Make Lying Wrong Again
@makelyinwrongagain.bsky.social
Dad, Texan, humanist, skeptic, PhD in biophysics “I write because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention” -Orwell
I really enjoyed Bertrand Russell’s short book, The Problems of Philosophy But I especially enjoyed the last couple of chapters where he rejects both global skepticism and religious metaphysics What do the better educated philoso-raptors out there think? 😀
“In little-noticed court documents, federal officials acknowledged this month that they had terminated the funding “based solely” on political criteria, targeting projects in states that were represented by Democrats and had voted for Kamala Harris” Gift article 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
Why aren’t living organisms made of solid rock, hot lava, or intergalactic gases? Why is life mostly liquid in a narrow temperature band? Biophysics gives us a partial answer, based on the fine tuning of temperature 👇🧵
One of the great illusions of fascism is that a strong man / savior will “cut through all the red tape” of civil society and finally get things done Actually fascism is extremely costly and inefficient Example: $80 billion & they still don’t all have body cams
“Is it the fourth?” - Thomas Jefferson, on his deathbed, shortly before July 4, 1826 The 50 year anniversary of the signing 🇺🇸
“Taxpayer spending on projects in [DC] has increased 92 percent over the past year, according to the budget documents. The windfall draws on revolving maintenance accounts and more than $100 million in fees collected almost entirely from national parks elsewhere” Gift link 🔗 🎁 👇
“Each dot represents ten people whose lives depend on U.S. foreign aid for H.I.V. prevention and treatment” That was last year Link to gift article from last year below 👇🎁
“Their sons were soon doing business with partners in a deal that their fathers were negotiating, continuing a pattern of self-enrichment in the second Trump administration that has few precedents in American history.” Gift article 🎁👇 www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/w...
Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit.
nytimes.com
Here is the full text of the constitution of the state of Texas “no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious society or mode of worship” tlc.texas.gov/docs/legref/...
tlc.texas.gov
“campaign finance records indicate that Mr. Cafaro has given more than $300,000 to political committees connected to Mr. Trump”
Philip Bump@pbump.com · 2mo agoI’m sorry, no. This is not the guy who did the reflecting pool. No. Come on. We’re just putting a hat on a hat here. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/u...
“One must divide one’s time between politics and equations” - Albert Einstein, ca 1940
Man accused of spousal abuse says the hitting is the best part.
Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 2mo agoNegotiating to get what you want = Bad Spending tens of billions to bomb and kill to accomplish none of your original objectives = strength. For Hegseth, it’s not really about the result. It’s that he gets to blow things up.
Gift article 🎁👇 Full text of the Memo of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran This war appears to have been an unmitigated strategic disaster for the U.S. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/u...
A Look at the Text of the Agreement Between the United States and Iran
nytimes.com
The war - which was not a war - has ended, unless we start it again The straight - which was never closed - has been reopened, but only because we allowed it The nuclear material - which was totally obliterated - was always about to become a weapon, until we ended Obama’s deal
Get you a man who looks at you the way a MAGA influencer looks at Don Jr describing the Trump Phone
Scott Pelley: What did you say in response to what the President has written? Arizona Republican elections official: This is unhinged. I’m looking at the [database] right now. These lies have to stop This is as disprovable as saying 2+2=5
“[R]emember that kindness is irresistible if it’s genuine … after all, what can even the most abusive person in the world do to you if you keep on being kind to him[?]” - Marcus Aurelius
“in a sense a man of forty, if he has even a modicum of awareness, has seen everything that has happened and will happen” - Marcus Aurelius
The oil industry is warning the U.S. administration of further price spikes within weeks as a result of his ill conceived war of choice and failure to negotiate In response the U.S. administration announces $700M of our tax dollars to be used for more coal plants A dumb solution to a dumb problem
“The call came from the White House: We have to get this done” 👇 www.propublica.org/article/dona...
The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr.
About three months before the Pentagon announced plans to lend money to Vulcan Elements, Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm took an undisclosed stake in the company.
propublica.org
As a Serious Objective Scholarly Person I want to disagree with this but I can't. Ten years into the Trump era & this is basically correct.
Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 2mo agoGOP has "abandoned the idea of crafting policy. They are a full-time media operation, trolling and creating content. The president is checked out. There is no turnaround coming as long as Trump/GOP are in power." On the pod, @dceiver.bsky.social nails the moment: newrepublic.com/article/2108...
“On average, at least one of every six sentences [spoken in Cabinet meetings] either flattered Mr. Trump, gave him credit or criticized his political opponents” Gift article below 🎁👇
Pericles is like, “hey, I wrote that”. (Actually Thucydides, who imagined the funeral oration that Pericles gave).
Secretary of Defense Rock@sodrock.bsky.social · 2mo agoI always come back to Lincoln on Memorial Day
“there will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” - The President, 11 weeks ago
Posting, again, for the record that political violence is wrong, dangerous, and not a good strategy for change. Period.
Imagine atoms moved around like tiny self-propelled, maneuverable aircraft directed by an air traffic control They might line up, take turns, accelerate & decelerate to avoid collisions Individual motions wouldn’t be describable by simple mathematical laws Yet that’s not what we see
I’ve seen this defense of miracles many times: “We can’t expect scientifically rigorous evidence, thus lack of such evidence doesn’t justify doubt” But if the evidence can’t justify doubt that something was a genuine miracle, it can’t justify doubt that it wasn’t, either
