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TrishEM

@pematson.bsky.social

Award-winning journalism editor and writer, speculative fiction reviewer and podcaster, lover of games, music, audiodramas, wordplay and more. (She/her) https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciamatson

1610 Posts1664 Follower463 Folgt
Tiffany Morris@tiffmorris.bsky.social · 2h ago

I read the whole newsletter; the author invokes Wild West imagery later in this fatuous screed. Relevant that data colonialism includes proposed expansions of AI data centres onto Indigenous lands / sacred sites, bastardization of our knowledges, infringement on data sovereignty & ICE surveillance.

Tiffany Morris@tiffmorris.bsky.social · 13h ago

So apparently that HWA pro-AI newsletter also uses Indigenous water rights issues as a prop, trivializing the activism by Indigenous peoples to protect our water including specific anti-data centre actions. I guess they figured why not alienate Indigenous horror writers while they’re at it?

“Sure. Sure. Yes, we know AI is using up resources. So does driving a car or a planes so does building a new home. So do a lot of things. Humans have always used up Earth’s resources and usually not nicely. There are reservations and other Indigenous communities in Canada that have never had clean water and have been ravaged by pipeline construction. But somehow that’s been okay for the past fifty or a hundred years, and very few people scream about that. But suddenly, AI is the enemy, not everything else we’ve been doing all along. Suddenly YOUR water might not be clean, so it’s a Big Deal”.
Delilah S. Dawson@delilahsdawson.bsky.social · 3h ago

Getting real sick of slop midwives pleading for a 'respectful discussion' of AI as relates to the arts. Your use of AI to 'make art' is not respectful. It benefits from stolen art, destroys the planet, and does not make you an artist any more than someone driving 26.2 miles is a marathoner.

Annalee Newitz@annaleen.bsky.social · 2d ago

Imagine being a 12 year-old girl, forced to allow a male sports doctor to "examine" your genitals to determine whether you can play softball. Horrifying.

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d ago

An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play

The Campaign to Force Genital Exams on Girl Athletes Soon Washington State could require sex-verification tests for those playing sports in schools. Portrait of Andrea González-Ramírez By Andrea González-Ramírez, a senior writer for The Cut who covers systems of power.
Peace Pangolin@peace-pangolin.bsky.social · 2h ago

I saw a video from a recovering alcoholic. He talked about how he used to buy rounds of drinks all the time. It wasn't generosity. He was trying to get everyone else hammered so he wouldn't feel so guilty and awkward about being sloshed himself. I feel like similar happens with some AI pushers.

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · last mo.

I've decided to compile a definitive thread of photos of the best sheep I've photographed during my walks in the countryside, together with supporting biographical information. I will put the vital story associated with each sheep in the alt text, since some of it is a little long to fit in a post.

A nihilistic sheep, who, like so many other sheep, just wants to watch the world burn, staring at me insouciantly, moments after it has set fire to a large portion of the United Kingdom.
The Downballot@the-downballot.com · 16h ago

AP calls a DEFEAT for Kansas Amendment 1, which would have replaced the current merit-based selection of state Supreme Court justices with partisan statewide elections. GOP wanted this change to try to overturn a ruling protecting abortion rights, but voters emphatically said no.

Bild
Stephen Wolf@stephenwolf.bsky.social · 15h ago

Missouri Republicans' Amendment 4 is getting trounced not just in every congressional district but in every *county* so far. Trump won all but four counties in Missouri.

Screenshot of a New York Times 2026 election results page titled "Missouri Amendment 4 Election Results: Modify Amendment Approval Requirements." A description notes the measure, proposed by the Republican-led legislature, would require citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to win in each of the state's eight congressional districts rather than by a simple statewide majority. With 23% of votes in (AP data), "No" leads with 277,388 votes, or 81.1%, and is marked with a check indicating it is winning. "Yes" has 64,711 votes, or 18.9%. Total reported: 342,099. A "Results by county" table lists: St. Louis County, 85% No / 15% Yes, 82,026 total votes, 30% in; St. Charles, 79/21, 30,809, 20% in; Platte, 80/20, 18,648, 77% in; Buchanan, 82/18, 15,852, more than 95% in; St. Louis City, 90/10, 15,826, 22% in; Clay, 82/18, 15,613, 21% in. At right, a map of Missouri shades counties by result, with Kansas City, Columbia, St. Louis, and Springfield labeled. Reporting counties are shaded orange for No, most at the darkest shade of 70% or more; no counties are shaded teal for Yes. Counties without results are gray, covering much of the state.
Stephen Wolf@stephenwolf.bsky.social · 16h ago

NEW: Missouri voters have rejected Amendment 4, which Republicans had passed to make citizen-initiated constitutional amendments effectively impossible. It would have required initiatives to pass in every congressional district—not just statewide—giving the overwhelmingly red districts a veto

Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray”@ryanjreilly.com · 18h ago

🚨Someone did, in fact, take a knife to the Reflecting Pool! 🚨 Only it was a National Park Service engineer, trying to stop the peeling from worsening. “The government’s own engineer determined that it was better to cut off the peeling sections than to let them flap around."

Olympic canoeist charged by Pirro seeks to permanently sink Reflecting Pool case

Amid Trump’s criticism of the decision to drop the case, attorneys for David “Davey” Hearn said prosecutors shouldn’t be allowed to try to bring new charges.

nbcnews.com

Brandon Crilly (Announcements Only)@brandoncrilly.bsky.social · 18h ago

New coolness! The corrected edition! My new regular gig is 5e setting design for Archvillain Games (!!!) and the first one is out now: Unferth Basin, a scorched land of orc clanholds, powerful blacksteel and elven ruins. History, ecology, adventure seeds and more in this detailed Gazetteer!

[July] Horde of Ash and Steel — Lorebook & Artbook | Archvillain Chronicles: A DnD 5e Journey

“Home is not one thing. Not a cabin. Not a river. Not a field. It is all of these things at once. Home is what you claim, and what no one ca

patreon.com

Apoorva Mandavilli@apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 18h ago

SCOOP: The CDC has linked six additional states to a large outbreak of cyclosporiasis associated with iceberg lettuce — Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina — bringing the total tally to 15. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/w...

C.D.C. Expands Cyclospora Outbreak to More States (Gift Article)

Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina are now among the states linked to the outbreak associated with iceberg lettuce.

nytimes.com

Brooke Harrington@ebharrington.bsky.social · 2d ago

"don't make enough money" is a fig leaf All those degree programs--social work, art, etc.--have disproportionately female student bodies. This is designed to make it harder for women to attend college--college education being a key factor in women's autonomy from men & left-leaning voting pattern.

The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d ago

President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v

Dr Laura Eastlake@victorianmasc.bsky.social · 2d ago

📚"Covers designed by folk who didn't bother to read the book" Episode 5: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. “Get in, loser. We’re going rowing on the Thames in a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance. Also on Wednesdays we wear arsenic green.” #c19th

Cover of Our Mutual Friend featuring two young women, at school judging by their backpack and casual dress, and wearing jewellery and low rise jeans of c. 2002
Dr Laura Eastlake@victorianmasc.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📚"Covers designed by folk who didn't bother to read the book" Episode 4: The Great Gatsby. “They say he killed a man, and bought that big-ass palace with the money he made from his Magic Mike themed speakeasy”

Georgia Witton-Maclean@gizz47.bsky.social · yesterday

I've said it before and I'll say it again: It is so sad that AI has made so many people this doubtful that humans can be creative or talented or interesting. What do they think we used to do before AI? Where do they think AI is getting all its information from in the first place?

Nicholas Whyte 白怀珂@nwhyte.bsky.social · yesterday

The breakfast stove gave a hissing sigh and ejected from its warm interior eight pieces of perfectly browned toast, eight eggs sunny side up, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two cool glasses of milk. "Today is August 4, 2026," said a voice… www.libraryofshortstories.com/onlinereader...

There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury

“Today is Mr. Featherstone’s birthday. Today is the anniversary of Tilita’s marriage. Insurance is payable, as are the water, gas, and light bills.”

libraryofshortstories.com

NPR@npr.org · yesterday

Five state primaries are being held today, and Michigan is a key focus for Democrats who want to see how progressives fare in races. And, a man has been arrested in connection with a Spokane fire. n.pr/4wHu2Me

5 states hold primaries today. And, Spokane police arrest man connected to wildfire

Five state primaries are being held today, and Michigan is a key focus for Democrats who want to see how progressives fare in races. And, a man has been arrested in connection with a Spokane fire.

n.pr