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Kevin Brock

@brockoleur.com
538 followers 1.1K following 70 posts

Associate Prof. of Composition & Rhetoric and Writing Program Admin. Let's talk digital rhetoric, technical & professional communication, and assorted nerdery. brockoleur.com

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Kevin Brock @brockoleur.com · 18h
I hope the special issue experience is better! But even if not, at least you'll have been as up-front as possible.
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Kevin Brock @brockoleur.com · 18h
I'm going to recommend B just to be transparent and forthright about the situation.
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Kevin Brock @brockoleur.com · 19h
"You fool, don't you know what the foam heralds? He comes ...! The Freshmaker!"
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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
would anyone from a non elite college like to write about this for Contingent because you know we would publish it
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I give up. I’m moving into a cave.
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sure, the 2024 election was one too, but 2026 might be the clearest intelligence test ever presented to the American electorate. Taken at face value, he's saying he stole hundreds of billions from the gov't, hid it somewhere Congress can't reach, and he pinky swears he will give you a piece. Really.
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cmrn knzlmn @ckunzelman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If you are a graduate student in the humanities (construed as broadly as possible), what is the MOST EXCITING book published in the last five years to you? Please repost if you’re not a graduate student!
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tomwellborn3rd @wellborn.net · 24/08/2026
Congress funded the CDC's Alzheimer's work, the sickle cell and epilepsy data programs and a rape prevention unit, and Vought simply will not release the money. Grassley told him to his face he lacks the authority. The pocket rescission alone took 4.9 billion.
alternet.org
Republicans furious as Trump’s budget director goes 'rogue'
The director of the Office of Management and Budget is infuriating Republican lawmakers by "going rogue" on what appropriations were approved by the House and Senate.
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Kevin Brock @brockoleur.com · 23/09/2026
No kidding! I had a plan for a place called Schnitzels Get Spätzles.
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I Travel Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 23/09/2026
“The Department of Health and Human Services informed congressional appropriators earlier this year that it was moving about $12 million from its Office of Minority Health to help cover the ballooning cost of security for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
wsj.com
Exclusive | RFK Jr.’s Enhanced Security Was Funded With Money From Minority Health Office
The cost of the health secretary’s security grew from roughly $10 million in fiscal year 2025 to $17 million in fiscal year 2026.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 17/09/2026
We really can't let ourselves get accustomed to this. He's telling the people of NC that he's going to let them die if they don't vote how he wants.
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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 16/09/2026
“Hackers ripped down a Flock camera above a roadway, made a near-complete copy of the data stored inside it, and shared the files with 404 Media and WIRED, revealing in new detail how exactly Flock Safety’s cameras track the movements of both vehicles and people.”
404media.co
Hackers Stole Flock’s Camera Software, Revealing How the Company Tracks Cars and People
While people around the U.S. are tearing down Flock cameras, one group of hackers went a step further: extracting the camera's software too.
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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
But it sort of is racist to blame immigrants for making your country "dirtier" and "poorer". Certainly the "dirtier" part gives it a racial edge that isn't just an economic argument.
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"...the push by AI companies to solve mathematical problems as a benchmark is detrimental to the science of mathematics, and to the mathematical community."
terrytao.wordpress.com
A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics
I am proud to be among the list of 25 initial signatories — all Fields Medallists — to the declaration below, which grew out of discussions between ourselves over the last week. We have…
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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The president ordering USPS to illegally throw out millions of ballots is at least on par with what he tried to do for 2020, and in big ways it's worse. It's another attempted self-coup, trying to create a fake Congress. That he's even attempting it is already a deadly serious constitutional crisis.
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John Gallagher @johnrgallagher.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I call this the map problem of AI and related it to writing. meresophistry.substack.com/p/seeking-hu...
meresophistry.substack.com
The orbital argumentation of AI writing
Introduction
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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
It gets worse when you remember that the Strait of Hormuz was open before the war started. So we’re spending $40B and people are dying on both sides to return to the status quo from January. Everything is socialism unless it’s money for killing people in pointless forever wars.
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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 04/09/2026
The NIH Director confirms they are giving away biomedical research money used to develop treatments and cures for infectious diseases such as influenza, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, Ebola, and other dangerous pathogens, to the Department of Defense. Outrageous.
Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD
@NIHDirector_Jay

NIH funds should be used to improve the health of Americans.
Far from siphoning money away from research, this partnership between @NIH and @DeptofWar focuses on research projects that will drive discoveries to improve the health of American citizens and members of the military.
Led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, all work will be 100% aligned with our public health mission.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/09/2026
the fact that the papers of supreme court justices are treated as their personal property is outrageous www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/u...
nytimes.com
How the Supreme Court Locks Away Its Own History (Gift Article)
After Justice Scalia died, the justices held private negotiations about locking away their papers. We may not see the ultimate record of the Roberts court for decades.
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Adam Isacson @adamisacson.com · 02/09/2026
The first of the Trump admin's lethal, illegal boat strikes happened 1 year ago today. They're still happening. The death toll has spiraled to at least 227. See WOLA's running tally: www.wola.org/2025/11/us-m... See our July 24 report, "Killing Spree": www.wola.org/analysis/kil...
227 reported people killed (including 23 unrecovered survivors).
65 reported attack events.
69 reported boats struck.
3 reported survivors recovered.
45 reported events in the Eastern Pacific. 18 reported events in the Caribbean. 2 reported events in unspecified locations.
32 events ordered by Southern Command Commander Gen. Francis Donovan (101 reported killed). 19 events ordered by President Donald Trump (76 reported killed). 14 events ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (50 reported killed).
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
This is correct, but also another reason why Democrats have to lean into accountability and oversight as hard as possible when they retake Congress. It's not just about punishing criminals. It's about making it clear to the country the depth of the damage done to ready them for the repairs.
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Kevin Brock @brockoleur.com · 29/08/2026
0118 999 881 999 119 725 3 (The IT Crowd)
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Aulet 🍂 @aulet.es · 26/08/2026
"LibreOffice 26.8 contains no generative AI features. Documents are not transmitted to remote services for processing, and no component of the suite requires network access to function. This is a deliberate position."
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John Carl Baker @johncarlbaker.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This is a machine to ethnically cleanse the country - and anyone who pretends otherwise is kidding themselves
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Kevin Brock @brockoleur.com · 26/08/2026
1 + 2 + 1 + 1?
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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Among other reforms, it cannot stand that the President can sue everyone all the time but never face any lawsuits or criminal charges himself because he’s president. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Threatens Defamation Suit Over National Guard Report, Aiming to Intimidate a Critic (Gift Article)
It was the latest example of President Trump’s bid to use the legal system against those who voice unflattering facts and opinions generally protected by the First Amendment.
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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
this from upenn's student paper is worth reading as the term starts: "AI cannot coexist with education — it can only degrade it. As technology advances and workers are replaced by machines, schools are some of the only places we have left to explore and wrestle with human thought."
thedp.com
Editorial | Penn has an AI problem
The Daily Pennsylvanian Editorial Board argues that Penn’s choice to embrace AI is detrimental to the institution of higher education. 
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Dan Silverman @dmsilverman.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I‘m far from an AI doomer, but it is amazing how many serious voices — on LinkedIn, no less! — are sharing stories about how AI slop is quickly becoming one of the top problems they see in academic writing and research “AI will 10x our research!” doesn’t seem to be surviving encounters with reality
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
this story is batshit Here is the full article, which includes all prompts, trial transcripts, the report itself. The firm hired charged more than $80,000 for the report. Also shows that AI transcripts can be discoverable and can be very revealing: www.404media.co/show-how-3m-...
404media.co
‘Show How 3M Is 0% at Fault:’ Expert Witness Used ChatGPT to Write Report Defending Company in Deadly Explosion Lawsuit
ChatGPT prompts show how an expert witness report was created in a $61 million lawsuit over an explosion that killed three people.
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Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA @michael-hoerger.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
🚨BREAKING 🦠 On Friday, the US CDC arbitrarily shifted higher COVlD levels into lower categories depicted with cooler colors. Much of what was Very High is now "High." What was High is now "Moderate" or "Low." Low is "Very Low." 1/
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 01/07/2026
NEW BLOG FOR YOU Google's energy consumption numbers in their new climate report are mind-blowing. 2 years ago they flipped from linear to exponential growth, and their climate impact is blowing out, too. A WILD testament to the obscene bloat and waste of GenAI: ketanjoshi.co/2026/07/01/g...
a chart showing google's rising energy consumption - huge, and rising faster than ever beforea chart showing google's rising energy consumption - huge, and rising faster than ever beforea chart showing google's rising energy consumption - huge, and rising faster than ever beforeGoogle's total energy consumption more than new zealand
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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 13/08/2026
14 million souls ended in a single year by Elon Musk's cruelty and stupidity Here are some of the comparisons: Rwandan genocide: 800k dead Cambodian genocide: 3 million dead The Holocaust: 7 million dead
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
It sometimes feels like we're living in a ridiculously exaggerated folk tale with wildly implausible villains. For example, as the president takes billions for himself and his family and *coats his things in gold,* the soldiers fighting his war can't get toothpaste, hot water, or a clean toilet.
ms.now
Moldy showers and no soap: Military families are outraged by conditions on USS Lincoln
The aircraft carrier's long deployment in the Iran war is raising concerns that the sailors and Marines on board are facing poor conditions, low supplies and fatigue.
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Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
So the Times did a story on this, but not Capital One closing Trump accounts over suspicions of money laundering.
nytimes.com
Chuck Grassley Announces the Death of His Beloved Vacuum, Beth (Gift Article)
Senator Chuck Grassley mourned his decades-long cleaning companion, writing on social media: “GOOD BYE BETH. U hv been a real workhorse.”
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on - if your position is that the president of the United States and his family should be immune from IRS scrutiny, you’re unqualified to be the Attorney General. It’s an indictment on our entire system that 50 GOP Senators don’t agree.
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Lucia Romano, MBA @luciaromano.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Fun fact! Mitch McConnell has been on paid medical leave for 51 days, over 7 weeks. This is a week longer than the 6 weeks of maternity leave that women in the US are not guaranteed after giving birth.
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Megan McIntyre @rcmeg.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Imagine the conversation we could have about this travesty if NCTE didn’t require Cs officers and executive committee members to sign confidentiality agreements. Folks should also ask NCTE about how and whether their lucrative grant/partnership with Google was part of what Cs “culture” threatened.
insidehighered.com
NCTE Dissolves 77-Year-Old Composition Association
The National Council of Teachers of English’s decision was met with swift backlash from Conference on College Composition and Communication members, who say their organization is vital to advancing co...
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Dan Libertz @dlib24.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Why did NCTE and CCCC officers have to sign NDAs? Do we have trade secrets about semicolons? I don’t understand. What a rotten organization NCTE is…we are educators and not defense contractors or Coca-Cola. Ridiculous. No NDAs for our new org #teamrhetoric
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
With 99 days until the election, Trump is desperate to make it harder for you to vote and easier for him to cheat.
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Le Cagle @lecagle.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I will never choose to affiliate with @ncte.org, given the absolutely disgraceful way they have chosen to dissolve CCCC, a 70+ year organization central to the discipline of writing and literacy studies. I am so disappointed in the NCTE leadership. May they come to view their actions with horror.
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eric @ericd.site · 24/07/2026
What an unceremonious end to CCCC, a key part of my professional career for almost 20 years. Goodbye, @ncte.org. I expect I speak for hundreds and maybe thousands of college writing instructors in saying we’ll find or make our way via other organizations.
Message outlining my reasons for not rejoining NCTE.
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Steve Rattner @steverattner.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Under Trump, the debt held by the federal government has surpassed 100% of GDP. By 2030, it’ll shoot pass its all-time record from WWII. My @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social Chart
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Alex Donaldson @apzonerunner.com · 21/07/2026
The 'every device is an Xbox' experience in a nutshell: booting the ROG Ally X for the first time in weeks, an inescapable soft lock on a screen which is asking you to rate the device experience
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 20/07/2026
NEW INFO HAS REVEALED that the 28-year-old Mexican man killed while running from ICE last week was just visiting on short tourist visa—and already had a plane ticket to go home. newrepublic.com/post/213277/...
newrepublic.com
Man Who Died Running From ICE Was Tourist With a Ticket Home
The man has been identified as Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, who was in the U.S. on a tourist visa and already had a plane ticket to go back to Mexico.
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Not a single word about how these tariffs violate both our WTO & USCMA obligations. Every time Trump does this, the NYT & other outlets simply write as if we live in an international vacuum, where the US has no obligations under signed, ratified international treaties. It's journalistic malpractice.
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Professa Murray @kalimurray.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
I have said repeatedly that Russell Vought should be impeached. Congress appropriates and this is a high crime against its powers under Article I. The most important thing DOGE did was take over the appropriations pipes at Treasury. If you wanted to close USAID and CFPB pass a bill.
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Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
It feels ridiculous to be told my entire life the importance of reducing my energy usage and switching to stuff like LED bulbs and then read reports of energy prices spiking in many US communities due to data centers.
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Christina Henderson @chenderson.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I wish more journalists would point out that Sen. McConnell and Rep. Tom Kean (missed 4 months of work) are/were essentially on paid sick & medical leave. The same employment protection they’ve spent their careers blocking other Americans from having.
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Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 10/07/2026
Imagine things being so bad that your best solution is to cut yourself off from Google Search traffic. I don't think that people realise just how much of a bad actor Google has been, for year. No other company has damaged the web nearly as much. 🧵 www.adweek.com/media/publis...
adweek.com
Publishers Are Preparing to Opt Out of Google Search
The nuclear option is gaining traction as web traffic collapses and Google refuses to negotiate with content creators
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Chantal James @chantalalive.blacksky.app · 12/07/2026
There shouldn't even be a kids' ICE facility! What the hell are we doing? Why are children being abducted & detained?
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