iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 3h

Gasoline will have a big impact on September CPI. EIA data show Sep YoY gasoline inflation is 36%. Diesel (not a line item in CPI) will be worse, at 68% YoY. (Diesel demand is half of gasoline by volume; shows up more on the PPI side, and/or embedded in inflation of other goods with lag in CPI)

620259

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 10h

Here's a $20 million order, paid for by CBP's Office of Public Affairs, awarded to LMD Agency for a national media campaign starting on Sept. 20. The first pro-Trump ad aired on Sept. 23. www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_A...

U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
USAspending.gov

Search Award Data
Explore the Data
Download the Data
Find Resources

Contract Summary
Download
Share
Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) Call
PIID

70B06C26F00001137
In Progress
(11 months remain)
Unlinked Award
Awarding Agency
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Recipient
LMD AGENCY, INC.
5950 SYMPHONY WOODS RD STE 500
COLUMBIA, MD 21044-3592
UNITED STATES
Congressional District: MD-03
Related Awards
Parent Award Unique Key
CONT_IDV_70Z02323ACGRC0001_7008
Dates
Today
Start Date
Sep 20, 2026
Current End Date
Sep 19, 2027
Potential End Date
Sep 19, 2027
$ Award Amounts
$20.0 Million
Current Award Amount
$20.0 Million
Obligated Amount
$20.0 Million
Potential Award Amount
Outlayed Amount
$0.00
Obligated Amount
$20,000,000.00
Current Award Amount
$20,000,000.00
Potential Award Amount
$20,000,000.00
View Transaction History
Description

NATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)Code
54 : Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
5418: Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services
541810: Advertising Agencies
Product or Service Code(PSC)
SERVICES
R: SUPPORT SVCS (PROF, ADMIN, MGMT)
R7: MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES
R701: SUPPORT- MANAGEMENT: ADVERTISING
Contract Activity
$0$5 M$10 M$15 M$20 M$25 MSEP FY '26OCT FY '27DEC FY '27JAN FY '27FEB FY '27APR FY '27MAY FY '27JUN FY '27AUG FY '27SEP FY '27StartTodayCurrent EndPotential End
View transactions table
Federal Accounts
This award has not been linked to any federal account.
Award History

This section displays the awards:

Transaction History - Displays modification records for an award. Each modification appears as a row in the table below.

Sub-Awards - Displays any sub-contracts reported by this contract's recipient (the 'prime recipient' in the sub-award context). Sub-contracts are contractual agreements that a prime recipient makes with another entity (sub-reci

13348150

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 9h

Just a reminder that this is the same Sen. Schmitt who repeatedly claimed that Chief Judge Boasberg was receiving a disproportionate share of Trump-related cases because he confused the D.C. Superior Court (which has 62 judges) with the D.C. district court (which has 15).

1112313597

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 10h

I'm not the audience for the Smith hearing, but the main political issue here is that Republicans want the world to know that Smith subpoenaed congressional phone records as he investigated Jan. 6 etc, and nobody outside the Senate can explain to you why that's bad.

28905123

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 10h

Chuck Schumer calls the Jon Husted-led Ratepayer Protection Act “a toothless messaging bill” that Republicans know will fail, telegraphing Dems will block it. He calls it an “ineffectual participation trophy” that makes data center cost policies optional, says Ds want mandatory.

48516

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 12h

Aaron is not underrating this. It's cinema. The sly smirk when Schmitt thinks he's gotten Smith to perjure himself. The hasty vanishing of the sign. Klobuchar getting Kennedy to hold it up. Schmitt getting LOUD and ANGRY when Klobuchar points out he mixed up the Hawks and Hawkeyes.

1232596507

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

yes obviously

4521

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yes, yes we are pushing back.

Publishers Push Back: The NYT, Chicago Tribune, and other publishers are asking a federal judge to disregard the Trump Justice Department’s defense of OpenAI in a landmark copyright case, suggesting the administration may have been influenced by “political and financial interests.” The move came after the DOJ filed a brief earlier this month backing OpenAI’s use of copyrighted news articles to train A.I. models qualifies as “fair use,” arguing that restricting A.I. development could hurt U.S. competitiveness. The publishers countered that the government’s position is separate from the copyright questions before the court. “By all measures, this Statement of Interest appears to be an effort to further enrich the world’s largest companies—and the Administration’s largest donors—while undermining this country’s free press,” a spokesperson for The NYT said in a statement.

226551

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’m sorry, what? This piece was not a joint publication/ reporting job (as some are). It was @propublica’s alone and the Times followed with a summary. This is so indicative of NYT. If they don’t ignore proper credit, they just go for stolen valor.

623737729

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

How clear is it that Trump's taxpayer funded ads are illegal? I explain why it is 10/10 clear. Senate in passing the law: Ban is designed to stop public funds used for "glorification" of an individual official. GAO: funds can not be used for "self-aggrandizement" nor partisan political purposes.

12033301052

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Reconstructionist @unavaleable.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Every French presidential poll LADY HITLER - 35% JEAN D'AUSTÉRITÉ - 18% CHUD COMMUNISTE - 17%

132629470

Reposted by Dave Weigel

David Nir @davidnir.com · 29/09/2026

And if you're curious as to why stations can be held liable for defamatory claims in third-party ads but *not* in candidate ads, we did an explainer earlier this year! It all goes back (believe it or not) to a Senate race in North Dakota ... in 1956 www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-di...

Normally, broadcasters can be sued for airing defamatory material—even advertising created by others—since stations are regarded as “publishers” of any such advertisements. A 1959 Supreme Court case, however, gave broadcasters immunity when it comes to candidate ads.

Three years earlier, a North Dakota TV and radio station, WDAY, had allowed the Democratic and Republican candidates running for the U.S. Senate to both air speeches shortly before Election Day. An independent candidate, Arthur Townley, then demanded—and received—the same opportunity.

In his address, Townley charged that his rivals “take orders from Communist controlled Democrat Farmers Union” and claimed the organization wanted to “establish a Communist Farmers Union Soviet right here in North Dakota.”

The Farmers Union then sued both Townley and WDAY for defamation, but WDAY argued that because it was obligated to give Townley equal time under the Communications Act, it could not be held liable. The Supreme Court ultimately agreed, setting a nationwide precedent that holds to this day.

(Townley, incidentally, never responded to the lawsuit and won less than 1% of the vote.)

09215

Reposted by Dave Weigel

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

When I was at UNC, they joked that the average Geography major made high six figures thanks to one former student named Michael Jordan.

1662945

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Stephen Gutowski @stephengutowski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

So, the Eagles don't start playing defense until the 10-yard line or what?

0341

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Elle @elleisanisland.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Recession indicator

A box of Hamburger helper. At the top it says to try using hot dogs instead of ground beef

752893779

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Tim Murphy @timothypmurphy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

the guy he's talking to once got a parking ticket for a tank and has the ignominious distinction of having been Rick Perry's debate coach

412313

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

perfect time to launch my anti-pustule gofundme

3521

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I wonder what gears turned that put two prestige Robin Hood movies into production. A bet that the ongoing popularity of Westeros stuff = people want medieval content? It can't be that people are reading "Ivanhoe" again, because only I'm doing that.

18684

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Luke O'Neil @lukeoneil47.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Giving all my friends' books 3 stars on Goodreads to inspire them to work harder.

424012

Reposted by Dave Weigel

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 28/09/2026

Josh Turek: “It’s really easy to send out a tweet and say, ‘Oh, we need to end this war in Iran.’ Seven times [Ashley Hinson] had the opportunity to actually end this war.”

10574118

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 28/09/2026

FWIW, Rev. Adam Hamilton is actually one of *two* megachurch pastors running for Congress as Democrats this year. The other is Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, and he actually is *very* likely to end up in Congress, as he won the primary in the deep-blue district. religionnews.com/2026/07/28/b...

religionnews.com

‘Blessed’: Frederick Haynes, pastor and candidate, on his politics, faith and health

WASHINGTON (RNS) — ‘The church has been so supportive that, I mean, they've been more excited about my campaign than I have,’ Haynes said of his historically Black Dallas megachurch.

37612

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm thrilled to share that my new book about #SCOTUS, "The Court We Need: What's Really Wrong With the Supreme Court—and How to Fix It," is now available for pre-orders: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/812983... The book is set to be published by @vikingbooks.bsky.social on May 4, 2027.

penguinrandomhouse.com

The Court We Need by Stephen Vladeck: 9798217061815 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

A brilliant and bracing account of the Supreme Court’s rise, its unraveling, and what it will take to save it, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Docket Richard Nixon turned...

311082270

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Taking this prompt from the other site. I enjoy thinking about how old I am. my9games.net/en

241251

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Took most of the week off after remembering I took none of summer off, upped my Reading Game

8421

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Andrew Solender @andrewsolender.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

NEW: Over the last few days I watched 350+ campaign ads going back to 2018. What I found: Dems' rhetoric about the political establishment and their own party has taken a drastically negative turn this year. Candidates and operatives told @axios.com why: www.axios.com/2026/09/25/d...

2376

Reposted by Dave Weigel

elias isquith @eliasisquith.blog · 25/09/2026

a culture where highbrow ppl are obsessed with tony soprano and lowerbrow ppl are obsessed with being walter white is in retrospect BEGGING for a strongman

1431047

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 25/09/2026

In which my RNS colleague @bmietana.bsky.social tracks the "Rise of the Jim Crow theobros." Fascinating an unsettling reporting here, but this is a key line: "…along the way, they are turning outrage into cash." religionnews.com/2026/09/24/t...

religionnews.com

The rise of the Jim Crow theobros

(RNS) — A group of Reformed pastors and influencers has wedded old-school segregationist theology with the hypermasculinity of the manosphere and the savvy of the attention economy to preach and sell ...

712456

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Laura Belin @laurarbelin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Forgot to post yesterday that a Polk County Court dismissed Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its former pollster, Ann Selzer. Read the strong defense of the First Amendment and comprehensive dismantling of "consumer fraud" claims: www.bleedingheartland.com/static/media...

bleedingheartland.com

38215

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18/09/2026

Trump says he's "banning the free press"

4152940884

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Bradford Pearson @bradfordpearson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

there are days when I think this is the greatest song ever recorded and today is one of those days

youtube.com

Summer's Kiss

YouTube video by The Afghan Whigs - Topic

6283

Reposted by Dave Weigel

jesse @jesseltaylor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

i truly can't wait for this era of bizarre tie-ins to end

3698

Reposted by Dave Weigel

Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 17/09/2026

Incredible story by @mharrisondupre.bsky.social & @jonchristian.net I know it seems like a never-ending slog, but this is just one example of amazing tech journalism being written in the ai-moment. Also, I'm so fucking angry this is happening, along with the giant side of colonialism thrown in.

13210

Reposted by Dave Weigel