Alex
@halfloaf.bsky.social
An engineer working to make small things into slightly larger things.
This is immoral, likely illegal, and infuriating.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · last mo.The U.S. has AGAIN sent people to a foreign country where they get imprisoned. This time, it’s to get around laws barring the deportation of people who face persecution/torture in their home countries. The U.S. gets paper-thin assurances that the below won't happen, which it knows will be ignored.
Pete Hegseth continues to hide behind the bravery and sacrifice of our troops to deflect from his own incompetence & lack of leadership. Rather than do his job he’s fighting woke, making workout videos, and releasing statements from his hair and makeup studio while blaming Biden.
Hodgman and I went full public radio host and spent an hour talking with the folks from @alotrolado-org.bsky.social about the humanitarian crisis on the US-Mexico border and what they’re doing to empower migrants. Watch or listen in the @judgejohnhodgman.bsky.social feed. youtu.be/0DfIVhQGVy8?...
Visiting Tijuana with Al Otro Lado
YouTube video by Judge John Hodgman
youtu.be
🏳️🌈 Happy Pride Month! Mindful that biology’s been weaponized against the LGBTQ community by people who don’t know much about biology, I’m making daily, queer, biologically themed posts #PrideMonth2026 6/14: Bonobo chimps are more gay than straight www.bonobos.org/blog/natures...
Nature’s Rainbow: Same-sex Behavior in Animals - Friends of Bonobos
Homosexual behavior among bonobos and other animals - 1500 species at least - is becoming a vibrant field of study for modern academics.
bonobos.org
Picard morality tip: If one side of a conflict preaches purity of bloodline above communal benefit for all, join the other side.
Just heard a massive boom in the Boston area - the whole region seems to have heard / felt it.
The thing about that Supreme Court decision: it’s absurd to suggest that racism is a conscious choice people make that can be proved. Overt, intentional racism does exist, but any social scientist can tell you about 10,000 studies that demonstrate the hostile effects of “unintentional” racism.
I am again asking people to pay attention to what has happened to our National Science Foundation and by extension thousands of researchers across the country. The devastation is ongoing and worthy of continued outcry to officials and journalists. 🧪
Leslie Rissler@ljrissler.bsky.social · 5mo ago“Between January 2025 and February 2026, STEM and health employees at science-focused agencies saw nearly 15,000 jobs cut. The rate outpaced cuts among other federal workers.” OPM data - Figure from Wash Post article 19 April. (Where US science has been hit hardest.) NSF at -42%!
The newest episode of Strong Songs is about “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie — a one-night collaboration in Montreaux that resulted in an unusual, occasionally awkward, and ultimately triumphant song. I’m really happy with this episode and I hope you enjoy it! 🎶
S08E02 - "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie
Kirk heaps on a second helping of TWO previous Strong Songs artists: Queen and David Bowie, whose 1981 collaboration "Under Pressure" topped the charts while showing how a mid-song transformation is d...
strongsongspodcast.com
I testified Friday before Gov. Pritzker's commission studying abuses of ICE and CBP and tried to explain how the agencies went so far off track. It's actually way worse than I ever realized. Please read and share my testimony as Congress considers reform: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
Accountability for ICE and CBP
However bad you think the corruption and misconduct at ICE and CBP is — the reality is far far worse.
doomsdayscenario.co
This picture making the rounds on reddit, Columbia Heights. I'm not OK.
With a full week left before launch, Mothership has officially surpassed 1,000 paid subscribers!!! That means our Discord community is going to be chock full of awesome people from day ONE. Join the club before 1/26 for 15% off forever!
“We can’t be a country with a paramilitary secret police because then we would be a nation with a paramilitary secret police” is something my brain genuinely says to me. I need my brain to change as fast as my world and that’s not easy.
The Republican-led Utah legislature put a “pause” on gender-affirming care for minors, and ordered the University of Utah to do a large-scale study of the evidence. The 1000-page study was clear: gender-affirming care is good medicine. (They’re still banning care.) www.deseret.com/politics/202...
Utah debate over transgender treatments for minors divides policymakers, experts over state 'systematic review'
Do No Harm alleges Utah Department of Health and Human Services "systematic review" misleads on transgender outcomes.
deseret.com
Yeah, this probably should have been a post, but, ultimately, I'm simply saying: Trump is lawless. Too many people and institutions are letting him. We don't have to let him. When we don't, we win.
To help fusion energy observers get a better handle on our industry’s progress our CEO, Bob Mumgaard, is detailing the six steps every fusion company must take on the path to delivering power competitively. Today, he digs into the second step: get your fusion fuel hot enough. #FusionEnergy
Today, Commonwealth Fusion Systems announced we’ve raised $863 million in a new funding round — the second largest investment of committed capital into a deep tech or clean tech company ever. And the largest was our $1.8 billion Series B round in 2021. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNW... #PowerMoves
Commonwealth Fusion Systems raises $863 million to get power on the grid faster
YouTube video by Commonwealth Fusion Systems
youtube.com
Yes their nuclear physics made great progress (Tsar Bomba; but see Chernobyl), and so did missiles and some engineering and a few other fields. But compare Soviet science and technology to US science and tech over same period. The huge difference comes from openness, freedom, and public investment.
Very few things could get me to the verge of tears on my commute, but this is one of them!
Kirk Hamilton@kirkhamilton.com · last yr.I made a special episode of Strong Songs about my dad, and the band he played in back in the 60s. 🎶 🥁 I'm very proud of it. Making it showed me how music can bring the people we've lost back to life, however briefly. Thanks to everyone who's listened, and shared stories of their own parents. 💛
Guy who was convicted on 34 counts of first‑degree falsification of business records says the numbers were rigged.
@fivefourpod.bsky.social so, are you all planning on becoming a daily podcast anytime soon, or…
Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social · last yr.BREAKING: The Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to move forward with the abolition of the Department of Education. It gives no explanation for its order. All three liberals dissent. www.documentcloud.org/documents/25... From Sotomayor's dissent:
Meet the Yas Queen! Chess Club, a chess club for people of all genders who feel underrepresented in traditional chess clubs - proudly women-led and LGBTQ+ friendly. #pride #pridemonth The Yas Queen! Chess Club meets in various parts of London. All allies are welcome! ➡️ www.yasqueen.uk
@rincewind.run a suggestion for today’s QOTD? Page 195 of Small Gods: I wish I could’ve posted it yesterday.
If you are interested in supporting NASA science and exploration, and saving it from capricious budget cuts, here's one thing you can do: sign this petition being sent to Senate and House members of their respective appropriations committees. Two days left to sign! www.planetary.org/advocacy-act...
Advocacy Action Center
The Planetary Society is organizing a new space constituency that is educated, empowered, and loud.
planetary.org
None of the 278 men sent to CECOT have been returned. Meanwhile their lawyer has been arrested and "disappeared" in El Salvador.
Lawyer for Venezuelans deported to El Salvador prison arrested
Ruth López held without access to lawyers at secret location accused of ‘embezzlement’ a decade ago
theguardian.com