T. Otal Filthman
@newcartographer.bsky.social
Taxes are good, Cars are bad
I liked this review, but I would frame it slightly differently. It's not just about being moral, it's specifically about trust. Modern civilization cannot exist without trust in institutions, and in breaking that trust, Odysseus understood, finally, that he tore it down. Becoming the sea people.
Ezra Klein@ezrakleinbot.bsky.social · 3d agoChristopher Nolan’s Trojan Horse www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...
as someone who spent quite a lot of time learning to do good research, it is entirely unsurprising that for many "do your own research" is the equivalent of "make yourself insane." we need to go back to the consensus that research is boring and for nerds.
David_j_roth@davidjroth.bsky.social · 5h agoI wrote about the triumph of Doing Your Own Research and the stupid, nasty thing that is replacing some very recent history in real time. defector.com/were-just-go...
The best thing for the franchise would be having a really solid but goofy Bond for a one-off, as a palate cleanser, before trying to jump into the next big iteration. But no one wants to pass up their shot at the big cash.
The Independent@the-independent.com · 9h agoJames Bond producer shares update on 007 casting: ‘It’s got to be really different’
It's especially hard to hear for the older generations of Jews, but this is actually the position that will lead to the best outcomes for Jews the world over. We will be safe and free when everyone is safe and free.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4h agoEl-Sayed: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters. Because if there is one question of political philosophy that ought to animate us all, it's what would we do if we treated all our kids like they were all of our kids?"
Good example of actually thinking through an aspect of folk wisdom.
Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social · 6h agoThe problem with this idea is that it requires that quality/durability of a product grow exponentially with price. E.g.: if you pay $5 for a whatsit, it lasts a year. If you pay $10 for a whatsit, it lasts 3 years. This is an absolute mathematical requirement for the theory to make sense.
Such an insane thing to say. The alternative was not voting for Blanche because he helped design the slush fund, WHICH IS WHAT YOU WERE DOING UNTIL YESTERDAY.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayCornyn: "As to the idea it could be revived in the future, I think it's highly unlikely that could happen without the cooperation of the DOJ. And I think Mr Blanche gave us the assurances that it was dead and would not be revived and in this case we have no alternative but to take his word" 🙃
DSA-aligned Democrats are now the most pro-free-trade voting bloc in the United States, in an incredible turn of events www.theargumentmag.com/p/who-suppor...
Call me crazy, but if a Democratic president had 350 accounts closed by their bank for money laundering it’d be more than a blip in the media
I'm sorry, but this is just so humiliating. Scrounging around in the couch cushions for a winning lotto ticket that you never bought.
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2d agoPENTAGON: Anyone got any ideas? @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2026/08/03/p...
New Yorkers had to subsidize the $117 million that the NYPD paid out for misconduct lawsuits in 2025 alone, even though most of them were never personally abused by a cop. Where's your worried op-ed on that one?
USA TODAY Opinion@usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 2d agoOpinion: Mamdani's idea may sound appealing, but it's NYC taxpayers who will take the hit, subsidizing discounts they may never even use.
What the Iranian attack confirms is that Trump is no longer capable of operating in the real world when it dissents from the Trump as God Emperor narrative. He can't process information that dissents from the narrative. Thus he cannot lead or protect us; and we are in danger bsky.app/profile/did:...
Simon Rosenberg@simonwdc.bsky.social · 4d agoWhere is our government? Trump? DHS Secretary Mullin? Is the American homeland under attack? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/u...
"When an ICE agent is involved in a deadly, high-profile shooting, you should now assume that the government’s initial story is packed with lies—and that the truth will only come out over time as the spotlight fades." [Adrian Carrasquillo, @thebulwark.com] /1
Assume ICE Is Lying
Plus: How many citizens can Trump actually denaturalize?
thebulwark.com
The principal from East Bound and Down wants you to know thinks that rich people move to places with data centers because... you have to get real close to the data to... data it?
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d agoHassett: "Data centers are very good for towns bc they create so many jobs & bring people in with high incomes that can buy houses & stuff like that. So if you take a sleepy town that hasn't seen much in the last 30 years & put a data center there, there are gonna be a bunch of happy residents."
I'm glad this is getting more attention. Should be front page of every news site. The Trumps (plural) are friends with notorious serial rapists, and used the levers of power to try to help them evade justice. It's one of the worst things a President has ever done.
Brian Beutler@brianbeutler.bsky.social · 5d agoWrote about this. www.offmessage.net/p/andrew-tat...
“It’s like a second Epstein scandal, except with the veneer of worldly sophistication and intellectual ferment swapped out for the aesthetics and physicality of a snuff film. In some ways it’s worse.”
Brian Beutler@brianbeutler.bsky.social · 5d agoWrote about this. www.offmessage.net/p/andrew-tat...
If you’re obsessed with the lab leak theory you’re gonna absolutely go wild about this theory that the sitting US president in 2020 helped Xi cover up what was going on with Covid in China and then willingly pumped out propaganda on the internet running cover for the Chinese leader
All the Fauci stuff is a modern day version of the POW/MIA stuff after Vietnam - a way to try to rewrite the history of a huge failure of conservative ideology to be instead a story about how liberals and foreigners stabbed us in the back.
UNPOPULAR OPINION: NAPOLEON WOULD HAVE WON THIS WAR IF OCEANS WERE NOT BATTLEFIELDS
Max P III@blackballer.bsky.social · last wk.The US would have won this war if physical reality was totally different lol
RIP Kavinsky. The DRIVE (2011) title sequence (and prologue) is just one of the most magnetic and successful sequences in movie history and it's impossible to imagine any track other than "Nightcall" in it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc_z...
Drive 4K HDR | Opening Credits Song - Nightcall
YouTube video by Apex Clips
youtube.com
One thing you can see in the latest Stancil blowup is that a sizable share of this website thinks that good intentions are the only thing that matter in policymaking, and expressing skepticism that a policy will really work as intended is equivalent to stealing food from the poor.
I just don't understand how there are no consequences for a Senator going on national television and stating directly that a public official killed millions of people. Like, if that's not defamation, what is? Someone try to impeach him or something. It's crazy making.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.Tuberville: "I'll be the governor of Alabama and I promise you we will find out if there's a possibility that we can bring him to Alabama to put him in front of a court and a jury to see if we can put this guy in prison. He killed millions of people, folks."
Kat’s post here is *literally* “hey dunking on Will gets a lot of RTs so if I do that and then put a fundraising link in the second post it’ll get me more money.” Like it’s that naked. Abuse of one guy as a direct vector of funding.
It’s a problem that people on this platform can ask good faith questions and engender good discussions and then get wrecked by somebody “interpreting” them in the worst light possible and springboarding in the next post into a fundraising request.
Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social · last wk.Man this is awful. This was a sincere question. I was happy with the discussion that came out of it. But I wake up this morning to nonstop abuse, because one of Bluesky’s cult-like figures has (pretty unfairly) attacked me as not understanding people need food. This isn’t good or sustainable!
Yeah, you should absolutely not give this grifter your money.
Kat Abughazaleh@katmabu.bsky.social · last wk.sorry for taking the bait, but if you like feeding people you should check out (and maybe donate a couple bucks!) to my organization Kapow which is integrating mutual aid + direct action in campaigns across the country :) kapow.works
Let’s just be clear that while a lot of Palestine activists operated and operate in good faith in bad circumstances, Sawant was clear that Trump being elected was her best case scenario for 2024
Post-Left Watch@postleftwatch.bsky.social · last wk.Kshama Sawant dismisses the success of DSA candidates winning primaries by saying "We have seen a genocide actually come into existence at the same time that more DSA-nominated, DSA-endorsed people who are being elected" as if those two have any correlation.
Astead shouldn’t have a job anywhere near politics. He’s genuinely one of the dumbest people I’ve ever met. He’s like a fish, he will literally chomp onto any bait.
Daniel Gilmore@gilmored85.bsky.social · last wk.(Borrowed from @nutedawn.bsky.social) Not only is this just an extremely ignorant, social media brained statement, but coming from a political reporter who should absolutely know better about the real limits of "just do stuff," it is extremely cynical and borderline wrecker type shit as well.
that is in fact literally in the bible. it's Matthew 6:5.
Right Wing Watch @rightwingwatch.bsky.social · last wk.Rep. Lauren Boebert insists that public Christian worship events are necessary for America to experience revival: "I don't think that Jesus ever called for any Christian to pray only silently or to keep their faith hidden only in the prayer closet."
Turns out that food companies were only checking their food because the government told them to, which is exactly why we need government regulations.