Tom Kephart
@tomkephart.bsky.social
Animal, bigger than a breadbox. Likes may indicate agreement or derision.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
Investigate and prosecute political opponents, sell pardons to your rich friends so they can commit crimes with impunity. Authoritarianism isn’t coming, it’s here, whether people realize it or not.
January 16, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Investigate and prosecute political opponents, sell pardons to your rich friends so they can commit crimes with impunity. Authoritarianism isn’t coming, it’s here, whether people realize it or not.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
congratulations to Rand Paul on inventing
*checks notes*
single payer healthcare
*checks notes*
single payer healthcare
Rand Paul on his healthcare plan: "What if you could join Costco? Costco has 44m members and if one person negotiated for all 44 and they bought a group plan like Toyota or General Motors does, they would be the largest collective entity in the country. They would drive prices down by sheer might."
December 9, 2025 at 5:24 PM
congratulations to Rand Paul on inventing
*checks notes*
single payer healthcare
*checks notes*
single payer healthcare
Reposted by Tom Kephart
The problem with college-as-vocational-training is that there are really very few professions that NEED college as vocational training. You're not validating domain knowledge; you're verifying the applicant is reasonably bright and can do work consistently for four years without parents looming.
There are a lot of big questions at play here, but the most fundamental might be: what is the point of college?
December 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
The problem with college-as-vocational-training is that there are really very few professions that NEED college as vocational training. You're not validating domain knowledge; you're verifying the applicant is reasonably bright and can do work consistently for four years without parents looming.
Infant Sump, 1918-1918. Edith Sump, 1893-1918.
On December 5, 1918, my great-grandmother, Edith Quance Sump, gave birth to a stillborn child. According to the death certificate, he was simply “Infant of Carl Sump.” The document doesn’t indicate a cause of death other than “Stillborn,” but he died…
On December 5, 1918, my great-grandmother, Edith Quance Sump, gave birth to a stillborn child. According to the death certificate, he was simply “Infant of Carl Sump.” The document doesn’t indicate a cause of death other than “Stillborn,” but he died…
Infant Sump, 1918-1918. Edith Sump, 1893-1918.
On December 5, 1918, my great-grandmother, Edith Quance Sump, gave birth to a stillborn child. According to the death certificate, he was simply “Infant of Carl Sump.” The document doesn’t indicate a cause of death other than “Stillborn,” but he died because his mother had been ill with influenza for several days before she delivered him. Edith died on December 12, 1918.
tomkephart.me
December 9, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Infant Sump, 1918-1918. Edith Sump, 1893-1918.
On December 5, 1918, my great-grandmother, Edith Quance Sump, gave birth to a stillborn child. According to the death certificate, he was simply “Infant of Carl Sump.” The document doesn’t indicate a cause of death other than “Stillborn,” but he died…
On December 5, 1918, my great-grandmother, Edith Quance Sump, gave birth to a stillborn child. According to the death certificate, he was simply “Infant of Carl Sump.” The document doesn’t indicate a cause of death other than “Stillborn,” but he died…
In a time of ever-shrinking numbers of high school students in most parts of the U.S., recruiting in rural areas can be worthwhile, both for students and for institutions.
Challenges and rewards: Rural college recruiting
I enjoyed a recent article in The Conversation that discusses the challenges rural students face when deciding whether to continue their education beyond high school. Dr. Sheneka Williams, professo…
tomkephart.me
December 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
In a time of ever-shrinking numbers of high school students in most parts of the U.S., recruiting in rural areas can be worthwhile, both for students and for institutions.
Proceeding with humility: Tom Stoppard, 1937-2025
Tom Stoppard died on November 29th. Considered by many to be one of the greatest playwrights in the English language, he won five Tony Awards, three Olivier Awards, and an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. He was also compared…
Tom Stoppard died on November 29th. Considered by many to be one of the greatest playwrights in the English language, he won five Tony Awards, three Olivier Awards, and an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. He was also compared…
Proceeding with humility: Tom Stoppard, 1937-2025
Tom Stoppard died on November 29th. Considered by many to be one of the greatest playwrights in the English language, he won five Tony Awards, three Olivier Awards, and an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. He was also compared favorably to both George Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare himself. His characters were deep and interesting, and said thoughtful and meaningful things.
tomkephart.me
December 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Proceeding with humility: Tom Stoppard, 1937-2025
Tom Stoppard died on November 29th. Considered by many to be one of the greatest playwrights in the English language, he won five Tony Awards, three Olivier Awards, and an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. He was also compared…
Tom Stoppard died on November 29th. Considered by many to be one of the greatest playwrights in the English language, he won five Tony Awards, three Olivier Awards, and an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. He was also compared…
¿Por qué no los dos?
Jeffries: This is only going to end in one of two ways. Either Republicans are going to agree to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits before December 31st of this year, or the American people are going to throw Republicans out of office because of their failure to make life better.
November 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
¿Por qué no los dos?
Reposted by Tom Kephart
“I don’t know and I don’t care” should be the new MAGA motto. So accurate. Says it all.
November 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM
“I don’t know and I don’t care” should be the new MAGA motto. So accurate. Says it all.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
*Every single* institution, organization, and individual who caved into Trump already looks worse for having done so.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
Man, CBS must feel really stupid right now!
Just kidding, CBS wasn't settling a lawsuit. They were paying a bribe and they knew it.
Just kidding, CBS wasn't settling a lawsuit. They were paying a bribe and they knew it.
Eleventh Circuit throws out Trump's suit against CNN in a per curiam unpublished ruling. Meaning Trump's arguments were totally meritless, not even worthy of a published opinion. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
November 18, 2025 at 9:26 PM
*Every single* institution, organization, and individual who caved into Trump already looks worse for having done so.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
And every one that stood up continues to look better.
Um, but
Clyde: Point of order. You may not call the President of the United States a felon
November 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Um, but
Reposted by Tom Kephart
I can no longer follow the plot of this show. I suspect the writers and actors can’t either. I don’t think they have a show runner.
November 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I can no longer follow the plot of this show. I suspect the writers and actors can’t either. I don’t think they have a show runner.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
I mean, look, I'm not a reporter, so who am I to talk?
But on a day where the president both just called a woman reporter "Piggy" and is celebrating someone who had people bone saw apart one of my colleagues, I might just be a little ready to defend my colleagues and profession.
But that's just me
But on a day where the president both just called a woman reporter "Piggy" and is celebrating someone who had people bone saw apart one of my colleagues, I might just be a little ready to defend my colleagues and profession.
But that's just me
November 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I mean, look, I'm not a reporter, so who am I to talk?
But on a day where the president both just called a woman reporter "Piggy" and is celebrating someone who had people bone saw apart one of my colleagues, I might just be a little ready to defend my colleagues and profession.
But that's just me
But on a day where the president both just called a woman reporter "Piggy" and is celebrating someone who had people bone saw apart one of my colleagues, I might just be a little ready to defend my colleagues and profession.
But that's just me
With Cloudflare down this morning, causing massive connection issues worldwide (including, somewhat ironically, most of the major AI providers), please understand: This is all the same story. Control of key technologies by a few huge companies with billionaire owners/investors is a terrible idea.
No firm is immune if AI bubble bursts, Google CEO tells BBC reut.rs/43D5Zl4
No firm is immune if AI bubble bursts, Google CEO tells BBC
Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said no company would be unscathed if the artificial intelligence boom collapses, as soaring valuations and heavy investment in the sector fuel concerns of a bubble.
reut.rs
November 18, 2025 at 2:33 PM
With Cloudflare down this morning, causing massive connection issues worldwide (including, somewhat ironically, most of the major AI providers), please understand: This is all the same story. Control of key technologies by a few huge companies with billionaire owners/investors is a terrible idea.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
I like how these guys get to have it both ways
they get to inflate the bubble via broad product misrepresentation and bogus math
then dole out sage warnings about a looming problem they created as if they played no role in it
they get to inflate the bubble via broad product misrepresentation and bogus math
then dole out sage warnings about a looming problem they created as if they played no role in it
Google boss says trillion-dollar AI investment boom has 'elements of irrationality'
In an exclusive BBC interview, Sundar Pichai hailed artificial intelligence as an "extraordinary moment" but said no company would be immune if bubble burst.
www.bbc.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:56 PM
I like how these guys get to have it both ways
they get to inflate the bubble via broad product misrepresentation and bogus math
then dole out sage warnings about a looming problem they created as if they played no role in it
they get to inflate the bubble via broad product misrepresentation and bogus math
then dole out sage warnings about a looming problem they created as if they played no role in it
Cloudflare is a great idea on paper, except for this One Weird Trick that makes the whole internet not work anymore.
November 18, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Cloudflare is a great idea on paper, except for this One Weird Trick that makes the whole internet not work anymore.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
Sen Gary Peters is in his own way the biggest embarrassment of the lot. He’s been a leader of Team Cave and he’s retiring. So there’s no politics or risk aversion. He wants to cave as a matter of genuine principle.
November 10, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Sen Gary Peters is in his own way the biggest embarrassment of the lot. He’s been a leader of Team Cave and he’s retiring. So there’s no politics or risk aversion. He wants to cave as a matter of genuine principle.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
If the Dems blink after all of this, for a deal that all but ensures no ACA subsidies in 2026 anyway, then what was the purpose of letting the shutdown go for 40 days in the first place?
November 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
i think this is key. taking the deal would amount to taking the blame. it would turn a clear political victory into an unambiguous defeat.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
You’d think the guy invented groceries would know better.
“You go to a grocery store, you have to give ID. You go to a gas station, you have to give ID.”
This guy has never once bought a box of cereal or pumped his own gas. And we’re the one who are supposed to be out of touch. 🙄
This guy has never once bought a box of cereal or pumped his own gas. And we’re the one who are supposed to be out of touch. 🙄
Trump: "It's time for Republicans to do what they have to do and that's terminate the filibuster ... we should start tonight with 'the country's open, congratulations,' then we should pass voted ID, we should pass no mail in voting ... you go to a grocery store, you have to give ID."
November 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
You’d think the guy invented groceries would know better.
Reposted by Tom Kephart
Was he wearing a hot dog suit when he asked this?
Justice Gorsuch throws fastballs about the ramifications of Trump's position:
He asks what would happen if Congress said: "We're tired of this legislating business. We're just going to hand this all to the president. What stops them from doing it?"
He asks what would happen if Congress said: "We're tired of this legislating business. We're just going to hand this all to the president. What stops them from doing it?"
November 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Was he wearing a hot dog suit when he asked this?
Reposted by Tom Kephart
Reposted by Tom Kephart
“.. for generations, sports was one of the few places where Americans could still gather around something bigger than ourselves. Now, .. we tally payouts .. until a game becomes little more than a series of outcomes to be predicted and monetized.”
@joon.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/o...
@joon.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/o...
October 29, 2025 at 1:27 AM
“.. for generations, sports was one of the few places where Americans could still gather around something bigger than ourselves. Now, .. we tally payouts .. until a game becomes little more than a series of outcomes to be predicted and monetized.”
@joon.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/o...
@joon.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/o...
Reposted by Tom Kephart
During non-midterm years, the House usually takes votes in October. They did even during the shutdown in 2013. But there have been no votes this year since the Friday before Grijalva became the 218th Epstein vote.
www.pbump.net/o/remember-t...
www.pbump.net/o/remember-t...
October 28, 2025 at 3:01 AM
During non-midterm years, the House usually takes votes in October. They did even during the shutdown in 2013. But there have been no votes this year since the Friday before Grijalva became the 218th Epstein vote.
www.pbump.net/o/remember-t...
www.pbump.net/o/remember-t...
@craigcalcaterra.bsky.social Well if it isn’t Blake Trienen.
October 28, 2025 at 2:40 AM
@craigcalcaterra.bsky.social Well if it isn’t Blake Trienen.