flew in their family

NN: So if she flies in her family you'd do it?

MJ: Again, it's a distraction
1.2K 3.7K 12K
Reposted by Derek Fox
chriswarcraft.bsky.social
Chris Kluwe @chriswarcraft.bsky.social · 8h
Pretty sure Eleanor Roosevelt is dead
robertsilverman.bsky.social
Bobby Silverman @robertsilverman.bsky.social · 9h
Bondi claiming they arrested [checks notes] "the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa" has me in stitches
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9h
Bondi: "Bondi: "Just like we did with cartels, we are going to take the same approach, President Trump, with antifa -- destroy the entire organization from top to bottom. We are going to take them apart."
43 320 1.8K
Reposted by Derek Fox
tyleraking.com
Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 8h
The literal reading of this statement is Pam Bondi is planning extrajudicial executions of random protesters.
premthakker.bsky.social
Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 9h
My gosh. After the US bombed multiple boats in the middle of the ocean, murdering people on grounds that they were allegedly "carrying drugs," the US Attorney General says "Just like we did with cartels, we're going to take the same approach, President Trump, with Antifa."
50 920 2.2K
Reposted by Derek Fox
gravelinfluencer.bsky.social
Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 8h
The President of the United States is living in an alternate reality and it's long past time for media outlets to start talking about it.

We're beyond "Trump said without evidence." Trump is governing a world that only exists in his warped mind.
3 120 450
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 7h
“Oh, he’s just lying.”

Really? How do you know? Are you telling your readers / viewers that this is what’s happening, or are you doing a cute wink-wink nudge-nudge about it to avoid ruffling feathers?
5
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 7h
This is the man who, by virtue of his office, can give a command that will annihilate billions of people within 30 minutes. If you, WH journalist, believe your job is important, I ask that, for once, you act that way.
1 10
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 8h
How can there be a more important question for WH journalists than how the President got lost in this imaginary universe. Is he making this up or being spoon fed by staffer extremists?
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9h
Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."
2 13 28
Reposted by Derek Fox
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 8h
Everyone can set aside partisanship, psychologizing, pathologizing, whatever, and—I would hope—still see that it’s incredibly dangerous for a political leader to be this disconnected from the real conditions in the country.
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9h
Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."
270 1.3K 5K
Reposted by Derek Fox
marisakabas.bsky.social
Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 9h
no they're LITERALLY exaggerating this issue. there is absolutely no data backing up their claims. ffs just say that!!
NBC news: The discussions come as Trump has sought to deploy National Guard troops in several major cities — including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon — saying they’re needed to reduce crime and protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from protesters. Critics have said that the Trump administration is exaggerating issues in those cities.
110 560 2.7K
Reposted by Derek Fox
mostlybree.kitrocha.com
Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 9h
this feels like the corollary to we need Mamdani in NYC and an oyster fisherman in Maine and a midwestern dad in Minnesota.

we're supposed to be the party that embraces the fact that we're a diverse and chaotic nation, stop test-polling yourself to generic national oatmeal!!!
ajaxsinger.bsky.social
Constant Scream @ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 9h
It's interesting seeing the different ways resistance has formed in different cities. Los Angeles Organized, Chicago Radicalized, and Portland Got Weird as Fuck. All 3 have had success unifying their respective cities.

I guess my point is there are multiple paths to ungovernability.
5 130 520
Reposted by Derek Fox
atherton.bsky.social
Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 13h
Free healthcare to all residents of the US regardless of immigration status would rule, actually. Universal benefits for universal problems (having a body that can get sick or hurt)
13 170 790
Reposted by Derek Fox
jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 14h
i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...
Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.
apnews.com
270 4.8K 13K
Reposted by Derek Fox
proptermalone.bsky.social
ghost malone ergo propter malone @proptermalone.bsky.social · 13h
a fortunate quirk is that doing food and medical support for impoverished children, foreign and domestic, *also* is about the biggest bang it is possible to get for our buck.

so you can analyze aid on a moral basis or a realpolitik basis and you get the same answer: we should do it
juliaazari.bsky.social
Julia Azari @juliaazari.bsky.social · 13h
Here's the thing. I am a lucky person and pay a fair bit in taxes. I can think of no better use for my tax dollars than feeding children, because I think all people are equally deserving of basic humanity.
donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 15h
The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
11 140 820
Reposted by Derek Fox
lollardfish.bsky.social
David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 17h
I really believe that huge majorities of Americans don’t want masked soldiers shooting priests in the street. They don’t want naked children ripped out out of their apartments in the middle of the night and handcuffed. We win by making sure these stories get told.
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 17h
The same people who insisted devout Catholic Joe Biden was leading a “war on Christianity” are now cheering Trump on as his armed goons assault clergymen.
thetnholler.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 17h
WATCH: Trump’s lawless Ice goons shoot an unarmed priest in the head with a pepper ball. Completely out of control.
29 600 2.1K
Reposted by Derek Fox
davejorgenson.bsky.social
Dave Jorgenson @davejorgenson.bsky.social · 16h
The Post laid off seemingly the remaining of their liberal-leaning staff members on Opinion last Thursday, when some of them were observing Yom Kippur.

from @oliverdarcy.bsky.social for Status
status.news/p/washington-post-opinion-cuts-adam-oneal
72 800 2.1K
Reposted by Derek Fox
desperatemarlas.bsky.social
Bloody Marla 🏳️‍⚧️ @desperatemarlas.bsky.social · 1d
trump: transgenders and windmills all over the place

This is a real quote. This is the most horrific thing he can conjure up
10 35 200
Reposted by Derek Fox
himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 17h
"It wanted to signal strength. Instead, it’s revealing its weakness. The administration’s need to break the academy is forcing it to make a desperately risky gamble." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...
Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.
www.nytimes.com
10 170 590
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 16h
Gotta stand up a few hundred tofu factories, pronto!
1 2
partialobserver.bsky.social
Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 16h
On the plus side: Here we are in the Year of Our Integrated Circuit 2025 -
when the thinking machines have far surpassed our abilities in number crunching, chess, and Go - reveling in our superiority once more.
thomasfuchs.at
Tombmas Spooks @thomasfuchs.at · 1d
How many trillions of dollars have been invested into this technology so far?
Google search for "austria hungary in space" Google excitedly tells you about the 1889 orbital flight, and that by 1908 there was a Mars research output with 30 people.
1 4
Reposted by Derek Fox
thomasfuchs.at
Tombmas Spooks @thomasfuchs.at · 1d
How many trillions of dollars have been invested into this technology so far?
Google search for "austria hungary in space" Google excitedly tells you about the 1889 orbital flight, and that by 1908 there was a Mars research output with 30 people.
30 170 510