This is such an great feature (Rebecca is great!), and I've been thinking about it for a few days. IMO, "Influencer" in the ten-years-ago sense was really a LOT of jobs (spokesmodel/copywriter/etc.) but now it's morphing, at least in part, into "intentionally annoying person" which feels worse.

The Influencer Recession

Once upon a time, lifestyle influencers could post cute photos and make millions. Now they are forced to pivot.

vulture.com

Looks like a 10-15 point polling miss in Michigan regardless of who wins. And people have been writing a lot of electability takes using this data. It’s dangerous out there folks be safe

I'm weirdly upset by Stevens's gracious concession, because it makes her lie from just a few days ago that AES harbors personal animus against Jewish ppl all the more transparent. We should discourage lying to inflame tensions against two targeted religious minorities for personal political gain imo

Abdul El-Sayed overcame a massive spending disadvantage by hardline pro-Israel groups and opposition from the Democratic establishment to win Michigan’s Senate primary, the Associated Press projected. www.washingtonpost.com/elections/20...

Rather absurd framing when you consider the results up and down the ballot, and where expectations were before just the last few weeks.

Politico@politico.com · 13h ago

Progressives didn’t get the big election night they wanted

It’s ultimately a drop in a bucket, but I do occasionally think about how much healthier the conversation around Israel-Palestine could have been these past few years if Andy Levin was still in office, instead of kicked out by Haley Stevens and $4.5m AIPAC dollars.

Subscribe to Radio Free America (link in bio)@kleinman.bsky.social · 20h ago

In 2022 Haley Stevens moved pretty aggressively to the right on Israel to defeat a progressive Jewish member of Congress after redistricting made her old district more Republican. Tonight, the bill came due.

I still can’t get over this. Get rid of the accent, legitimate or not, and her voice is just grating in the same way Ted Cruz’s is.

Howard Mortman@howardmortman.bsky.social · 2w ago

"Cool kids on the Internet. They're doing the cool kid chatter. Some of 'em might be the coastal elites, making fun of how I talk. But let's be real. They're making fun of Michigan. They're thinking they're better than us. Their jokes, their criticism, only make me fight harder." -- Haley Stevens

Abdul El Sayed's open-mindedness on the question of how to actually resolve the question of Palestine is one of the best indicators of his overall intelligence and sincerity. Policymakers in DC should adopt a rights-based approach which prioritizes ending the occupation and apartheid systems.

Ron Skolnik@ronskolnik.bsky.social · yesterday

El-Sayed: "I believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination, for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike... If that’s 2 states, I’m for it. If it’s 1 state, I’m for that. If it’s this 'land for all' model, ... or whatever they decide." www.newyorker.com/news/the-new...

I think the best part of this is where El-Sayed starts talking like a cornerback going up against a wide receiver he is going to demolish.

Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social · yesterday

“My guy wants to put a data center in your backyard either to give himself gender-affirming care and make a muscle video, or to portray me as a…hero?" Abdul El-Sayed reacts to Republican Mike Rogers' AI ad showing him, Mamdani, AOC, and Bernie as communists inside a Trojan Horse:

Imagine thinking so little of yourself that you just let this half sentient rotten potato talk to you like this. I don't care if he's president, have some self respect.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d ago

Trump says Jeanine Pirro "choked" and then snaps at a reporter who asks if her job is safe: "Don't ever talk again"

Every single demographic except for “non-religious voters, LGBT voters, White women with college degrees, Black women, and voters making over $100,000 a year” swung towards Trump in 2024. It’s a folly to blame any one voting group for 2024, and it’s an exercise we should have put to rest in 2017.

it's Candy Love@candylovely.bsky.social · 2d ago

Tlaib. a Congresswoman from the state of Michigan refused to support the Democratic nominee for president in 2024 and pushed her community & other Arab/Muslim all across this country to vote against Harris and support DT Now this woman expect Black voters to reward her for the damage caused.HELL-NO.

Gig ‘em, baby!

AAUP Texas A&M-College Station Chapter@tamu-aaup.bsky.social · yesterday

It's us! #BTHOcensorship #LetUsTeach

Tonight is the culmination of one of the most heated and expensive Democratic Senate primaries in history. The stakes are incredibly high, but they're perhaps highest for the Dem establishment, which threw everything it had at Abdul El-Sayed. www.messageboxnews.com/p/is-michiga...

Is Michigan a Reckoning for the Democratic Establishment?

The Democratic Establishment went all in for Stevens, tonight we find out if it worked.

messageboxnews.com

Think about it this way: what if your tax dollars were used to buy sophisticated surveillance equipment and guns, and then the cops never killed your dog? Wouldn’t you feel ripped off?

USA TODAY Opinion@usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 2d ago

Opinion: Mamdani's idea may sound appealing, but it's NYC taxpayers who will take the hit, subsidizing discounts they may never even use.

I’ve said that there is a responsible way to build data centers that minimize resource strain (closed loop cooling, co-generation) and benefit locals (shifting tax burden) A company hiring Eric Adams to convince rural central Wisconsin to get on board is not a company smart enough to be responsible

Jessy Edwards@jessyedwards.bsky.social · 2d ago

A video taken Saturday shows former NYC Mayor Eric Adams in sales pitch mode in Wisconsin Rapids, as he's heckled by residents opposed to the data center he's trying to sell them on. "My name is Eric Adams," he begins, as the boos begin to rain down. "You belong in prison!" one attendee shouts.

We asked 1500 degenerate online libertarian guys who are all trying to screw each other over constantly what they think is going to happen in the world, and the answer might surprise you.

CNBC@cnbc.com · 2d ago

Kalshi traders think July jobs report will come in slightly cooler than economists’ predictions

Under commissioner Mike Morath, the Texas Education Agency has intervened in more than a dozen school districts. And it’s just getting started. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/public-school-district-takeover/

Once a Last Resort for Troubled Schools, State Takeovers Are Becoming Texas’s Go-To Solution

Under commissioner Mike Morath, the Texas Education Agency has intervened in more than a dozen school districts. And he’s just getting started.

texasmonthly.com

A much better statement than his “I don’t know” when asked if Miller should be on the GOP ticket just this past Friday.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 3d ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ohio Sen. Moreno says Rep. Max Miller should not serve in House after abuse allegations from Moreno’s daughter.

It's pretty infuriating that Trump is denying disaster aid to Oregon for political reasons and I have barely heard anything about it, while Biden was falsely accused of doing the exact same thing to North Carolina and millions of people believed that

The left has gone completely insane

this is gonna be a really useful clip

It is funny that this person thinks “immigrants defended the union while native born whites sought to destroy it in the name of slavery” is an argument against immigrants being Americans. This is precisely the point, nothing about being born here makes you better bsky.app/profile/aphc...

Alexander Clarkson@aphclarkson.bsky.social · 4d ago

Another datapoint for the fascist radicalisation of institutional pillars of much of the American Right

The best get rich quick scheme is to be a pal of Trump and siphon off federal dollars for nothing. The second best get rich quick scheme is to be unfairly targeted by Trump and his overzealous underlings’ weaponization of the state and sueing for damages.

I think stuff like this should have public signatures attached to it. I want whatever department head championed this to be publicly shamed.

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 5d ago

Update: Google just sent me a statement saying it is “rolling back” this AI feature that let anyone make completely bullshit satellite images. Comes after our demos of the tool and those from OSINT researchers. One of the worst AI tools I’ve ever seen bsky.app/profile/jose...

Every dollar spent on social services is, in some sense, a theft from the weapons industry

Lindsay Deibler-Wallace, assistant head of Upper School, took no action to protect them after telling parents that “boys will be boys.” arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

High school defends staying silent while boys made AI nudes of 59 classmates

Gaps in laws may help Pennsylvania high school escape AI nudes scandal.

arstechnica.com

New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...

Took me seconds to make an image showing 'protesters' around Google buildings, using Google Earth's new AI generation tool. You can make bomb blasts, protesters, drone strikes, nuclear plants. How on earth did Google think this was a good idea www.404media.co/google-earth...

BREAKING: Google has rolled back its tool less than a day after it launched. Updated story coming soon.