Doubtful as long as major AI development companies remain in the hands of Rand-influenced technocrats who think the humanities are worthless.

And who is paying for this bailout? Is this where you think your tax dollars should be going?

The Trump administration is considering a bailout for the United Arab Emirates over economic losses sustained as a result of the U.S. war with Iran. President Trump and his family also happen to have extensive business ties with the UAE. trib.al/CpCz4Oc

H.R. 1897 is moving fast in the House and could hit the floor for a full vote as soon as tomorrow. This bill would gut the Endangered Species Act forcing economic impact considerations into listing decisions, limiting your ability to challenge bad science in court,

The Supreme Court will decide when the police can use your phone to track you Chatrie v. United States asks what limits the Constitution places on the surveillance state in an age of cellphones.

(Gift Article)

In 2018, the Supreme Court put limits on the information the government could get from your cellphone provider.

Now a very different Supreme Court will weigh in on unresolved questions that could have significant implications for all of our privacy.

#Pinks
#Privacy

How Elon Musk and the Tech Billionaires Hijacked the State and Our Minds Historian Quinn Slobodian tells that Elon Musk's rise tells a deeper story—of fortunes built on state power, and a new politics where humans are treated less as citizens than as systems to be optimised

📌 ICYMI — How Elon Musk and the Tech Billionaires Hijacked the State and Our Minds

Historian Quinn Slobodian tells that Elon Musk's rise tells a deeper story—of fortunes built on state power, and a new politics where humans are treated less as citizens than as systems to be optimised

Yesterday, 8 children were killed in Louisiana in the deadliest U.S. mass shooting since 2024.

Today is the 27th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, where 13 lives were taken.

Oh, and FOX News brainwashing a segment of the population for 30 years. Rupert Murdoch has done untold damage to democracy.

I did. I lived through Reagan being elected *twice*. That was enough to clue me in.

Vast infusion of oligarchal $$ thanks to Citizens United. Tea Party led to RW takeover of state parties which led to relatively sane Republicans (e.g. McCain) being primaried and the rest falling into line out of fear of same.

I guess they've forgotten it was the draft what did for LBJ and Nixon (as much as Watergate) and radicalized an entire generation of youth, esp. the working class young men they are courting (cf Born on the Fourth of July).

Is AI solving problems or just creating new ones?

Exactly what Nigel and Reform would say!

He gets the clicks.

Not so. It's much more shallow now, to accommodate reduced attention spans and more competitive media environment.

OMFG I had to go and check that this ACTUALLY happened.

Since when does the BBC ever do chyrons with a political party's branding, rather than their own? Not to mention this is during a pre-election campaign purdah.

(h/t @iainsol.bsky.social)

Behind Trump’s Public Bravado on the War, He Grapples With His Own Fears The president’s impulsive style has never been tested in a sustained military conflict, and he’s been ruminating on Jimmy Carter’s failure in Iran.

It doesn't say so explicitly, but this WSJ piece is basically a detailed accounting of just how catastrophically bad Trump is at his job, specifically the "waging a war" part. Every detail is just incredibly damning. What an embarrassment.

#UScomplicit

Site of the new Trump casino and resort.

"...to an incredibly important diplomatic position" as an ambassador to a country headed up by an even closer friend and client of a child trafficker.

Who Funds Nigel Farage? Mapping His Millions Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is the highest-paid Member of Parliament. In less than two years as the MP for Clacton, Farage has racked up £2 million in personal income and gifts, on top of his £94,00...

Aside from millions earned grifting to undermine the UK while he's supposed to be an MP, this shows Farage has received £𝟐𝟕𝟎,𝟐𝟒𝟖 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬.

Didn't the entire British press lose their mind when Starmer received an expensive suit & some gig tickets for his family?

www.desmog.com/2026/04/18/m...

A "dark turn"? Who didn't think a cover for bribes wasn't the exact purpose of the library from Day 1?

And you should arrive "at" the airport, ffs.

Not just AOC. Plus Waltz goes there and uses the F-word (no, not that one). bsky.app/profile/peip...

Faculty Defect From Texas Publics, Citing Censorship Fed up with the state’s censoring of Plato, Joan of Arc and Romeo and Juliet, humanities professors are leaving Texas public institutions in pursuit of academic freedom.

'Texas A&M philosophy professor Martin Peterson is leaving the university after administrators told him in January that he couldn’t teach Plato’s Symposium in his philosophy class; they said the ancient Greek philosopher’s work violated the system’s restrictions on gender and sexuality content.' 1/3

We’re defending Western Civilization by kicking Plato and Shakespeare out of university classes.

how ridiculous for Tampa Bay Lightning fans to chant "USA, USA" last night against Montreal Canadians? Montreal has more USA born players than Tampa, and Tampa has more than half its team from Canada.

I'll simply say again that for Shlaes to resurface in The Economist at this moment is an indicator of an ambient concern that Rooseveltian policies and politics are increasingly likely. The thing about the New Deal is, it was *immensely popular.* That's terrifying to certain people

Bastards.

We Need to Prepare for the Mammoth Task of De-Trumpification The damage he and his cronies have wrought could take decades to repair, particularly when it comes to science and public health.

The task of de-Trumpification of science and public health will take a generation and a "Marshall Plan" to rebuild. Without a bold, expansive vision to guide us, there is no coming back. Small-bore, poll-tested versions of the future will not help us. www.thenation.com/article/soci...