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Ancient Seahorse

@ancientseahorse.bsky.social
1.1K followers 2K following 201 posts

Read lots, post little

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Reposted by Ancient Seahorse
Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 11h
It’s notable to me that TWO of the most recent women who have won a NoBel Prize were denied tenure from their institutions: Anne Carson and Katalin Karikó
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Xela Hart @xelahart.bsky.social · 11h
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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 22h
“If you don’t like public executions just don’t watch it” says the crowd trying to ban drag shows and books
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Rebecca Spang @rlspang.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
As species disappear (are disappeared), they become “heritage” and, eventually, signs of value
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John C @badsocialism.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The cornerstones of modern reactionary politics are "the world isn't like how it was when I was 16" and "my kids don't talk to me anymore" and it's kind of nice they're just saying all that out loud now
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Katja Diehl @katjadiehl.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Analysis of data on over 600,000 collisions shows children 82% more likely to be killed if struck by an SUV or LTV rather than smaller vehicle" www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/n...
lshtm.ac.uk
Being hit by an SUV increases the likelihood of death or serious injury | LSHTM
The likelihood of a pedestrian or cyclist being fatally injured is 44% higher if they are hit by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) or light truck vehicle (LTV) compared with smaller passenger cars, new
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rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
a little louder for the cheap seats in the back
One of the biggest myths is that men rape by mistake. Like, "Oh, they need consent training." But research is very clear: Sexual violence is not a mistake. It is an intentionally made decision by people who know they don't have consent. They just don't prioritize consent over things like status, power, domination, and sexual gratification.
For my research, I got a certificate of confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health, so my notes couldn't be subpoenaed. One of the reasons I call them perpetrators in my work is because every single person I interviewed confessed in that context. The first question I would ask them was, "When you received that email from Title IX that you were under investigation, did you know what it was about?" Every perpetrator I interviewed said "yes." If sexual assault were a miscommunication, you would be wondering, What have I possibly done wrong? That is not the way that any of them reacted because they knew.
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Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The IceCube neutrino detector has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics. The Trump administration has proposed slashing its budget in half in 2027.
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Jane Coaston @janecoaston.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I'm writing something about this but a major flaw of the right-wing movement is the clear and obvious belief that racism, homophobia and misogyny are *correct*, but unpopular. so the most "forbidden" voices are obviously *right*, but voters aren't ready for it yet. This whole thing is an example.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 06/10/2026
interesting that conservatives were militantly “we must reward hustle” when the target was affirmative action at elite universities and now, when faced with the success of south asians and other groups, it is “i think we are too meritocratic”
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#TeslaTakedown @teslatakedown.com · 23/09/2026
Elon is now above $16,000,000 spent on the mid-terms. Top races so far: -$5,174,007.32 in TX against @jamestalarico.bsky.social -$3,193,553.94 in OH against @sherrodbrownoh.bsky.social -$3,092,319.94 in MI against @abdulelsayed.bsky.social
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
In addition to spending less money and making fewer new grants, SBE also dramatically narrowed where it made those new grants. Areas such as economics, sociology, and archaeology received few to no grants.
Grantmaking gutted
The National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) awarded far fewer new awards than typical in fiscal year 2026—just 91. (The fiscal year runs from 1 October to 30 September.) Most of the new grants focused on cognitive science and artificial intelligence, in alignment with White House priorities; offices that support fields such as economics, sociology, and research ethics, as well as postdoctoral fellowships, awarded no grants at all.
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Justice Connection @justiceconnection.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Jill Fields refused to participate in what she says was an unconstitutional FBI probe of protesters. Now the former FBI supervisor and Justice Connection FBI advisory board member is blowing the whistle on the White House pressure behind it.
nbcnews.com
FBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protesters
The former analyst says supervisors were told not to put things in writing, so many of the directives came in face-to-face meetings.
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FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Paramount has closed its $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Billionaire David Ellison now controls: —CNN —CBS —HBO —Paramount —Warner Bros —Discovery —Skydance —Showtime —DC Studios —Nickelodeon —Cartoon Network —Food Network —MTV —Comedy Central —HGTV —TBS —TLC
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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 06/10/2026
He went bankrupt from sports betting and swore it off. Then an ad offered him $20 to try a prediction market. Then he was more than $25K in the red and borrowing money from his mother. Calling it a prediction market doesn’t change the reality: it’s gambling and should be regulated that way.
npr.org
After bankruptcy, he was banned from sports betting sites. Then he discovered Kalshi
The dark side of the prediction market boom is becoming more clear: Experts say the sites have become go-to outlets for gambling addicts to relapse as the companies avoid state consumer protections.
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Aaron Blackshear @aaronblackshear.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
If Budweiser was trying to identify individual alcoholics and send them personalized "Chuck, you haven't had a drink in a while, here's a free case on us" ads we would rightfully call for them to be drawn and quartered
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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
“Buy my book about how I was terrible at my job and should have stood up to Trump more” is going to be a regular sales pitch over the next few years.
pbs.org
Sen. Tillis says his vote for Hegseth was 'biggest regret of my career' in new book
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis says in a new book that his deciding vote to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in January 2025 is the “biggest regret of my career” and that he also “should’ve stopped...
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Sam Bergman @violanorth.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I used to feel like half my time as an orchestra musician was spent patiently explaining, over and over, that no, orchestras have never in history paid for themselves through ticket sales; no, cutting concerts or auxiliary trumpets won't balance the books; YOU JUST HAVE TO RAISE THE MONEY.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Oh look, US National Science Foundation-supported science won the Nobel Prize in physics.
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Max Roser @maxroser.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The share of children who died before they were 5 years old in 1950 and 75 years later. Africa: 33% ↘ 6% Asia: 25% ↘ 2.5% Oceania: 9.3% ↘ 2% Latin America: 21% ↘ 1.5% Northern America: 3.8% ↘ 0.6% Europe: 10.5% ↘ 0.4% Globally: 23% ↘ 3.5%
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Texas Pediatricians Face Paxton Investigations for Vaccinating Children www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/h...
nytimes.com
Texas Pediatricians Face Paxton Investigations for Vaccinating Children
Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and Republican Senate candidate, has alleged a sprawling profit-driven conspiracy. Pediatricians say the accusations are an attempt at intimidation.
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Micah @rincewind.run · 05/10/2026
the reason these people need to be stripped of almost all of their money is so that they stop thinking that it gives them the right to nominate themselves for the "benevolent dictator" position
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 05/10/2026
And when (not if) these pervert glasses get hooked up to facial recognition, they will become high-volume doxing factories that will reward the attention-hungry with viral fame.
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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Got political mail? Go to paidforby.info For federal races, you'll immediately get detailed information about who is behind the mail and their donors. And all uploaded mail will be reviewed by an independent journalist. (It also works for ads on TV and YouTube.)
paidforby.info
Who paid for this?
Find out who really paid for political mailers and TV ads.
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Americans for Tax Fairness @4taxfairness.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Meta has been writing off their investment in AI data centers as "research & experimentation" for two years. It's allowed them to avoid $4 BILLION in taxes. Any tax code that allows a mega-corporation to scheme out of a $4 BILLION tax bill while our economy tanks is BROKEN.
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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"South Korea has already run the experiment. Its law requires the National Assembly to vote on presidential impeachment by anonymous ballot, and that rule has now removed two presidents." [@andycraig.bsky.social]
theunpopulist.net
A Democratic Senate Should Adopt Secret Impeachment Ballots on a Priority Basis
Such a change, requiring no constitutional amendment, would free senators to vote their judgment instead of their fears
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Country rube stuff 101: if they talk fast, they got their hands in your pocket.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science: For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
nytimes.com
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
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Erin J. Wamsley 🧠📈😴 @wamsleylab.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The fiscal year is over. The dying Social, Behavioral, and Economic division of NSF ended up awarding 90 total grants this year, as opposed to ~700-800 in recent past years. Source: grantwitness.org/nsf/analyses...
The graph shows the cumulative number of awards made by month across this fiscal year, as compared to the last 6 fiscal years. The line for this year is total flat until June, but then finally gets up to 91 by October. In prior years the increase starts building earlier and ends on average in the 700-800 range (with variability, last year was only between 400-500).
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I'd rather have an economy that makes 1,000 millionaires than 1 billionaire.
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Waldo Jaquith @waldo.net · 02/10/2026
I am simply saying that LLMs shouldn’t be given any rights the U.S. military wouldn’t give to fisherman in the Gulf.
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Kevin @reginageorgebush.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Texas is basically saying it wants to encourage fraud as a matter of public policy and you should keep that in mind whenever you see a large firm incorporated in Texas
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Peter Eibich @peibich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I get that we often think of survey data mainly as data and having more data at lower cost seems great, but at a very fundamental level we run surveys because we want to know what people think. If we don't care enough about people's views to ask actual people, why bother at all?
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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Pew tested AI synthetic surveys against actual survey data. Conclusion: “This experiment taught us that, at this time, AI models are not an adequate replacement for traditional polling on topics of broad public importance.” This is an all time bad idea. No need to hedge with “at this time.”
pewresearch.org
Can AI Stand In for Human Survey-Takers? Not Really
Synthetic surveys using digital twins do a poor job estimating the public mood and are especially error-prone for some subgroups, including Republicans and Black adults.
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Josh Lappen @jlappen1.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
In the year I've been working w/ air pollution regulators on data center on-site emissions, I've seen almost no acknowledgement of this trend from energy-side advocates of data center buildout. This isn't just bad actors-it's a corporate playbook and a roadmap to a future of unconstrained emissions.
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maura quint @mauraquint.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yes every woman has been harassed, many assaulted. But every woman has also experienced invisible loss from moments she avoided harassment. She felt a space becoming unsafe, so she left, while men stayed on. And in leaving, she lost: opportunities, experiences, learning, promotions, even simply fun.
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Hillary Monahan @hillarymonahan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If the argument for women should know better than to go into a rape den like a frat house, explain to me why a rape house like a fraternity is allowed to exist at all.
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Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Americans have never been angrier with one another. But polarization is not the disease—it is the response to a revanchist movement seeking to roll back sixty years of social progress. 🆕 by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
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Money Power Politics with Stephanie Ruhle @moneypowerpolitics.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A New York Times report reveals that Meta is telling the IRS that their A.I. data centers are a giant experiment or “pilot models” allowing the company trim almost $4 billion off its tax bill last year. #meta #irs #tax #money #a.i. #datacenter #markzuckerberg
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As Voltaire said, the essential function of government in the modern age is redistribution of wealth from a disfavored class to a favored class. This chart shows the view of the post-1980 GOP, which has favored the wealthiest 1% of Americans and disfavored everyone else.
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Sam Brody @samuelhayimbrody.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Thread on the idea of a “perfect victim” of rape and the damage this does to real people
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Micah @rincewind.run · 01/10/2026
good the court has upended the rights and freedom of millions of people and declared donald trump of all people an untouchable god-king whose every feeling must be coddled they deserve to be miserable
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NYTimes: affirmative action for mediocre editors angry at MeToo @originalist.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"by getting the public to associate hippies with marijuana and blacks, then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could vilify them night after night on the news, arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break their meetings. Did we know we were lying? Of course we did"
en.wikipedia.org
Southern strategy - Wikipedia
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Wild that he gets this coverage after he packed the Utah Supreme Court in order to try to prevent it from enforcing a referendum-passed gerrymandering ban to steal a congressional seat for the GOP (and disenfranchise his state's largest city)
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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
stop treating the culture wars as an exogenous shock. political actors made strategic choices to create and weaponize them. they are not a curious weather condition public schools failed to dress appropriately for.
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Mike J @mikejason.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Idaho has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. Too bad their "pro life" agenda does not extend to kids.
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
What I find striking about every one of these “politics are too hostile” takes, is that the emphasis is always on the people with higher standards to lower them to allow violence at the table. How come Cox isn’t telling the right to love their neighbor? Instead it’s come to the table with Trump.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Time for this classic again.
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
One way tech oligarchs retain power is through dual-class shares, allowing them to cash in on public stock markets without giving up power over their companies. @ryanlcooper.com thinks this needs to end: Dual-class shares should be banned, or taxed in proportion to founder control over the company.
prospect.org
Here’s a Way to Stop Silicon Valley Megalomania - The American Prospect
‘Dual class’ shares are a fraud on the public market.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 30/09/2026
Eric Schmitt is what happens when a state becomes so red that you don’t need to be a talented politician to become a US Senator. And to be fair, there are examples of this in blue states too. Iron sharpens iron.
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