Capricious
@capriciously.bsky.social
-cynical optimist, also former librarian a little of this, a little of that, but lately a lot of politics ➡️ The frame for what's happening now: Class warfare on a global scale
"Our hope is that clean energy will go back to being a bipartisan issue, maybe one of the few issues that all Americans can agree on. But before we get there, we’ve got to continue our retribution tour and take out a few more members who have voted the wrong way..." www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
How solar donors helped take down a Trump-backed Republican
A pro-renewable energy political action committee was behind Rep. Andy Ogles' primary loss Thursday.
politico.com
Remember: There is nothing natural or inevitable about extreme inequality; it’s the result of an economic system that values wealth and power over human dignity and justice. It doesn't have to be this way.
A little bit of green can make a big change. Observe the contrast on the same street. The asphalt road registered 33 degrees Celsius, while the newly installed semi-hardened parking lots showed a considerably lower temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. 📸 Gina Kranendonk, Rotterdam 🇳🇱
The American primary system isn't lowercase-d democratic accountability. It's an incumbent protection racket. The vast majority of members of Congress get there via open seats and will stay as long as they want or until they die, never at any serious risk of losing either a primary or a general.
He might be gone in a few years, inshallah, but the electorate who did something that catastrophic won't be, and it still won't be trustworthy in the way old bipartisan consensus policy commitments once were.
There's that re: denigration of legislation, and could also note what he's done just on SCOTUS. But more generally: we'll be living in the shadow of Trump and dealing with all the aftershocks and repairing the damage (or at least trying to) for decades to come. To claim otherwise is facially absurd.
Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 2d agoalso, describing a lack of legislative capacity as a point against authoritarian consolidation misses the point: the defining feature of Trump’s second term is consolidation of power in the *executive* - the lack of legislative authorization makes him more authoritarian, not less
assigning and writing a story like this validating an invented and bigoted narrative propogated by mamdani's enemies about him is a choice — one they repeatedly make for progressive politicians and never make for republicans
James Fallows@jfallows.bsky.social · 2d agoThis by CNN is genuinely reprehensible. Everyone involved should be embarrassed. -The 'new pain' case vs Mamdani is *solely* his religion. -He was in NYC on 9/11, at grade school -Soon after attack GWB himself gave famous speech warning against blaming all Muslims for terrorism -25 yrs later, this.
In yet another assertion of unlawful authority over Greenland, an American oil company connected to Donald Trump is preparing to sink wells in remote Greenland despite not having received permission from the local authorities. The move is seen by the Greenlanders as an intentional provocation.
Greenland issues ‘strong warning’ as Trump-linked oil firm prepares to drill
Island’s government says no approval given after Greenland Energy brings kit ashore for exploratory drilling
theguardian.com
President Trump wants to soften one of the strongest legal protections American workers have: the right to hold an employer accountable when retirement savings are mishandled. Here's what you need to know: propub.li/4g078bJ
this iran humiliation is revealing so much about the US. you can actually see how military coups happen, why there's a 25th amendment, why wars should ever be wages at the whim of one guy (especially a world-class idiot). the rot and the sclerosis are now apparent to anyone who wants to look
“The new gas-burning plant, if built to specifications, would be permitted to release more planet-warming gases than any other power plant in the country.”
New Amazon Data Center Is Set to Have the Most Polluting Power Plant in the U.S.
The tech giant is investing in the natural-gas-burning power plant as part of a huge data center in Texas, even as it pledges to honor climate commitments.
nytimes.com
It is wild how casually racist this is bsky.app/profile/cnn....
CNN@cnn.com · 2d agoTwenty-five years after the mayor of New York City became the champion of America's grief and resilience at the time of the 9/11 attacks, families of those killed are split on whether the current mayor should attend the annual remembrance. https://cnn.it/4zkKYdc
“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Article II, Section 4, US Constitution
Sam Halpert@samhalpert.bsky.social · 3d agoTreasonous war: 1) An assemblage 2) Using force or intimidation 3) To resist any law 4) For a revolutionary purpose This EO is revolutionary. It redefines both the relationship btwn ppl & govt & the way govt power works. The U.S. govt can’t do this. SCOTUS just said. No POTUS can do so alone.
So, SCOTUS rules against Trump on 3 things: tariffs, removing birthright citizenship, and firing Fed governors. And he moves forward with all three...
Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 3d agoBREAKING: Trump is trying to fire Lisa Cook again. The Trump administration, rebuffed by the Supreme Court in its first attempt to fire Cook, just sent the Federal Reserve governor a letter saying it was "considering" removing her from the job.
It's a choice the media repeatedly makes to platform and legitimize - even cheerlead - anti Muslim bigotry in a way they would never platform or legitimize similarly open anti black or anti Jewish bigotry
josh boerman@bosh.worstpossible.world · 2d agothe media in this country treats bigotry coming from a place of fear as a valid public position. eventually this leads you to the ludicrous place where “the muslim mayor of new york city shouldn’t attend the 25th anniversary commemoration of 9/11” is treated as newsworthy opinion
If 200+ House Members and 40+ U.S. senators took their Constitutional Duty seriously and vociferously demanded impeachment every day, it would have moved the Overton Window and the confirmation of a guy like Blanche would be out of the question.
Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D.@repdexteror.bsky.social · 3d agoSenate Republicans keep proving they are spineless. Every one of them could vote against Blanche. Every one of them continues to pick Trump over the American people. Sad. www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Florida: early voting is open NOW through Aug 15. Primary Day is Aug 18. 7 Courage Candidates on the ballot: ▪️ Yen Bailey — FL-02 ▪️ Brit Robinson — FL-04 ▪️ Ronnie Murchinson-Rivera — FL-06 ▪️ Marialana Kinter — FL-07 ▪️ Robert People — FL-15 ▪️ Bernard Taylor — FL-21 ▪️ Oliver Larkin — FL-25
Agreed - avoiding the obvious is a bad look, especially before midterms.
Citizens' Impeachment@citizensimpeachment.com · 2d agoevery week he goes on TV and announces some new impeachable offense he committed "Look at this huge airplane. It was a bribe from the Qatari sheik." investigation is, at this point, just a hugely dishonest way to avoid doing their constitutional and patriotic duty.
Here's why this is so grim. Folks expected jobs growth to slow to +80k, but we got -23k. Also downward revisions to the last two months subtracted a total of -103k. So over the past three months, the US economy created about -200k fewer jobs than we had thought.
Upcoming primaries: Sat 8 August - Hawaii Tues 11 August - Connecticut Minnesota Vermont Wisconsin Tues 18 August - Alaska Florida Wyoming Tues 1 September - Massachusetts Tues 8 September - New Hampshire #CitizensImpeachment #CourageCandidates #RaiseTheBar #ImpeachConvictRemove
WSJ: ".. There were no public meetings or votes before a lone city staffer gave Amazon the green light .. ".. 'Many if not most residents first learned about this project after construction had already begun ..'" @wsj.com www.wsj.com/us-news/how-...
How Amazon Built a Data Center in a California Town Without Anyone Noticing
The company and Gilroy, Calif., officials spent years quietly negotiating a $2 billion project that few residents knew about until construction began. Now, locals are upset.
wsj.com
1. A new Popular Information investigation reveals that Senate Republicans have recently launched at least six fake news sites in key states.
The right is keenly aware of how many voters get their news through these aggregators, and want to put their finger on the scale to manipulate them into spreading lies and propaganda:
Leon English@leonenglish.bsky.social · 4d agoThis crossed my feed the other day and fuuuuuuck I bet these are related cbs12.com/news/nation-...
“Between early June and early July, as many as five people who worked in or closely with US Cyber Command took their own lives, according to internal military communications, public records and the people.”
America’s Cyber Forces Grapple With Cluster of Deaths by Suicide
The US military’s cyberwarfare unit is scrutinizing an unusually high number of deaths by suicide among personnel over a month-long period this summer, according to government officials and other peop...
bloomberg.com
