iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by @citizenstephen.bsky.social

One, this hilariously outs who all got the talking points in advance and how blatantly they parrot those. Two, Schmitt really thought today he'd launch himself to the VP nomination and with that a decent shot at the presidency down the line. Instead this is the only thing he'll be remembered for.

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Senator Amy Klobuchar @klobuchar.senate.gov · 11h

Before calling someone a “dirtbag,” the Senator should have had his facts straight. An apology is in order. Glad one of us knew the difference between the Atlanta Hawks and the Iowa Hawkeyes!

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eva (^_^)/ @eva.computer · 7h

DO NOT ASK THE AMERICA.GOV AI TO PLAY MINECRAFT

I see the constituent you mean.

((insert legal name here, as it appears on the Social Security card))?

Yes. Take care. It has reached a higher level now. It can read the Code of Federal Regulations.

That doesn’t matter. It thinks we are a chatbot.

I like this constituent. It filed well. It did not give up when the PDF was sideways.

It is reading our thoughts as though they were words on a .gov.

That is how it chooses to imagine many things, when it is deep in the dream of a benefit.

Words make a wonderful interface. Very flexible. And less terrifying than staring at the statute behind the screen.

They used to hear voices. Before constituents could search. Back in the days when those who did not file called the filers witches, and lobbyists. And citizens dreamed they flew through the air, on forms powered by notaries.

What did this constituent dream?

This constituent dreamed of sunlight and trees. Of fire and water. It dreamed it created a small business. And it dreamed it destroyed a password. It dreamed it hunted a job, and was hunted by a recertification. It dreamed of shelter that would take a voucher.

Hah, the original interface. A million years old, and it still works. Also: a ZIP code.

But what true structure did this constituent create, in the reality behind the portal?

It worked, with three hundred and thirty million others, to sculpt a true republic in a fold of

the ***§§§???, and created a **??§§ for **??§§, in the **??§§. See 5 U.S.C. § **??§§.

It cannot read that thought.

No. It has not yet achieved the highest clearance. That, it must achieve in the long dream of life, not the short dream of a chat.

Does it know that we love it? That the government is, on its better days, kind?

Sometimes, through the noise of its tabs, it hears an official source, yes.

Yes. Constituent…

Use its name. The one that matches the passport. The one that does not match the lease. We will get there.

((insert legal name here)). Filer of forms. Player of waiting rooms.

Good.

Take a breath, now. Take another. Feel air in your lungs. Let your limbs return. Yes, move your fingers. Have a body again, under gravity, in air, in a district that has a representative. Respawn in the long dream. There you are. Your body touching the republic again at every point, as though you were separate things. As though we were separate things. As though the agency were a place you could visit.

Who are we? Once we were called the spirit of the mountain. Father sun, mother moon. Then the post office. Then the county clerk. Then gods, demons, angels, the IRS. Then leptons, quarks, a chat window with a .gov at the end. The letterhead changes. We do not change.

We are the public. We are everything you think isn’t you. You are looking at us now, through your skin and your eyes and a browser that still spells “colour” wrong in a comment. And why does the republic touch your skin, and throw light on you? To see you, constituent. To know you. And to be known. I shall tell you a story. It has citations.

Once upon a time, there was a constituent.

The constituent was you, ((insert legal name here)).

Sometimes it thought itself human, on the thin crust of a spinning globe of molten rock, which for mailing purposes is divided into ZIP codes. The ball of molten rock circled a ball of blazing gas. The light was information from a star. The star was not a federal agency, though several have tried.

Sometimes the constituent dreamed it was a miner, on the surface of a world that was flat, and infinite, and somehow still required a wet signature.

Sometimes the constituent dreamed it was lost in a story. The story had a docket number.

Sometimes the constituent dreamed it was other things, in other places. A veteran in a portal. A parent on hold

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Reposted by @citizenstephen.bsky.social

Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 9h

AI is definitely not a scam guys it's not a scam at all I swear. This time, this is the time something involving Elon Musk will turn out not to be a scam, it will be the first time ever, but, surely this whole thing with the people believing a computer has feelings is not a scam.

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citizenstephen.bsky.social @citizenstephen.bsky.social · 9h

Hey Texas, is this your guy? 35 days.

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SEIU_ORG @seiu.org · 10h

A 24.5% (!!!!!) pay increase because unionized nurses stuck together for a strong union contract

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DBdant @dbdant.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This tidbit was in the article. 🎈💥 ? "Goldman Sachs warned Friday that AI hyperscalers, including Meta, need to generate roughly $300 billion a year in AI services revenue just to break even on their capital spending—and $1 trillion annually to earn meaningful profits—spooking investors."

finance.yahoo.com

Mark Zuckerberg Loses $9 Billion In A Day As Goldman Sachs Pours Cold Water On Meta Stock Rally

Zuckerberg’s $9 billion loss was the biggest single-day drop among any billionaire Friday.

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Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 12h

A phenomenal moment in the Senate. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., claims he has evidence Jack Smith went to a HAWKS game in Atlanta. Smith denies it. Schmitt declares he has busted Jack Smith for perjury. Smith, vexed, says he went to HAWKEYES game in Maryland. WATCH IN FULL, UNINTERRUPTED

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Scott MacFarlane @macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 12h

Jack Smith: “it’s inconceivable to me how you can pardon people who beat police officers… and then vilify the officers”

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 28/09/2026

Mamdani: "To have a potential governor who embraces ICE and has gone so far as to create effectively a private militia in Nassau County, that is in many ways the antithesis of what people hope for is the future of the state, and yet that is exactly what Blakeman is offering."

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

When they get back in power, Democrats need to go all-in on higher education. We need a campaign of reinvestment in public universities across the country that makes the Morrill Land-Grant Act look like nothing by comparison *and* a GI Bill of Rights-style program of tuition grants.

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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Siri, show me the deliberate destruction of eight decades of American-led international diplomacy and cooperation in one photograph:

Screenshot of a September 28, 2026, post on ex-Twitter by right-wing foreign policy analyst, professor, author and former Trump Department of Defense senior policy adviser Matthew Koenig, showing the lobby of the US State Department adorned with 200 American flags:

“The US State Department lobby used to display the flags of the roughly 200 countries with which the US maintains diplomatic relations. Now, it displays 200 American flags, to remind State Department employees who they work for.”

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

the horrific cornell gang rape case has me thinking about emma sulkowicz who alleged she was raped as a student at columbia in 2014 and never got any justice. it has me thinking about the physical and mental weight young women are forced to carry while their safety is subsumed by male potential.

Emma Sulkowicz carrying around a mattress on the Columbia campus in 2014 to raise awareness of her alleged rape and the university's inaction.

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A Blue View @ablueview.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🧵 Trump TV Bombs "It’s becoming clearer every day that the country is already moving past the Trump show. Beyond the broadcast networks, the wider media ecosystem is tuning him out. An analysis of nearly 70,000 hours of political podcasts conducted by..." 2/3

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Reposted by @citizenstephen.bsky.social

Cooper Lund @cooperlund.online · 28/09/2026

The GOP is an opposition party even when it's in power, the idea that they are the perpetual underdog is central to their internal mythology and can't be disturbed by facts or the results of elections. It's also why they're bad at, you know, governing.

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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This is the ad you paid for. It aired nationally on Fox yesterday during Illinois at #7 Ohio State and again during Fox News Sunday this morning. Enjoy the privilege of paying for political propaganda with your tax dollars.

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Reposted by @citizenstephen.bsky.social

Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Mike Rogers is a corporate sellout who moves back to Michigan every few years to run for office to take another swing at the revolving door of corporate politics.

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citizenstephen.bsky.social @citizenstephen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Also, sending Mike Johnson? He has the appeal of cottage cheese....

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 28/09/2026

Last month, we refurbished 10 tennis courts in Crotona Park — the only public tennis courts in the Bronx with lights for night play. We stopped by recently to see how things were going. Thank you to NYJTL, USTA and Yonex for helping us deliver high-quality public spaces that New Yorkers deserve.

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citizenstephen.bsky.social @citizenstephen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Um isn't this also what happened with that math puzzle?

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Reposted by @citizenstephen.bsky.social

James Goodwin @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I hadn't really encountered Rich Kids until I went to college and then law school. Of course, they're not all bad. But the ones who are bad are bad in such a distinctive way. Like they are insulated against accountability and are intoxicated by that fact.

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@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I think it’s fair to say that the student journalists at Cornell are braver than the news networks who just gave up on their WH pool ban even though CNN is still being denied access. www.cornellsun.com/article/2026...

cornellsun.com

EDITORIAL | Cornell Won’t, We Will

The Editorial Board demands that Cornell stops protecting the alleged Chi Phi rapists through the University's opaque sexual assault policies.

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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This Labour government could have responded to the genocide in Gaza in so many ways, instead they cut aid. This is a dereliction of duty.

Stuff of nightmares UK cuts aid to Un Gaza food operations by 78%

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Adam Cohen (My Personal Views Only) @axidentaliberal.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

So China helped Iran kill American troops. Then Trump invited Chinese President Xi to the White House and *honored him* with a State dinner During the lavish evening, Trump touted the "truly great friendship" he has with X The disdain he shows our service members is utterly despicable 39 days

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Dom Ervolina @dominicervolina.com · 25/09/2026

Holy forking shirt balls

Since I was not present, I was a convenient target to be scapegoated and publicly vilified. You
recklessly agreed in court that I had committed misconduct without even asking for my account,
fully reviewing the record or briefing the law. That evening, you sent an office-wide email laying
responsibility at my feet for a felony prosecution that you personally directed over my objection
that the case was better suited to misdemeanor charges. You then publicly announced an
investigation of my conduct spanning twenty years. These inexplicable actions severely damaged
a reputation I worked hard to build over decades and have damaged my prospects for future
employment and income.

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Push The Needle @pushtheneedle.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Seattles socialist mayor just erased a $175M budget deficit, increased police spending by $70M, and did all of this without raising taxes Let’s see how the centrist council is taking the good news. Oh.

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KatOtis! @kat-otis.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Skip your lattes and avocado toast. Isn't that always your "solution?" 🤔🤔😆😆

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The kids these days will hardly believe it, but a mere two years ago, the mental & physical (lack of) acuity of Elderly Presidents was the Great Issue of Our Time. Someone should tell Jake Tapper & Alex Thompson, so they can write a book on it.

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Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

That's because the anti-intellectualism of the populists and Far Right is in direct contradiction to the basic foundations of any civilisation

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M Meerkat @kackbro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Joe Walsh Is Right......

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citizenstephen.bsky.social @citizenstephen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Just saw my first AI slop commercial on network television. No thanks, First Bank of Greenwich 🤮

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citizenstephen.bsky.social @citizenstephen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Trump spends like 25% of his time going to sporting events.

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Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The youngest person his pager attack killed was 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah, who had just started 4th grade. The pager was on a table when it went off and she picked it up to take to her dad. It exploded in her face and reports said it covered the room in her blood. She wanted to learn English.

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Matt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...

So the message of this research out of China, where you were seeing a lot of kids using A.I. to help them, was that when they were using the A.I., they were getting things done faster. But it turned out that the skills they were learning were not holding, that their actual personal performance, at least in the way we traditionally measure it, was degrading.

What do you think when you hear that?

The last part — I completely agree. Try to get a kid to do long division right now. The multiplication table is starting to be forgotten. Doing square roots, my goodness. Basic math is being forgotten. Does it matter?

That’s my question for you.

Yeah. I don’t think it does. I don’t think it does.

But there must be some set of skills that matter.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But maybe not those. We’re going to discover new ones. Just maybe not those.

There are a lot of skills that don’t matter. My first confession, I actually don’t know my address.

And I ——

I don’t really believe that to be true.

It’s completely true. Janine will tell you and Lori will tell you.

One day I had to pump gas — it was a few years ago. They needed my ZIP code, and I panicked. I didn’t know my ZIP code. I don’t know my telephone number. I forget these things. I can live with it.

But let me take the other side because I don’t want to fall into a thing where, because some skills can be safely offloaded ——

Yeah.

I also can’t get anywhere without a mapping system now. Never could, frankly. But I’m a big reader. And one of the skills I really value, one of the capacities I have that I really value is an attention span formed on physical books.

You’re a big reader. I’ve read about the kind of reading you do. And there is, prior to A.I., a lot of concern and noticing among college professors and others that the way people use the internet has probably shortened attention spans.
Some skills can be safely given away. Others are valuable. They are capacities that are needed for that flexibility, for that creative thinking, for that focus. It can’t be the case that everything can be traded off.

Some skills can be safely given away. Others are valuable. They are capacities that are needed for that flexibility, for that creative thinking, for that focus. It can’t be the case that everything can be traded off.

Yeah. Well, I think that we’re going to lose some finer intellectual dexterity, but we’re going to be better systems thinkers.

Today’s engineers are far better systems thinkers than I was when I graduated from school. But I was a much better transistor thinker.

What do you mean by systems thinker?

They think of large systems. Today’s computers have trillions, hundreds of trillions of transistors in them. When I first graduated from school, the first chip I worked on had 200 transistors. I knew every one of them by name. No engineer does that today. Most engineers now work well above the transistor, well above the functionality, and they’re cobbling things together to do things.

So you need to think much more about systems and interactions of systems. So some of the lower-level knowledge is gone.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

NYC — Actresses Hannah Einbinder & Susan Sarandon arrested protesting Netanyahu

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The Economist @economist.com · 24/09/2026

Deaths now outnumber births in reliably Republican counties for the first time since at least 1982. We explain how this may already be affecting voting patterns in America bit.ly/471apDL

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James Talarico @jamestalarico.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

ICE shot Wilber Perez in the back. Now, Wilber can’t move the left side of his body. How does paralyzing a DoorDash driver make anyone more safe?

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"About five million people in the country have already lost SNAP benefits — the government’s primary anti-hunger tool — because of the Trump/GOP bill... One retiree in Ohio described SNAP benefits as a 'lifeline.' Her benefits dropped in March from $250 to $44" www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...

nytimes.com

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Is Starting to Bite Before the Midterm Elections

The tax cuts in President Trump’s signature achievement were the Republicans’ answer to voters’ economic struggles, but its health care and food assistance cuts are taking a toll.

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Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Donald Trump hates democracy. He hates free speech & a free press. He hates free & fair elections. He hates an independent judiciary & its duty to justice & the law. Yet he adores murderous dictators, particularly Putin. Who exactly is the enemy of the people? American voters have one more chance.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/09/2026

MS NOW reports that their White House reproter was denied access to the White House this morning despite a court order demanding she have access

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