Today is a good day to follow news outlets that take a stand against Generative AI slop (this is a living document, please send recs!) go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT
Joseph Britt
@zathras5.bsky.social
Wisconsin and the world. Opinions my own. Once a Republican.
Even during a period when the expression “dumbest thing I’ve ever seen” gets redefined on a daily basis, “Trump battleships” stand out. They’re the Navy’s answer to incessant White House demands to name things after Trump, but CBO has done a budget analysis anyway. Via @kingstonareif.bsky.social
Kingston Reif@kingstonareif.bsky.social · 5h ago"The total cost of the Navy's new nuclear-powered battleship program would be about $275 billion (in 2026 dollars) over the 2027–2056 period."
Sources to @cnn.com: the United States hasn’t spent a third of its total supply of THAAD interceptors against Iran, as previously reported—it’s closer to four fifths. @halbritz.bsky.social, @jimsciutto.bsky.social, and Zachary Cohen: edition.cnn.com/2026/08/04/p...
Nearly 80% of interceptors for a key missile defense system depleted, sources say | CNN Politics
The US military has exhausted nearly 80% of its interceptors for a key missile defense system as senior US military commanders are warning that the Pentagon’s munitions stockpile is “dangerously low,”...
edition.cnn.com
The destruction of the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park has begun. #bigbend #nationalparks #publiclands #protectpubliclands #bigbendnationalpark
The Bulldozers Have Arrived in Big Bend National Park
Contractors are grading roads and surveying the Rio Grande corridor even as lawmakers, outfitters, and residents plead for basic answers about a $1.7 billion border barrier project
ourpubliclandsandwaters.substack.com
Michigan Senate primary called for Abdul El-Sayed. He will face Trump Republican Mike Rogers in November. Via @phillewis.bsky.social
Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 14h agoWASHINGTON (AP) — Abdul El-Sayed wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Thread. “Competing interpretations” is a generous description. American and Iranian negotiators are not talking directly to one another. Both look over their shoulders: the Iranians at different factions within Iranian security services, the Americans at Trump. Via @criticalthreats.bsky.social
Critical Threats Project@criticalthreats.bsky.social · 14h agoMORE | US officials and Iranian negotiators continue to present competing interpretations of the emerging arrangement on the Strait of Hormuz.
Wisconsin story. In the weeds of state government: the idea of breaking up the Department of Natural Resources is periodically promoted by Republicans who want to starve natural resource management. GOP candidate for governor Tom Tiffany is trying again this year. civicmedia.us/news/2026/08...
Tom Tiffany pushes extreme Wisconsin DNR break up plan opposed by Republican officials - Civic Media
Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany proposed splitting the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, claiming it would be better for sportsmen. However, the plan is opposed by con...
civicmedia.us
Wisconsin story. In the weeds of state government: the idea of breaking up the Department of Natural Resources is periodically promoted by Republicans who want to starve natural resource management. GOP candidate for governor Tom Tiffany is trying again this year. civicmedia.us/news/2026/08...
Tom Tiffany pushes extreme Wisconsin DNR break up plan opposed by Republican officials - Civic Media
Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany proposed splitting the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, claiming it would be better for sportsmen. However, the plan is opposed by con...
civicmedia.us
Boat Strikes: "A careful review of the available evidence suggests that the United States has killed individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking,” writes @kaine.senate.gov. “They are murder victims.”
Kaine Presses President on Military Strikes in Caribbean and Pacific, Calls for Accountability | U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, sent a letter to...
kaine.senate.gov
What does “fighting Donald Trump” mean? For some Congressional Democrats, it appears to mean something that happens after this November’s election. Until then, don’t rock the boat — certainly not on appropriations. @brianbeutler.bsky.social disapproves. www.offmessage.net/p/senate-dem...
Senate Democrats Dodge Last Pre-Election Opportunity To Fight Trump
They won't take a big stand to protect the election, or resist Trump's broader lawlessness, before the midterms.
offmessage.net
"But the farce shouldn’t obscure the gravity—perhaps the purest instance of totalitarian abuse of the Trump years: the government cast a private citizen with no quarrel with Trump and no connection to the pool as the villain of a fiction, and moved to put him in prison for years."
Reflecting Pool Case: A Kafkaesque Debacle Even After the Dismissal
The dismissal of the Reflecting Pool prosecution was a forced retreat, and it leaves an ugly injustice unremedied. Plus, Talking Feds Substack hits 250 posts.
harrylitman.substack.com
It would probably take too long to explain on social media why this kind of thing drives me nuts. Congress started trying to protect prairie pothole wetlands at least since the Conservation Title of the 1985 Farm Bill. It has been successful! Trumpers at Fish and Wildlife want to muck it up.
FactPost@factpostnews.bsky.social · 2d agoIt would probably take too long to explain on social media why this kind of thing drives me nuts. Congress started trying to protect prairie pothole wetlands at least since the Conservation Title of the 1985 Farm Bill. It has been successful! Trumpers at Fish and Wildlife want to muck it up.
FactPost@factpostnews.bsky.social · 2d agoICE kills another detainee. Miller, Homan, & Mullin must love this stuff. Delaney Hall is a detention facility in New Jersey, hence this report from NJ Congressman @menendez.house.gov
Rep. Rob Menendez@menendez.house.gov · 2d agoWe just got back from Delaney Hall and we can confirm that Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo died on Saturday while in ICE’s custody. More on what we heard today at Delaney:
Incidentally, there is no way in which Todd Blanche ought to be running the Department of Justice. No circumstances, no situation. He is Trump’s lawyer; he is at Justice only to serve Trump.
If one believes that nothing about a tax amnesty for Trump and his family or a slush fund for Trump’s rioters is legitimate, one might see conceding any of it as a surrender to Trump. This is @harrylitman.bsky.social’s view. I agree with it. Cornyn and Tillis were just putting on a show.
Harry Litman@harrylitman.bsky.social · 2d agoThe Blanche statement that likely now secures his confirmation does nothing to abrogate Trump’s rights in the slush fund and perpetuates the outrageous tax amnesty for Trump and family, which the American people are paying for without getting anything in return. It’s all lip service and a travesty.
Three wildfires are burning in the Spokane area, destroying hundreds of structures and forcing tens of thousands from their homes. Here's what you need to know.
Here's what we know about the Spokane wildfires
seattletimes.com
When times get tough, Wisconsinites roll up our sleeves and get to work. Thank you to all the helpers who are showing up for our neighbors. This is what the Year of the Neighbor is all about, and this is what Wisconsin is all about. www.wpr.org/news/how-peo...
Here is how people are helping those impacted by tornado that ripped through Menasha area
A relief drive in Milwaukee County is just one way Wisconsinities are lending a helping hand to those impacted by the EF-3 tornado, which caused widespread damage.
wpr.org
The Spokane community is really stepping up to look after our friends and neighbors during these devastating fires. Here are just some of the resources available to help. Please share this information with anyone who might need it.
Not just shelter: Where to get free childcare, meals, showers and more as wildfires ravage Spokane
Many agencies and groups are offering free help for people affected by the wildfires raging throughout the Spokane area.
spokesman.com
If one believes that nothing about a tax amnesty for Trump and his family or a slush fund for Trump’s rioters is legitimate, one might see conceding any of it as a surrender to Trump. This is @harrylitman.bsky.social’s view. I agree with it. Cornyn and Tillis were just putting on a show.
Harry Litman@harrylitman.bsky.social · 2d agoThe Blanche statement that likely now secures his confirmation does nothing to abrogate Trump’s rights in the slush fund and perpetuates the outrageous tax amnesty for Trump and family, which the American people are paying for without getting anything in return. It’s all lip service and a travesty.
Finally got around to reading @climatecabineteducation.org's "Taming Data Center Turmoil" report that came out last month. This is one of, if not the, clearest and most practical guides to state and local policymaking around data center energy use.
Taming Data Center Turmoil - Climate Cabinet Education
A new data center decision making approach for policymakers to protect consumers, the economy, and the climate.
climatecabineteducation.org
I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.
Weekend listen: Isaiah, morality, and modern American politics. Thoughtful discussion by @warnock.senate.gov and @harrylitman.bsky.social of America’s “deep spiritual problem.” podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Raphael Warnock Makes the Moral Case Against Trump
Podcast Episode · Talking Feds · July 30 · 32m
podcasts.apple.com
Question: how many Republicans in Congress are wife-beaters? Do any Republicans in Congress feel strongly about men who hit their wives (& children)? Trump voters may not care — look who they put in the White House. But I’m sure other Americans would like to know. (Via @marisakabas.bsky.social)
Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 4d agoa republican congressman allegedly broke his two-year-old daughter's collarbone and he somehow hasn't been run out of congress. there really is no bridge too far for these ghouls.
Thread. Prudent note of caution from @aphclarkson.bsky.social about the Persian Gulf war. The Iranian government needs more than just defiance; it can get a deal that gives Iran more than it does the US, but Iran will need to concede something.
Alexander Clarkson@aphclarkson.bsky.social · 4d agoBut also worth noting that Americans won't call off their blockade until the Iranians provide enough concessions for Trump or whoever follows him to save face Until the Iranian regime works out where it can concede a bit, we'll get cycles of escalating attacks, panicked phone calls, rinse repeat
Further thread on the wildfires encroaching on Spokane, WA. Large residential neighborhoods are burning. Via @awrylilyana.bsky.social
Lilyana 🥀@awrylilyana.bsky.social · 4d agoWe are approaching worst-case scenario www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
Thread. @eliothiggins.bsky.social is not the only one to have this insight, but he has tracked Trump closely enough that his judgement should be given extra weight: Trump posts weird images and long rants on social media most often when he is in distress. I’ll add only one thing….
Eliot Higgins@eliothiggins.bsky.social · 4d agoTrump having a normal one today
Just imagine this: a President, having just left office after losing an election, has accounts with a major bank closed after a review that suggested money laundering. This would be a career-ending scandal in most democracies. A footnote to history in the US. apple.news/Ad-ypSGfPRdG...
Capital One says it closed Trump Organization’s accounts after anti-money-laundering review — Guardian US
Disclosure from 2021 investigation marks first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to Donald Trump
apple.news
Long thread by @spokanerising.com on wildfires spreading rapidly into the city of Spokane, WA. Drought and high winds have combined to weaken local defenses against fire while enabling it to spread more rapidly.
Spokane Rising@spokanerising.com · 4d agoHoly crap. Level 3 (GO NOW!) zone now includes urban Spokane, south of Francis to Wellesley. Level 2 (GET SET!) zone now extends east of Division. Not to be alarmist, but at this rate, it’s not inconceivable that the Old Trails Fire merges with the Fairview Fire.
Thread. @eliothiggins.bsky.social is not the only one to have this insight, but he has tracked Trump closely enough that his judgement should be given extra weight: Trump posts weird images and long rants on social media most often when he is in distress. I’ll add only one thing….
Eliot Higgins@eliothiggins.bsky.social · 4d agoTrump having a normal one today