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What was I thinking?

@ericmarcus.bsky.social
1.1K followers 4K following 363 posts

A Stranger in a Strange Land from Maryland, USA, now an IT guy in Cambridge, UK. "The beat of the butterfly's wing affects us all" Avatar - "All roads lead to Rome..."

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Reposted by What was I thinking?
Kenny Smith @kennysmith.org · 30/09/2026
Every journalism professor, ever, implored their students to follow the money. Every editor, ever, has offered the same commandment. It has never let down a single scribe.
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Bremain in Spain @bremaininspain.com · 30/09/2026
#Brexit - President Macron is spot on - Brexit has been an utter disaster for the UK.
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 30/09/2026
The US Preventive Services Task Force is part of my doctor bible. But evidence-based and not swayed by lobbyists. There is NO good reason to not let the primary care experts do their (free) work to keep us all healthy. www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
medpagetoday.com
Trump Administration Suppressed USPSTF Recommendations, Past Chair Says
Group's recommendations on cervical cancer screening, cardiovascular prevention were blocked
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AkivaMCohen @akivamcohen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"We'll make sure that any potential identity thieves can easily determine which mail includes your passport"
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What was I thinking? @ericmarcus.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And that promise was well fulfilled! So glad I came tonight, so glad to meet you in person.
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
From tonight's Hookland talk on Re-enchantment as Resistance at @treadwells-books.bsky.social. 'Folklore is often the wild frontier of belief, the place where wonder may still live. Here be Woodwoses, here be Harrowhounds, the ghosts which whisper wisdom.' #FolkloreThursday
Folklore can ignite enchantment within us. Enchantment that fuels our imaginations. Enchantment that shifts our consciousness, allows us to envisage new and better worlds. It begins the process of manifesting the changes we desire. Re-enchanted, the world is full of new, feral possibilities. Re-enchanted our imagination is an accessible superpower. 

The stories we intentionally absorb, the stories we select to tell ourselves, they allow us to live in the world differently. They allow us to make and remake the world differently.

Folklore is often the wild frontier of belief, the place where wonder may still live. Here be Woodwoses, here be Harrowhounds, the ghosts which whisper wisdom. We need this space. We ache for the sublime. For re-enchantment is an assertion of wonder and the numinosity of our relationships with landscape. Re-enchantment is an assertion of our collective ability to both imagine and experience better worlds. As a refusal of despair, as a lensing of hope. In re-enchantment we stop dreaming of inevitable apocalypse and find the permissive space to tell stories of hope.

Re-enchantment is personal metamorphosis. The space in which we grow glowing red eyes to patrol our communities against this long night of authoritarian pisspuffinry. The space in which we develop iron-hard fur, immune to the curses reductionist racists, misogynists, homophobes and AI cultists throw at us. Re-enchantment as the permissive circle where we can voyage into ourselves and find the marvels and bravery we need to deal with this age of violent bruising. This is why I walk the territory of folklore. Wear my witch-cloak of swan feathers, hold hag stone to my eye. This is why I created Hookland as a home for stories, a community for Fully-grown Changelings.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17/09/2026
Florida Republican tries to save her seat by ... running ads against Trump
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Son of Herby @sonofherby.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
bsky.app/profile/char...
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Missing The Point @missingthept.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Lucille Bluth: "It's a $1 Trump coin Michael, what could it cost, $10?"
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 17/09/2026
📣 CDC colleagues: Working on something you want to see get more attention? An article, project, or program you’re proud of? DM us. We’ll do our best to highlight the amazing work you’re doing. 💚 Let’s make sure good public health work gets seen.
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I didn't hold back. These centers are a blight on higher education and we should say so. dailyiowan.com/2026/09/15/u...
“Center for Intellectual Freedom is a really Orwellian name because they’re forcing mandatory classes on students who don’t want it,” Ray said. “Just as a matter of pure consistency, if closing African American Studies was just a financial decision, the center should be closed.” Ray said universities do a better job fostering free thought than any other institution — including churches, workplaces, and the military.

“You can say and do things at universities that you cannot do anywhere else,” he said. “So the notion that universities are a problem when it comes to free speech is just a lie.”
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Shout out to the student journalists at The Daily Iowan for reporting on the travesty that is Iowa's Center for Intellectual Freedom. With quotes from me dailyiowan.com/2026/09/15/u...
dailyiowan.com
Uncertainty in leadership, curriculum surrounds UI Center for Intellectual Freedom
In the barren walls of his Calvin Hall office, where the Center for Intellectual Freedom resides, interim director and University of Iowa economics professor Luciano de Castro shuffles a stack of pape...
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Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
It's a fascist regime. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
washingtonpost.com
Pentagon secretly installs military influencers in civilian roles
Conservative veterans with large social media followings have been hired by the Defense Department and are amplifying Pete Hegseth’s culture-war fights.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 30/08/2026
The smoking gun evidence in the hush money trial that convicted Trump on 34 felony counts included a $50K payout to Red Finch Technologies. Red Finch artificially boosted Trump's polls. Just making sure no one forgets Trump has been fixing the polls for a decade.
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Adam Rifkin 🐼 @ifindkarma.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
“Remember that you’re standing on a planet that’s evolving and revolving at 900 miles an hour… … So remember, when you’re feeling very small and insecure, how amazingly unlikely is your birth; and pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere out in space…” Monty Python Galaxy Song
youtu.be
Galaxy Song - Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
YouTube video by Monty Python
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Hamed Aleaziz @haleaziz.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
SCOOP: The Trump administration plans to step up deportation flights to Haiti as soon as this week, according to documents obtained by The New York Times, a move intended to more quickly expel thousands of Haitians whose legal status expired this summer. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration to Expand Deportation Flights to Haiti
Flights to the Caribbean nation will increase from once a month to once a week now that the Supreme Court allowed President Trump to cancel a humanitarian program.
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LutraLutra @reacctionary.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Rorschach Challenge. Well I know what I see - but what do you see?
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
On BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze tonight: “Slavery - Right or Wrong?” Some people say it’s morally wrong. On the other hand, it makes a tonne of money. On the panel: Edward Colston, King Leopold II, Tommy Robinson and Matt Goodwin. Join us as we discuss one of the great moral dilemmas of the day.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
🙃
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This is the most Republican story you will read all day. A Republican who represents Trump’s home district was arrested for molesting his OWN GRANDSON and could face the death penalty under a state law he sponsored. There has to be a German word for this.
rawstory.com
Florida Republican could face death penalty under child abuse law he championed
A Florida Republican from Donald Trump's home district could potentially face the death penalty under a law he had championed as a state legislator.Mike Caruso, the Palm Beach County clerk of courts a...
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16/08/2026
Great @phillipspobrien.bsky.social piece on depth of Trump’s alliance w/Putin: “The US keeping Ukraine dependent on Patriots means even a small number gives US leverage, & in this case it can be used to do a massive favor for Putin—a favor Ukrainians were sadly forced to start giving right away.”
phillipspobrien.substack.com
Weekend Update #198: Russia's Allies Are More Helpful Than Ukraine's
Actually, The USA Is Quite A Good Ally For Russia; Ukraine Is Slowly But Steadily Liberating Territory.
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Troy Jackson @troyjackson207.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Susan Collins failed for months to disclose up to nearly $400,000 in stock transactions, violating the STOCK Act.
 Mainers deserve to know whether their senator is looking out for them—or her own stock portfolio.
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LA Blue Dot in GA 🌊🐸 @namwella1961.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
You know what’s worse than living in America illegally? A president who raped children and the Republicans who are covering it up. #ProudBlue #Pinks #SheShed
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Cheryl Lynn Eaton @cheryllynneaton.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I hate that we have let the nastiest racists on earth define and redefine our language. From "woke" to "DEI." Trump's policies are not anti-DEI. They are racist. US firms did not abandon DEI policies. They fired competent black women in droves on the basis of race and sex.
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ᑕᕼᗴᖇYᒪ @cheryl2877.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Cheryl's 80 Days to Midterms Starter Pack (#30) 80 Days to the Midterm Elections! You cannot sit this one out! Democracy won't defend itself. Please Repost and Follow go.bsky.app/RsjdZzd
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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 14/08/2026
New: We pieced together dozens of violent incidents from the ICE agents seen in viral videos from Virginia this week. They've roamed across multiple states, but are most often working in Chicago. We also verified the identity of Martin Lagunas, the fed who pointed his gun at a woman on Monday:
unraveledpress.com
Chicago ICE team seen threatening drivers has roamed from Illinois to Minnesota to Virginia
A federal agent from Chicago identified by community members as 40-year-old Martin Lagunas was recorded pointing his gun in the face of a Virginia woman on Monday. His team of ICE agents has been docu...
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Antje Wiener @antjewiener.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Indeed. Total eclipse of international law, no longer deep contestation.
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#BlueStormComin1🌪️🦋🇺🇸 #Resistance 🦋🙌🏻 #Blues @bluestormcomin1.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
@j1j2.bsky.social @dogluvver.bsky.social @jamie-lynn06.bsky.social @suky01.bsky.social @docmurphydog.bsky.social @coramaywilson.bsky.social @ianseine.bsky.social @wolverinebear.bsky.social @southerngayteacher.bsky.social @mattmcneilshow.bsky.social @raykwong.lol @bandroll.bsky.social #Blues
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 15/08/2026
We want to train you on what to do if ICE invades your area. Our next call will focus on how you can effectively organize community support in response to ICE’s brutality.
mobilize.us
Immigrant Justice Summer Call # 4: How to Funnel Support for Immigrant Justice in Your Community · Indivisible
When an ICE surge hits, community support floods in from every direction. Without a system to direct it, that energy scatters. This call trains you on how to build a link tree that functions as your c...
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Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
You guessed it but even just threatening to declare an international straight a ‘territory of the United States’ is not just violating the US’ international obligations but constitutes a threat to the law of nations as a whole. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump threatens to declare strait of Hormuz ‘territory of the United States’
Seriousness of remark made in New York on Friday, and whether it signaled new policy ​position, not clear
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Pete Quily @pqpolitics.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
CEO Tim Gitzel signed it in Delhi standing next to Modi, Carney, and Scott Moe. India needed a uranium supplier that wouldn’t threaten them with tariffs every time its feelings got hurt. Gee, wonder who came to mind. deanblundell.substack.com/p/while-trum...
deanblundell.substack.com
While Trump Was Screaming At Reporters, Canada Quietly Built A $28 Billion Anti-Trump Escape Hatch While Posting Biggest Trade Surplus In Years
And nobody in Washington even noticed, because they were too busy setting their own economy on fire while protecting their rapist President.
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George Greenwood @georgegreenwood.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Nigel Farage’s two biggest personal donors, Christopher Harborne and George Cottrell, can both be linked to a betting platform implicated in potentially illegal gambling in the UK. With Venetia Menzies @gabrielpogrund.bsky.social @manumidolo.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Nigel Farage donors’ links to betting service implicated in potential illegal gambling
Christopher Harborne and George Cottrell have both been connected to the unlicensed platform Tether.bet, which shut last week
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 13/08/2026
Democrats are uniting around primary winners. That's the reality. Don't let the oligarch-owned corporate media tell you there's some kind of "war" between the left and the center. They are dividing their opposition. The reality is unity. Ignore the rich people trying to convince you otherwise.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 13/08/2026
If Joe Rogan listened to the Daily Beans podcast, he’d have known this a long time ago.
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
So we have partisan political police in the middle of a work day attending a political rally in uniform. Looks like Nuremberg in 1936.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 15/08/2026
Listen to Commander Adama.
"There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 15/08/2026
Insane that this has been normalized and is probably not even gonna crack the news.
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Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
41 years ago, Carl Sagan gave a clear and elegant explanation of the science behind global warming.
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#BlueStormComin1🌪️🦋🇺🇸 #Resistance 🦋🙌🏻 #Blues @bluestormcomin1.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
#CrooksAndLiars #Maga #Blues #BSC1 Sick of these deadly idiots running the administration.
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Larry Colvin @larrycolvin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Major: The Most Brazen Act of Self-Dealing in Presidential History, New Epstein Bombshells, and What We're Uncovering About Our Troops #Blues aaronparnas.substack.com/p/major-the-...
aaronparnas.substack.com
Major: The Most Brazen Act of Self-Dealing in Presidential History, New Epstein Bombshells, and What We're Uncovering About Our Troops
Good morning, everyone.
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 15/08/2026
lmao at Iddin-Sin, an ungrateful little shit of yore
Screenshot of a translation of this 4,000 letter, linked within the quote-skeeted article and reading as follows:

"Tell the Lady Zinu: Iddin-Sin sends the following message:
May the gods Samas, Marduk, and Ilabrat keep you forever in
good health for my sake.
From year to year, the clothes of the (young) gentlemen here
become better, but you let my clothes get worse from year to
year. Indeed, you persisted(?) in making my clothes poorer and
more scanty. At a time when in our house wool is used up like
bread, you have made me poor clothes. The son of Adad-iddinam,
whose father is only an assistant of my father, (has) two new sets
of clothes [break] while you fuss even about a single set of clothes
for me. In spite of the fact that you bore me and his mother only
adopted him, his mother loves him, while you, you do not love
me!"

Available at: https://lustria-online.com/threads/letters-from-mesopotamia.21099/
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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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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 08/08/2026
Trump, Hegseth, Caine, the first people in a very long time to lose a war quickly. VIetnam and the ME wars took a while, and in the case of Iraq its a better place now, even though not worth the sacrifice. But this team? No one else to blame: they lost in record time
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Things are happening
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anita72.bsky.social @anita72.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
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it's Candy Love @candylovely.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
#BlackAmerica is under attack. Family demand answer After 29 year old Black woman found handing from a tree of an Abandoned Mississippi home. www.mississippifreepress.org/black-woman-...
mississippifreepress.org
Black Woman Found Hanging in Tree Behind Vacant Home in Jackson, But Details Are Sparse
Jackson police are investigating the death of a Black woman who was found hanging in a tree behind a home in Mississippi's capital city.
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RoseMarie @rosesbloom24.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
More than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops have been detained, and at least six have been deported, in President Donald Trump’s massive crackdown on immigration. 🧵 www.thedailybeast.com/ice-detains-...
Title of article: ICE Rounds Up Dozens of Relatives of U.S. Troops
Lead: The change reflects the ruthlessness of Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda in his second term.
Reporter: Lauren Hartley  (Intern)
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 05/08/2026
We created this guide for anyone who could experience a miscarriage in a state with abortion restrictions. We wrote it in consultation with dozens of doctors, including those who regularly treat patients who are miscarrying 👇
propublica.org
If You’re Pregnant, Here’s What You Should Know About the Medical Procedures That Could Save Your Life
Women experiencing pregnancy loss in states with abortion bans told us they wished they had known what to expect and how to advocate for themselves. We created this guide for anyone who finds themselv...
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 04/08/2026
This is pretty straightforward, and it's weird to me that people are against it.
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