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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social

@benfranklinsaid.bsky.social
1.1K followers 696 following 4.5K posts

The Founders are appalled. Loves checks and balances, functional markets, boring banks, anticorruption and Lina Khan. Alex Pretti was a true American patriot 🇺🇸

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Reposted by @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social
Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 44m
(browsing the news like it's a restaurant menu) Do you guys have anything that isn't Filth
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 7h
> @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2026/09/30/h...
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ArtsulSelva @artsulselva.bsky.social · 7h
he’s going to issue an executive order changing the country’s name to Unites States, isn’t he
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 7h
Four-byline alert: “.. Meta claimed that $4.1 billion of stock options exercised by Mr. Zuckerberg counted as a research expense ..” @nytimes.com $META www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/t...
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Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 8h
"Whether he is watching too much Fox News or acting for other reasons, Justice Alito seems to be emotionally unable to rationally examine the actual evidence in the cases before him to see if they support his voter fraud arguments." democracyproject.org/posts/exorci...
democracyproject.org
Exorcising Justice Alito’s Voter Fraud Boogeyman
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 14h
“Stop accusing us of spying! We’ve been watching you!”
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 20h
The White House accord on AI that was signed by all the big tech oligarchs today misspells United States as “Unites States.”
Document signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai
Google
Dario Amodei
Anthropic
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta

Greg Brockman
OpenAl

Elon Musk
XAI

Jensen Huang
nvidia “Unites States”
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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🤦‍♂️
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Most state attorneys general released Meta from Cambridge Analytica-related claims as part of the child safety settlement. New Mexico wasn't part of that deal, and a jury there just found 26 of 29 past claims about Cambridge Analytica, hate speech and misinformation willfully deceptive.
techpolicy.press
Eight Years On, Cambridge Analytica Scandal Catches Up With Meta in Santa Fe
A jury found that Meta—then Facebook—misled the public in statements about Cambridge Analytica and its policies on hate speech, violence and misinformation.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Step 1: "Tether’s stablecoin has become a primary means of payment for the Iranian regime and a tool for funding terrorist proxy organizations such as Hezbollah..." Step 2: Now google Howard Lutnick and Tether www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
wsj.com
Exclusive | Senate Investigation Finds Rampant Use of Tether’s Stablecoin by Iranian Regime
Wallets sanctioned over Iran ties overwhelmingly dealt in Tether’s USDT stablecoin, according to Senate Democrats.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"The U.S. and Russian teams also removed a provision requiring that humans review military targets developed by AI before a strike..." www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
U.S., Russia stripped human oversight from global AI weapons pact
The two nations weakened a range of safeguards in a landmark U.N. effort to try to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weaponry. The global negotiations earlier this month marked the furthest progre...
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WIRED @wired.com · 28/09/2026
Meta and other tech giants are pushing through structural changes at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism that outside researchers allege will weaken oversight of an already embattled consortium. www.wired.com/story/indepe...
wired.com
Meta-Led Anti-Terrorism Group Faces Mass Resignation of Expert Advisers
Meta and other tech giants are pushing through structural changes at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism that outside researchers allege will weaken oversight of an already embattled consortium.
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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The level of dangerous and dystopian fvckery this administration has been engaging in against the American people is in legit treason territory
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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026
Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.
wisn.com
Skydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airport
Four people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 27/09/2026
Punxsutawney Jill is sticking her head out a little early this cycle.
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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 28/09/2026
"These MAGA weddings are Mos Eisley cantinas for counterintelligence." –@michaeldweiss.bsky.social
Screenshot of a quote-tweet by @michaeldweiss dated 27 Sep 2026. The original tweet is from "Sigal Chattah" (@Chattah4Nevada), and reads "Love is in the air [two heart emojis] Congrats [champagne emoji] to our amazing @AlinaHabba & @turhanmildoin [three emojis showing the Hamsa, a blue hand with an eye in it]." That text appears above a picture showing Kash Patel, Alina Habba, and others at a wedding ceremony. In his quote-tweet, Michael Weiss writes: "Why, that’s Ali Abdelaziz is on the far left. Manages a lot of Russian, Belarusian and Chechen MMA fighters including Khamzat Chimaev, who is close to Kadyrov. Abdelaziz was an FBI informant until the Bureau dropped him because they suspected he was a double agent. Looks like Ka$h (far right) has forgiven and forgotten. These MAGA weddings are Mos Eisley cantinas for counterintelligence."
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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
I've built a socioeconomic system that depends on everyone to do useful work and act ethically except the people at the top, who get unimaginable rewards for being antisocial frauds and criminals. And I think it will stand the test of time
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Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 27/09/2026
So gas is getting more expensive, and Trump is making cars less fuel-efficient. Brilliant strategy.
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Bruno Dias @brunodias.dev · 26/09/2026
"computer, say 'i am alive'"
> I AM ALIVE
"oh my god"
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Vought is breaking the law but he is not “going rogue.” At his confirmation hearings, Vought told Republicans he would do this and they voted for him anyway. If they want to stop him, they still can via impeachment. They won’t.
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 26/09/2026
This is another great, approachable explainer on “the rationalist wackos who have managed to take over much of the AI industry, and who now have tons of money and political power.” www.iankduncan.com/personal/202...
iankduncan.com
Sex, AI, and the Apocalypse - Ian Duncan
How a community devoted to thinking clearly incubated salvation stories, abusive experiments, race science, and an affection for autocracy, and why that history matters now that its alumni are asking ...
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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Andor Season 1, Andor Season 2, Rogue One
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 26/09/2026
like I suspect many of you on This Website, I think a core reason why I find Eliezer Yudkowsky and his rationalist and effective altruist satellites so intensely annoying is because I had a VERY similar “being a super weird, pretentious, hyper-literate kid” experience - I just, you know, grew up.
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Sir Chumlee @chummychumlee.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This company just radiates predator energy
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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Jim Crow theobros. What a country. 🫠
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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
In a nation where gun violence is epidemic, especially for young people, Republicans *will not rest* until they have found more ways to spread the problem to more people and more places
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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Political operative takes over responsibility for informing the public at the agency responsible for coordinating the findings of the nation’s intelligence community. What could go wrong ? thehill.com/homenews/adm...
thehill.com
Senior White House spokesperson to move to Office of Director of National Intelligence
White House senior deputy press secretary Kush Desai is leaving the West Wing for a senior communications role at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The White House spokesp…
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Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Seriously. That’s no cartoon.
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David Burbach 🇺🇸 @dburbach.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Trump administration gave a high level security clearance and unprecedented access to your sensitive PII and financials to a kid who ran foreign CSAM boards, was fired from his only prior real job for stealing company data, and was linked to a Russian cybercrime ring.
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darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
why are the midterms any part of this decision might be a question
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Trump's foreign policy is not isolationist. On the contrary, his ideologues want to build an international empire run by far-right political movements who serve American crypto, mineral and tech companies, many with links to the president. Read more here: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Center for Countering Digital Hate @counterhate.com · 25/09/2026
Elon Musk doesn’t want to follow international regulations, while exploiting algorithms on X to influence politics and incite violence in countries he doesn’t even live in. He’s turning to every possible avenue to challenge the EU’s enforcement of the DSA against X.
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aaron @aaron.mn · 23/09/2026
Dude, come on.
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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Thanks @dkthomp.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social @sayash.bsky.social for a great conversation about AI. Highly recommend for people wondering how AI will most likely impact society and what things policymakers should be thinking about. youtu.be/8a-08uMl5Js?...
youtu.be
The Single Smartest Case Against AI Doom | Plain English
YouTube video by Plain English with Derek Thompson
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 25/09/2026
"[The supreme court is] 'simply not part of the political process.'" - Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., May 6, 2026
theguardian.com
John Roberts insists supreme court not ‘political’ after Trump-friendly rulings
The chief justice defends court’s impartiality after decisions on abortion, presidential immunity and voting rights
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Raskin made a holy shit observation on MS Now this afternoon: Since taking office, Trump has made a million dollars per hour for himself. Every hour, he has made more than twice the president’s annual salary.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
> @deadline.com $PSKY deadline.com/2026/09/davi...
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Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 25/09/2026
Politico’s owner gave Peter Thiel an award today. Hardly surprising, since Peter Thiel gave the guy’s son $50 million. Have you heard of “The German JD Vance”? www.thenerdreich.com/politico-pet...
thenerdreich.com
Politico's $50M Peter Thiel Problem
Is Axel Springer CEO's son the 'German JD Vance'?
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 24/09/2026
Don Jr.-backed drone-parts manufacturer congratulates Eric Trump-backed drone manufacturer on winning a DoD contract.
Unusual Machines
@UnusualMachines
18h
More momentum for XTEND. 🚀

Congrats to the team on another important U.S. defense milestone. Proud to be an investor and supplier. 🦅

$UMAC $XTND #Drones #DefenseTech
Unusual Machines Inc
UMAC
$23.24
+2.42%
@XTEND_XR
XTEND
@XTEND_XR
Sep 23
XTEND has been awarded Phase III of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Modular Kinetic Lethal Drone (MKLD) program.

The award follows XTEND’s recent Gauntlet II top-performer selection under the Drone Dominance Program.

Read more: xtend.me/xtend-secures-…
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is a regular feature of data-matching, especially when done in a half-assed way. The purpose is to create the false claims of fraud. For example, Republicans complained for years about the risk of double voting. A credible system was built to detect it (ERIC). Then they killed it.
ERIC had been relatively uncontroversial since its creation. The idea behind it started in 2008, when election officials identified the potential for people to have multiple registrations in different states — in itself not surprising in a country that is at once highly mobile but operates a decentralized voting system — creating the potential for voting in different states. ERIC offered a tool that could track that problem, through a mixture of data sourcing and analytical tools that minimized false positives. By identifying moves and deaths, it allowed states to keep the voting rolls accurate. In 2013 it had seven members, which would increase to 32 states at its height.

Then in January of 2022, the Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin dropped out of ERIC. He made his announcement to a group of far right election activists, to sustained applause. But for other election officials it was a puzzle. One state election official who worked for GOP secretaries of state said:

Everybody looked at this and said, 'This is insane, what are you talking about?' As soon as [Ardoin] did that — that created this pressure on the other Republican states that wasn't there before
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Saudis gave: -book many rooms at Trump hotels, sometimes overpaying -real estate deals with the Trump Org -fees to host LIV Golf -$2b to Jared Kushner's investment firm over financial advisor objection -more Saudis got: -arms deal -Khashoggi murder investigation dropped -end of JCPOA -uranium deal
foreignpolicy.com
Saudi Arabia Bribed the Wrong People
Riyadh’s bet on Trumpism has failed.
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
But thanks to Trump, the Saudis also got: -Terribly managed, failing attack on Iran -Wimping out on a real regime change war -Ships stuck behind the Strait of Hormuz -The Houthis on the march in Yemen -Ships struck in the Red Sea -Drone attack from Iraqi militias, including on the East-West Pipeline
foreignpolicy.com
Saudi Arabia Bribed the Wrong People
Riyadh’s bet on Trumpism has failed.
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benfranklinsaid.bsky.social @benfranklinsaid.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The disastrous Trump-Iran war is certified as the Republican-Iran war
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
That's not possible. In 2025, the smartest person in history took complete control of federal government IT and his "DOGE" modernized and secured everything. Right? Surely that wasn't just a data heist by a billionaire white nationalist and a bunch of 20-year-old freaks from neo-Nazi chatrooms?
nytimes.com
Hackers Say They Stole Thousands of Sensitive F.B.I. Personnel Records
The compromise, if confirmed, would be the latest in a string of cybersecurity failures at the F.B.I., which said it was investigating the matter.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Page One in Milwaukee: @mcbridetd.bsky.social
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
So this is real incident, twisted into a false narrative in three ways: (1) intent: the motivation for discarding mail had nothing to w/ the election; (2) exaggerated impact: the discarded ballots aren't enough to affect outcomes; (3) ignored remedies: affected voters could get replacement ballots.
Infographic titled "Six Ways 'Rigged Election' Rumors Mislead." A two-column table pairs six labeled categories with descriptions. The first three categories are:

No Evidence: The rumor is entirely unsubstantiated. There's no evidence to support the rumor.

Fake/False Evidence: The rumor is based on fake or synthetic evidence (e.g. AI-generated content), manipulated evidence, or false witness testimony.

Misinterpreted Evidence: This rumor is based upon real evidence that has been misinterpreted or intentionally mischaracterized to create a false impression.

A black banner then introduces the final three categories: "Real Evidence, Real Voting Issue, False Narrative."

Exaggerated Impact: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but falsely insinuates or exaggerates impact on election results.

Ignored Remedies: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but ignores and/or obscures the remedies that would address this problem

False Blame: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but either falsely attributes intent for an accidental issue or places blame on an innocent party.

Source: UW Center for an Informed Public, September 2026.
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