Stephen A. Rhodes
@stephenarhodes.bsky.social
Lover of democracy. Proud Appalachian (living in RVA). Progressive Democrat. Seeker of a more just society. Writer. Reader. Doodler. Indivisible. Dog Lover. CFS/ME. He/Him. Sic semper tyrannis.
I saw Spider-Man Brand New Day with my wife yesterday. It was wonderful. I think that it may be the best Spider-Man movie yet.
Happiest of birthdays to former President Barack Obama who turns 65 today.
Susan Collins is financed by a man who wants to make it easier to create nude pictures of children
Portland Press Herald@pressherald.com · 2w agoElon Musk planning to throw financial support behind Susan Collins’ U.S. Senate bid
"Stockpiles are rapidly depleting." "This pace of draws cannot persist ad infinitum.” Stored oil is at a “precariously low” level... "far lower than expected." "... eroding America’s ability to be the supplier of last resort." www.ft.com/content/86f3...
US oil inventories fall to ‘precariously low’ level as Iran war disrupts supply
Decline could erode ability to supply Asian and European markets dependent on supplies from the Middle East
ft.com
I got Covid before there were vaccines. I wouldn’t wish that illness on anyone. It was a brutal illness. Many of those who were in the hospital often died. The covid vaccines worked. Everyone should be grateful for them I stand with Dr. Fauci.
“Even as a toddler, I’m awed by the mountains.” Emilee Hackney traces family history alongside the rise and fall of the Appalachian coal industry.
What It Means to Come From Appalachian Coal Country
In one of my earliest memories, I’m shrinking. I’m in the back seat of my parents’ car, face pressed against the window, straining to see the peaks of the mountains outside. The road we’re driving …
buff.ly
"It’s been 10 years since the publication of “Hillbilly Elegy,” by Vice President JD Vance, and we finally have an Appalachian memoir worthy of its origins, by a Gen Z writer — an eighth-generation Appalachian — who is too smart, and too authentically of her place, to reinscribe stereotypes."
Book Review: ‘All That’s Unseen,’ by Emilee Hackney (Gift Article)
“All That’s Unseen,” by Emilee Hackney, an eighth-generation Appalachian, offers a portrait both loving and cleareyed of the region that formed her.
nytimes.com
Rave Review for ‘All That’s Unseen,’ by (my former student) Emilee Hackney - The New York Times. COngratulations! www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/b...
Book Review: ‘All That’s Unseen,’ by Emilee Hackney
“All That’s Unseen,” by Emilee Hackney, an eighth-generation Appalachian, offers a portrait both loving and cleareyed of the region that formed her.
nytimes.com
I don’t care if they are made by Apple — they’re still pervert glasses used to undermine privacy.
Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · 2w agoApple’s upcoming smart glasses have a major challenge in front of them: overcoming the privacy baggage for a category that Meta created.
Just no to ALL smart or AI glasses. Nothing is truly private with them — they all are surveillance plain and simple.
The Verge@theverge.com · 2w agoApple is banking on privacy to set its smart glasses apart
I just learned that 15 new data centers are being built in my county of Henrico, Virginia. I haven’t seen that this has been publicly announced. Almost all of them will be in the east end of the county which amounts to environmental racism. I’m livid.
Trump is supporting Saudi Arabia in their quest to enrich uranium for nuclear power and possibly weapons, while leading us in a war against Iran because of their own efforts to develop nuclear energy. Remembering that 15 out of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, and none were from Iran
Pack the courts, DC and PR statehood, and prosecutions for corruption and self-dealing are the starting point or gtfo "Anyone who has lived through the past 18 months and still thinks it is too dangerous to retaliate with everything we have is someone who cannot be trusted to lead us to victory."
Dead Carl@deadcarl.bsky.social · 3w agoPeacetime politics involves less physical danger than war, but it has some dangers in common: both require what Clausewitz calls “moral courage” by which he means the willingness to accept risks and moral responsibility. This is what I saw lacking on that panel. 1/🧵
What it means: (1) We're carrying out a campaign focused on destruction of civilian infrastructure, and we feel no need to explain that this is not a war crime because we have legitimate military targets (read: we have none); and (2) we don't want the American people thinking about any of this.
NEW: A 5-year-old girl spent months in federal immigration custody here in Connecticut while her family waited for her release. Her case isn’t unique, experts and court records show. My latest w/ @jrabethomas.bsky.social at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky
5-year-old spent 118 days on her own in federal immigration custody in CT
On any given day there are more than two dozen immigrant children detained without a parent or guardian in programs run by Connecticut nonprofits.
ctinsider.com
Ken Paxton recently bought 3 Utah luxury condos worth $1.6 million. He then put them in a blind trust that shares an address with the Dallas home he appears to be sharing with a woman who is not his wife.
Ken Paxton Bought 3 Utah Condos, Adding to a $9 Million Real Estate Portfolio
The Texas attorney general and his trusts now hold at least 15 properties worth about $9 million.
nytimes.com
Truer words were never spoken. @olivia.science I think you'll like this if you haven't read it already.
Whatever actually happened in Maine, this much is clear Immigrants aggressively chased by goons in unmarked vehicles know instinctively that if they stop a) their family will be broken forever and b) they're headed to a gulag where folks die from neglect So they panic And ICE murders them
Deeply saddened to learn of the loss of my dear friend Satan, the Prince of Lies. Though we often disagreed about matters such as the appropriate role of torture in the afterlife, I will most remember how his quick wit and affable nature made our weekly golf outings a ritual. He will be missed.
I'm re-re-posting this significant article: "The open-source archive now contains more than 500,000 digitized photographs, identification papers, diaries, maps, films, and letters, many of which were collected directly from Palestinian families and might otherwise have been lost forever."
How Palestinians Are Building a Digital Archive That Can’t Be Erased
Distributed backups, cyber resilience, and a half-million records are preserving Palestinian history beyond any single building or border.
wired.com
it's also a warning to the left. there will be some incentives not to focus on defeating fascism, I think. they should resist those incentives and focus on crushing fascism.
centrists can whine about that or they can work to actually defeat fascists. acting as if the left is more dangerous than the fascists is not going to convince anyone you're looking to defeat the fascists.