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Leo Burnett

@cascobay.bsky.social
120 followers 150 following 115 posts

civic tech, Maine politics, decolonial history, tech privacy, housing justice. Code for America alum and occasional political campaigner. 🏳️‍⚧️ wabanaki land - machigonne aka portland ME

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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It's so refreshing. He's showing us a lost art of building power in American politics, too: use government to actually help people and communicate in ways they recognize what you're doing. This creates a durable and regenerative coalition of political support for decades (a la new deal)
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The fact that Musk himself is sponsoring so many of the anti-trans ads this cycle presents a pretty golden opportunity for Dems to point out that of course the guy who literally wants to build a gas-powered data center in your backyard wants this election to be about trans people.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
If this hospital were owned by the people who pay for its services, it wouldn’t be closing. It’s closing because the executives demand profit. Let‘s not pretend this is a rational decision. It’s cruel and inhumane and simply greedy.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
this is interesting! We have a few jetties - there's one in Wells -but I've never heard of a quay around here
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Churn and burn baby burn
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
When I worked at a digital consultancy I distinctly remember studying a major campaign's digital fundraising program and sharing with my bosses that "hey, sending 28 emails a month asking for $$ has actually lost us over half of our DONORS in six months - what are we doing??" and they ignored it
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
We should study the political campaign industry as a key driver of the digital advertising ecosystem, the data broker industry + loss of 4th amendment rights. Everything campaigns touch (email, texting, phone calls) they torch and ruin.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Check out this season's @sceneonradio.bsky.social for a great feature on history of news, decimation of local newspapers + exploration of alternatives sceneonradio.org/the-news/
sceneonradio.org
The News
Welcome to Season 8: The News. This 8-part series explores the deep challenges facing American journalism, and the nation’s news and information crisis. It seems everyone’s mad at the media,
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
There are a million things state gov needs to do - and not enough resources *cough tax the rich* - but if we don't enact policy to support functioning local news, everything else falls into the maine wire's cesspool of hate and disinformation, including local democracy itself.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Having a billionaire-funded rage machine hop into the vacuum left by the shuttering of local papers was predictable. It's also not inevitable, but will take local policies promoting and supporting journalism (just like there has ALWAYS been state support for media) to reverse.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Local news media ecosystem was already really bleak, but this year it appears that the Maine Wire is churning out way more racist, inaccurate clickbait - including about city councils and hyper-local stuff no one else is reporting on. That's very, very bad
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
ooo what did you read?
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Abolish credit scores and make data brokers illegal. This should not be a business that exists. www.404media.co/you-opened-a...
404media.co
You Opened a Credit Card. ICE Now Knows Where You Live
Here's how your personal address travels from your credit card provider, through middlemen companies, and ends up with ICE.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I spy an AI image
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Megan L. Cook @meganlcook.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I hope all of you who've become out-of-state experts on Maine and its voters in the last month will just as vocally throw your support and resource behind Troy Jackson. Because the Maine senate race IS important, and Jackson CAN win www.pressherald.com/2026/07/20/h...
pressherald.com
How Troy Jackson mobilized supporters to take command of Maine’s Democratic Senate race
Jackson, a longtime lawmaker, consolidated support among Democrats at weekend caucuses thanks to his campaign's organization and policy overlaps with Graham Platner. He's almost certain to be the nomi...
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Also the whole “campaigns are building the plane while flying“ thing is by design. It’s on purpose! and it doesn’t have to be that way. The party apparatus is weak and never funded between cycles and that means it’s only consultants and a rare few who can stick around to keep the lights on
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Some entire countries hold elections in a matter of weeks. The Democratic Party being forced to create a democratic and transparent process for this is a good thing. it’s just treated as pure abject failure and chaos because the outcome isn’t determined yet.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
“But the bigger problem is how much of the media of ‘the left’ is dominated by men who appear to have no understanding of sexual abuse or intimate partner violence, but do have a pretty hefty sexist streak that they either aren’t aware of or don’t care to remedy.” YES @juliedicaro.bsky.social
losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com
We have an even bigger problem than Graham Platner
The candidate's rise and fall perfectly illustrates the sexism in lefty media
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Jason Read @jasonread.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
For months now, almost since the beginning of Graham Platner's campaign, I have seen the same pattern unfold. Some scandal breaks out, first the tattoo, then the racist and sexist Reddit posts, and then the texts, but I walk around my neighborhood and still see the Platner signs up, still hear about the massive turn outs for his rallies across the state. Support never wavered, and I do not think that it was for the reasons that people out of state thought; it was not because people in the state were basically Nazis, or so caught up in some fantasy of flannel and masculinity that they fell for the image. People were willing to forgive, to believe that he had changed, because they wanted very much to believe that there was a politician who wanted to help working people, to deliver promises of universal healthcare, to say no to genocide and war, and to openly confront the rise of fascism in Washington. People believed that Platner was the person he said he was, and he exploited that belief until it could no longer be sustained.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
thanks for writing/ sharing - this is such an important point that feels missing amid the mess
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
"What I learned, from ACT-UP and the squatters movement, was that in thinking about electoral politics, ideology doesn't matter much. Only 2 questions matter. What can a person holding that position actually do? Will they do it?" - Seth Tobocman Basically.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Therapy? no. Unlearning masculinity? No. LLM! Yes. Sports car? yes!!
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
This is a great post. I keep thinking about a few interactions I've had with older boomer men being enthralled with ChatGPT. It was more than just liking it on a utility level: they are clearly getting some validation and raw emotional sustenance from having someone (a tool) think they are brilliant
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
But.. the bench in a place like maine for lefty campaign and political staffers is intentionally nonexistent. So that training and capacity issue is one that needs to be dealt with, and it can't be led by the same people who are experts at deferring to the person with the most power.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
They are so afraid of the left not just because of ideology - I think many staffers and consultants actually wish they had consistent values. They are afraid because they know that on a fair playing field, they won't have a job. Some will turn to GOP, other will get corporate gigs. Good!
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I think a really important thing to know about the democratic party establishment and specifically the staffers is that they got their jobs by being loyal - not by being particularly talented. Some of the most incompetent people fail upwards. Most will be incapable of adapting and that is fine
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I like and appreciate all of the ideas in here and twitch a little at yet another term for ethical tech alternatives/ approaches 😅 permacomputing, wilding, interoperable, community controlled, open source.. all diff things but part of me wants one big umbrella concept and stick with one word for it
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
I love that the ranked choice voting livestream is boring and just shows the inside of dimly lit office building and clerks counting votes. This is just government working. That being said I do hope they have a tiiiny bit of theatrical flair when reading the final votes. #mepolitics
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
For one, without prior knowledge, most people will have zero context about WFP and assume it’s yet another scammy pac. Every dollar spent is less credible because of this. And: they spelled Shenna Bellows’ name wrong, repeatedly, in the text asking people to vote for her.. #mepolitics
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
The @workingfamilies.org has zero on the ground infrastructure in Maine yet they have sent mailers and texts in support of Jackie sartoris for DA and for the progressive gov ticket. I wish groups that have no in-state grassroots network gave $$ to in state groups or organizers instead #mepolitics
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
This guide and framework is very helpful and I plan to share with other organizers. A lot of people want to push back on this stuff but don’t have basic, minimum knowledge to do so. Appreciate the well documented wisdom, as always.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
And if you aren’t even engaging with the people who live here, then what exactly is the point? You don’t have half the info that shapes the discussion. the local discussion is far more rich, interesting, and nuanced but it’s happening on long Facebook posts and individual blogs.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
there are very good points made and a discussion about masculinity and misogyny - and - outsiders are arguing with each other, with zero local context. It’s fine to have that discussion but recognize that you’re not in the same discussion we who live here are, even if you assume you are
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
At this point you’ve got to recognize that there are two completely different discussions happening about the Platner race, depending on whether you’re in or out of the state of Maine. I have zero interest in discussing the race with someone who isn’t in the state.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
I love the idea of uniting the liberal/lefty factions within civic tech around destroying monopoly power of tyler tech, deloitte & co and reclaiming our gov services for the people (with product teams, IT reform, and other much less sexy things)
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
My parents met working at the local newspaper (before it was sold for parts and dismantled, of course) and the newspaper kid in me is constantly impressed by the incredible work being done by @404media.co and indie journalists like @marisakabas.bsky.social. Give them your money and attention.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Hell yeah. Great to see
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Yup. But no politician wants to be blamed for raising their own salary. Grassroot groups have to demand and campaign on this.
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 07/05/2026
“On Bullshit Engines' Politics” link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
Clearly, whether we’re talking about GPTs and LLMs or just “machine learning” and algorithms, “AI” systems definitely have politics. The problem is not and never has been that what “AI” is and does is “out of step” or “unaligned” with human values, but rather that the values with which “AI” is aligned are a) very, very human, b) woefully under-examined, and often c) terrible. Those values embedded here tend to be racism, sexism, ableism, efficiency, power-over, speed, control, white supremacy, eugenics, hegemony, kyriarchy; what they don’t tend be are prosocial consensus reality, intersubjective truth, or facts. Because obfuscation, misinformation, and disinformation are valuative positions— and they are also mechanisms of control.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
I know it’s just the Internet and people love to opine but the lack of local context is stunning, assuming Mainers are just dumb racists susceptible to a good sales pitch.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Folks outside of Maine focusing on Platner and all his ills with zero context to just how cruel and damaging Janet Mills has been to just about every single marginalized group in the state should maybe refrain from comments today.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
When Portland's skydio drone gets used to surveil protests, I plan to send a "thank you" note to every city councilor who ignored the will of the community, plugged their ears, and voted to expand surveillance anyway. #mepolitics theintercept.com/2026/04/20/l...
theintercept.com
LAPD Deployed Drones to Spy on No Kings Protest
Flight records show that Los Angeles police dispatched drones 32 times over last month’s No Kings rally.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
lol incredible description
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
"For more than an hour, several employees said, workers in the facility were instructed to continue fetching totes, picking items off shelves and loading them onto trucks for delivery as the man lay dead, and management figured out their next steps."
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
A new 2026 game is to write in ways that are impossible for AI to mimic. Such as: "Telling a machine that can’t perceive that it can’t perceive won’t make it perceive that it can’t perceive. @marisakabas.bsky.social
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
"It’s exposed a gulf between those who want to have their words remembered and those who just want people to remember that they wrote." Brilliance from @marisakabas.bsky.social www.thehandbasket.co/p/refusing-t...
thehandbasket.co
Refusing to accept big tech's AI-poisoned 'future of journalism'
Humans, however flawed, are
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
If I had 60 hrs to spare I’d like to dig into every tech purchase made by local govs with covid relief money and how the recurring software costs for these purchases are about to hit for the first time and only go up from here on out. Surprise!
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
It’s particularly maddening because Maine Med owns more real estate than every other tax exempt property combined. Yet something tells me they aren’t on this list.
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
The decisions will likely be reversed but shows just how much power is exercised by unelected city staff on the daily. A little more blatant than the usual “we have no power/ let the lawyers decide and water down or delay every voter approved measure”
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Leo Burnett @cascobay.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
The magic of the thoroughly undemocratic city gov system: unelected staff make political choices with zero awareness of the political cost. Someone in the assessors office should be fired. Will they?
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