iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 20h

(1/X) Yesterday, Trump posted a snuff video of a man being killed by a tiger and cut off Ukraine's access to Starlink. If a Democratic president had at any point done either of those things, there would have been big political blowback. For Trump, there will be none, zero, nada....

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The point is that it's superfluous, and it's too reminiscent of the GOP game where they pretend that certain degrees are worthless because they aren't specifically job-oriented. He could've kept just "pundits" and the point would've been made.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

He attended a liberal arts college (my Alma mater) so it's an esp odd dig from someone whose body of work is truly admirable.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Ontario even has a noticeably longer shoreline on this specific lake than NY!

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Born and raised in western Upstate NY, know Rochester quite well. And, as a long-suffering Jays fan, I've driven around the Horseshoe enough times to see literally a world of difference between a largely agrarian region of the US and Canada's population heartland. This statement is beyond weird.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

There will be plenty of pushback from those you named, and others who would rather not have their complicity examined too closely. I'm afraid even a Dem president who's solidly committed to reform will face a choice: give in on accountability, or fail entirely to govern at all.

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 19/08/2026

People who don’t know the difference between ‘entomology’ and ‘etymology’ bug us in ways we cannot put into words.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

(Autocorrected from the correct spelling of Lawrenceville before some yinzer yells at me)

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Thai at Pusadee's Garden in Laurenceville (beautiful, refined experience) and next morning a fried chicken biscuit and sausage gravy at Wise County Cafe

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Given that the NYT so desperately fetishizes "small towns" in its political coverage, it doesn't seem like too much of an ask for them to understand that primary cities in top-10 metro areas are definitionally not small towns.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Critical grammar lesson here ⬇️

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I cannot fathom the level of cruelty and sickness involved in leading the US military and choosing to use that power to torment and traumatize children.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Changing him in this way (and killing him early) also precludes the Scouring, which IMO is one of the most uncomfortable parts of the book in light of...recent events in the real world.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Torching your reputation with a huge percentage of fans to eat congealed doordashed items from the Mickey D's dollar menu

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Nute @nutedawn.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

What’s really striking in Saruman’s speech to Gandalf is how broadly (and unusually for Tolkien) relevant it is. Take out the one specific reference to the Elves and Númenor and it is just an absolute classic rationale for collaborating with evil in the confidence you can ultimately direct it.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Recently re-read the books and re-watched the movies. Watering down Saruman from a cynical and opportunistic fence-straddling elite to a mere "side boss" to defeat along the ultimate quest is one of the few disappointments I have with the adaption.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

My district! Could not have happened for a better candidate either 😀

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

As far as I know, the one utterance that is truly unique to southwest PA is "yinz" for "you all" (although that's a bit more limited to isolated working class pockets).

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Copy editor here, Pittsburgh resident but not a native. This is one of the only regional constructions I'm aware of, anywhere, that's nearly universal across socioeconomic or educational class. I don't love it, but it's one of many things that is just unmistakably and unapologetically Pittsburgh.

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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

To recap the White House's official position, the racist video was posted erroneously by a staffer and they took it down, but even if it was posted on purpose, the outrage would have been fake because the post was fine and inspired by the Lion King

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ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 01/02/2026

liam and his dad are home! and someone please get rep. castro a coat!

rep omar, liam ramos and his dad, rep castro!

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

The “free speech” and “cancel culture” panics have led to overt state censorship because that was always their purpose. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

The reason so many of yesterday’s free-speech champions transitioned so easily into today’s pro-Trump censors is that their definition of free speech never included the right of others to talk back. They were not defending a universal right to freedom of speech; they were defending a right to monologue. They could say what they want, and you could shut up and like it. The cynicism of the effort can be known by its fruits: an administration that issues executive orders “protecting” free speech while engaging in the most sweeping campaign of state censorship since the Red Scare.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Minutes before seeing this post, I made the mistake of looking at comments on an NPR post about people in the Mississippi Delta fearing loss of access to benefits. The number of people who seem to think the Delta is a Trump voter stronghold because it's in Mississippi...

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Very cool that the average American city requires 3.5 years of paperwork and bureaucratic hoops to tear down an abandoned convenience store to build housing because, see, the convenience store was "historic"--but the president can just decide to demolish the White House on a whim.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

And from the collective perception of our media and their audiences (no matter their ideology), what the Jays have done to the Yanks to date is likely perceived as an assault on American exceptionalism.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

As a U.S. Jays fan who now feels anxious about both sports *and* encroaching fascism, I can also add that too many of us belligerently insist on ignorance of anything "foreign" until it impinges on a cultural icon.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Even Seneca County was "only" 56-44 Trump, and Ontario was basically 50-50 (w/Canandaigua and Geneva being pretty substantially Harris). To extend Pitchbot's point, most of Western NY and Finger Lakes (even Southern Tier) is a lot less Trumpy than comparable areas in most of the U.S.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

There were the leaks about even the Obama team mocking Biden as "safety school Joe" back when he was VP.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I'd argue was a different crowd in the media who hated him but not a bad point. Bill also greased palms and smooth talked them in a way Biden didn't.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Joe Biden: U of Delaware, Syracuse; Kamala Harris: Howard, UC school that isn't LA or Berkeley. I honestly think that's at least half of it.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Biden and Harris did not possess what they view as pedigree educational credentials. That's at least half of it.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Of course liberals/progressives aren't immune from racism. No argument. Plus, there are MAGA types everywhere. But I too often have to argue w people who insist my 73-26 Harris community near Pittsburgh is "MAGA country" bc it voted for Reagan in the 80s, so I'm a bit sensitive about timely data.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

She had a 33% margin of victory, as per Monroe County's certification. I sympathize that having to quibble with someone whose hot takes are 20+ years out of date cuts into the joke a bit, but a roughly 2-1 margin absolutely counts as deep blue.

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cait (and adonis) @cait.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

a friend of mine shared this ai-generated "emotion wheel" and unfortunately i have been laughing my ass off at it for like 15 minutes now. today i am feeling Fnliinneon

emotion wheel starting with "joy, fear, anger" in the center and then lapsing into gibberish

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Micah @rincewind.run · 30/05/2025

the first sentence of Elon's obituary should be that he was one of the greatest mass murderers in the history of humanity this is his legacy

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Hector Diaz @iamhectordiaz.com · 08/05/2025

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope

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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 18/04/2025

I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.

Photo of Senator Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

I'm thankful that my representative, Chris Deluzio @deluzio.house.gov, grasps the stakes of what's happening and understands the value of opposition leadership rather than acquiescence. Dems would do well to let this be an example.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

This is a fantastic initiative. I'd encourage you to also consider federal contractors, esp. those in social policy/service roles being hit by senseless cuts. Many of these folks, like myself, serve(d) similar roles and are also motivated by a sense of public service. @alleghenycounty.bsky.social

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Much of what I know of him comes from Meet You In Hell, but I'll look up that essay. Probably also didn't hurt that he waited until his 50s to marry to avoid offending mommy, and then only had one kid!

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

One thing that shines through here is that Carnegie, in his considerable good *and* bad contributions to the world, cuts a much more complicated figure than most modern corporate titans (AHEM). As you observe, there's a reason we haven't seen generations of monstrously wealthy Carnegie failsons.

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Keezy Young🌼 @keezyyoung.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

they voted for harris, because rural voters are not a bigoted monolith despite what you've been led to believe. but even if they didn't? they'd still deserve fucking mail service

screenshot of my post about rural communities relying on usps using my parents as an example, and someone asking who did your mom and dad vote for? it has one repost and two likes

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Exactly. The logical extension to this attitude is that the marginalized people in states that voted for Trump also deserve to suffer because of where they live.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

This is awful, but also hard to stomach the "progressives" in the replies who want to make Pitt as a leading research institution (and key driver of an economy that voted overwhelmingly against Trump) suffer because 50% of Pennsylvanians voted for Trump.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Yeah, fuck the 49% of Pennsylvanians (and 80% of us in the immediate Pittsburgh area, and over 90% of voters in the precincts around Pitt) who voted against this, right? Fuck the lifesaving interventions developed at academic institutions like Pitt. Good job being progressive!

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

@acesediting.bsky.social, challenge accepted: a haiku for National Grammar Day, dedicated to my favorite copy editing pet peeve. "Use the comma splice at your peril, however periods are good." #ACES #GrammarDay

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

BREAKING On Monday, Popular Information broke the news that the NIH had frozen virtually all grant funding in violation of 2 federal court orders On Wednesday, NIH leadership distributed a memo, acknowledging that its funding freeze was illegal and directing staff to resume issuing grants.

An internal memo issued February 12 was obtained by Popular Information.

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BFranklin @bfranklin1205.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

This is very disappointing for the neighborhood, but heads-up: your link is broken.

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