The US may never recover from this. Germany certainly hasn't.

"Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades" www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

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Look for the local Riverkeeper(s). They enlist citizens in water quality monitoring.

“I will not yield to disrespectful men.” - Rep. @aoc.bsky.social

Wild: House bill would strip courts of contempt enforcement power In the ongoing public discussion about whether the courts will try to rein in the Trump administration’s lawlessness, or will prevail in a resulting showdown if they do, the story that follows has bee...

Buried in the House's 1,000-page tax-and-budget bill: a provision banning federal judges from enforcing contempt of court rulings over a wide range of court orders open.substack.com/pub/walterol...

Big Donald Is Watching You: Sliding into autocracy under Trump 2.0 A giant banner featuring Donald Trump’s photo just went up at the front of the Department of Agriculture. A military parade is being planned for his birthday, which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. His cabinet members shower him with praise every time they have a meeting. These are not the kinds of things that normally happen in the United States. It’s more in line with how autocratic leaders display their power in oppressive nations like North Korea and Iran to constantly remind people who’s in charge. But now that it’s starting to happen here, we have to acknowledge it and recognize it as a sign that America is sliding into autocracy.

A giant banner of Trump is now ominously hanging at the front of the Dept. of Agriculture. It's not the kind of thing American presidents do. It's more in line with what you typically see in places like North Korea -- and it's the latest sign that America might be sliding into autocracy. #Velshi

After Cuts, a Kentucky Weather Office Scrambles for Staffing as Severe Storms Bear Down

9 people were killed in a tornado last night in KY. The NWS office responsible for that area has faced some of the most extreme cuts by the Trump administration, including the loss of overnight forecasting.

Last night, they were rushing to find help for the office.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/w...

151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin A very quick breakdown of Friday afternoon's quietly significant ruling slapping down the lower courts in the Northern District of Texas Alien Enemies Act litigation—and what it means going forward.

For "One First," I took a deeper dive into Friday afternoon's *very* significant #SCOTUS Alien Enemies Act ruling—including why it effectively freezes AEA removals for the foreseeable future and its (much) broader potential impact on *all* attempts to bring nationwide challenges to Trump policies:

Coincidentally, when my daughter was a toddler, she used to literally make demands of the wind and the sun. (“Tell the sun to come up!” “No wind, stop blowing.”)

You probably have seen this week's news release from MIT, after a review, expressing "no confidence in the provenance, reliability or validity of the data and in the veracity of the research." economics.mit.edu/news/assurin...

Northeastern freshmen named Big Balls?

The best responses I’ve seen dig down to what profs really want students to learn through writing, and are structured to enable that.

(My approach so far has been to lean on, and then personally check, outlines and pin cites. This will evolve.)

DOGE Is Now Targeting GAO, and the Congressional Agency Is Fighting Back “We are not subject to DOGE or executive orders,” GAO staff were told in an internal email sent Friday.

Breaking news:

DOGE is now targeting the Government Accountability Office, a congressional agency.

GAO is fighting back: "We are not subject to DOGE or executive orders."

@notusreports.bsky.social obtained the email detailing what's happening, sent just an hour ago.

www.notus.org/congress/dog...

Really good point.

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Well, this is a hell of a metaphor for generative AI

Unmasking MrDeepFakes: Canadian Pharmacist Linked to World’s Most Notorious Deepfake Porn Site - bellingcat Double life: open source investigation reveals Canadian hospital pharmacist's links to MrDeepFakes, the most notorious deepfake porn website in the world.

Our latest investigation, with @tjekdet.dk , @politiken.dk and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reveals the real identity of the man behind Mr Deepfake, the notorious site where non-consensual deepfake pornography is published
www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05...

The Dark Side of AI Companionship: A Taxonomy of Harmful Algorithmic Behaviors in Human-AI Relationships | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Posting this to highlight the good work being done in the scholarly community on these advances even as they are hawked by e.g., a protagonist of Careless People. Scholars are already creating work that can be the starting point of important conversations around this and other tech.

In an example of perfect timing, this paper exploring the downsides of AI "companionship" is being presented at CHI 25 as we speak.

Nicely stated. And so, drinking the koolaid is exactly the overlap in the Venn diagram of MAGA and Big Tech.

Senator Markey laying down signs on Capitol Hill lawn

Grid of 100 actions Trump has done in 100 days on signs laid out on Capitol Hill lawn

Close up photos of signs labeled with Trump’s actions in 100 days

Trump’s first 100 days are a blueprint of cruelty, chaos, and corruption. We put it all on display—because silence is complicity, and we choose action.

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Inspector General Probes Whether Trump, DOGE Sought Private Taxpayer Information or Sensitive IRS Material The request, spelled out in an email obtained by ProPublica, comes amid concerns that DOGE has overstepped its bounds in seeking highly restricted private information about taxpayers, public employees...

Prof. @daniellecitron.bsky.social says the Trump administration’s plan for blanket interagency data-sharing runs afoul of the Privacy Act. @propublica.org

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Click-through non-consent agreements.

Opinion | Many Big Law Firms Shun Conservative Clients They denounce Trump for targeting causes he opposes, but they’re guilty of the same thing.

The accusation here—that Big Law is hypocritical for complaining about the EOs—is specious and misleading.

Law firms have a 1st amendment right to free association. They can pick their clients, and law partners.

Trump violates that right when he tries to punish them for their past choices.

About Us Hello! We are Rebecca Melsky and Eva St. Clair, the co-founders of Princess Awesome & Boy Wonder. It’s nice to meet you! We live in Washington, DC, and run our little company from our laptops and ...

Even better when you read their backstory. (Two DC moms creating dresses with space, cars & trucks, and other non-stereotypically girly prints for their kids and other kids to wear.)

"The president has no power to set federal election policy." — Eliza Sweren-Becker
Read: bit.ly/4izsJHm