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Firsk.bsky.social

@firsk.bsky.social
821 followers 735 following 3.7K posts

Sailor, entrepreneur (electronic instrumentation), designer, woodworker, boat builder, potter. Pacific Northwest resident, outdoorsy, classical liberal. Parent of an adult trans child. Date from the final days of the Truman administration.

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Reposted by Firsk.bsky.social
victoria scott @victoriascott.bsky.social · 21h
This is just a fucking carjacking. How the hell was he supposed to know it was a state sponsored carjacking. what the fuck are we doing here.
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JonZoidberg @jonzoidberg.xyz · 21h
Suddenly, the entire GOP went silent on Twitter.... www.pcmag.com/news/ukraine...
pcmag.com
Ukraine Reportedly Hits Russian Data Centers, Causing Internet Outages
Ukraine struck Yandex data centers in Sasovo, Ryazan region, and the Kaluga region.
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Seth Abramson @sethabramson.bsky.social · 5h
We went from $200 million and you will pay for absolutely none of it to $600 million *at a bare minimum* and you will pay for almost all of it No president has ever stolen more money from the American people
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 5h
This is some valuable, important, and insightful perspective from someone who knows. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/10/m...
nytimes.com
She’s Been to Gaza. She Met With the Iranians. Now She Has a Warning. (Gift Article)
As the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric goes to both sides of conflicts. She’s worried that our warring world is spiraling out of control.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 5h
It's premature to make this a big issue, but impeachment (after investigations) could be an incredibly powerful tool, and would force members of Congress to show where they stand. Gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/10/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump Is Begging to Be Impeached (Gift Article)
The president’s despotism is itself a constitutional offense.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6h
“Zelenskyy could’ve stopped this war many times, and he chose not to … he better damn well stop” — Trump is no longer trying to conceal that he’s fully on Putin’s side
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 6h
If Americans view, clip, share, and permanently enshrine an American public killing in a million ways on the internet, we will move towards fascist rituals of violence. snyder.substack.com/p/four-wrong...
snyder.substack.com
Four Wrongs of a Public Execution
Psychological, Historical, Political, and Ethical (Video and Text)
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8h
"If you look at what the data itself is showing us, it sure looks like we’re in the process of seeing a fairly major repudiation of Trump and the deeper ideologies that he represents"
publicnotice.co
Trump’s collapse with indy voters, explained by Greg Sargent
“This is the center of the electorate completely turning on Trump.”
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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 6h
If you don't live in DC, may be hard to appreciate scale of nihilist, grifter-based desecration of what has always distinguished the nation's capital, and what so many people have worked so hard for so long to sustain and improve. Backhoe-based counterpart to wartime damage we see in news footage.
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Andy Zahn @andyzahn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Apparently, things are only getting worse at Mt. Rainier. This is just horrifying. I have never seen MRNP so mobbed as it is this year At this point, they should just close the park entirely. There are just too many people, and the park is severely understaffed. Shut. It. Down. #parkchat
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 6h
The first Russian diesel cargo heading for the US left St Petersburg on September 22, two weeks *before* Trump announced the deal with Putin, Windward reports. The Greek-flagged tanker Minerva Zen carrying 275,000 barrels of diesel/gasoil is due at the US East Coast around 11–12 October.
Map of tanker’s route
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 17h
Starting to think that "Russia, Russia, Russia" thing wasn't a hoax.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This is so true from @mjtoma.bsky.social: "It took some guts for Ossoff to decide to make his central attack on Collins his racism...but Ossoff has pressed the point of Collins’s bigotry relentlessly." Big 2028 implications. newrepublic.com/post/216452/...
newrepublic.com
Jon Ossoff Just Delivered Maybe the Greatest Debate Zinger in Ages
Yet again, the Georgia senator showed in Thursday’s debate that he knows how to throw haymakers. Until someone else proves otherwise, he’s the front-runner for 2028.
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The Intellectualist @theintellectualist.bsky.social · 23h
In its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranks the United States 64th, behind Botswana and down seven places from 2025, citing Trump administration actions in the decline. theintellectualistofficial.substack.com/p/us-falls-t...
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 09/10/2026
Trump’s deal to buy Russian diesel from Putin just weeks before the midterms funnels money directly into Russia’s war machine. Trump is now facing calls for Congress to block the deal and impeach him. Meanwhile, energy analysts say it’s unlikely to even make a dent in fuel prices.
meidasnews.com
Trump Announces Russian Diesel Deal Ahead of Midterms
Trump campaigned against foreign oil.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 22h
He seems to believe that those who don't pay invoices should be arrested, so...
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 22h
Organizations and institutions that absolutely know better are STILL "obeying in advance". The cowardice is disheartening. 🧵
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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 09/10/2026
Trump started a stupid & illegal war in Iran that has driven up diesel prices. Now he wants to bankroll Putin's illegal war against Ukraine by buying diesel from him.   One strategic disaster after the next. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
politico.com
Trump lifts sanctions on Russian diesel, suggests US may buy amid surging fuel prices
The move comes weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 23h
Exactly. Trump using our $ to fund Putin’s war against Ukraine. Treasonous.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 23h
Trump helps fund Putin in his invasion of Ukraine.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 09/10/2026
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA): "At this point in time in 2022, a little over 200,000 Virginians had voted. At this point in time in 2026, approximately 450,000 Virginians have voted early."
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Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
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Xela Hart @xelahart.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
It's not just that it would cost nothing. It's that the American people would benefit massively, and for generations to come, by helping Ukraine. Trump is in Putin's pocket, and wants the U.S. to be run as a criminal enterprise like Russia. Failing to aid Ukraine is a world-historical blunder.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
It's not just that it would cost nothing. It's that the U.S. would benefit massively, and for generations to come, by helping Ukraine defeat this criminal Russian menace and supporting a strong international order. Failing to aid Ukraine is a world-historical blunder.
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Matthew D. Taylor @matthewdtaylor.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Defying Tyrants is out today. The abuse of power in Jesus's name is the theological crisis of our time. The New Testament church had a word for people who did that: "antichrists." Why I wrote the book: matthewdtaylor.substack.com/p/its-time-f...
matthewdtaylor.substack.com
It’s Time for a Theological Confrontation
DEFYING TYRANTS (out today!) is my contribution.
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The Independent @the-independent.com · 09/10/2026
Pete Hegseth branded ‘deeply unwell’ as GOP and Dem critics pile on over livestream execution: ‘Obscene medieval spectacle’
trib.al
Hegseth branded ‘deeply unwell’ over livestream execution as some call for his ouster
Pete Hegseth announced that the Fort Hood shooter’s execution by firing squad would be ‘made public’
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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
It is nuts that you can’t even ethnically cleanse a voter’s entire family without losing that vote to Dumocrats, must be terminal cases of TDS
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Alan Elrod @aselrod.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This penultimate paragraph in @gregsargent.bsky.social’s new piece is a devastating summary of the GOP’s racial politics.
Trump and MAGA have pulled off some astounding political sleight of hand. They have openly advertised that their ideological goal is ethnic cleansing, recruiting ICE agents, and saturating official government communications with explicit white-nationalist appeals. Yet they also succeeded for a time in selling this agenda to Latinos as purely about law enforcement and public safety. This straddle was critical to sustaining notions of MAGA as a multiracial movement.
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Russ @pappyparki.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
They asked Trump's beloved AI to analyze his "big brain" for his "highest IQ." They agreed. He's Mid at best www.irishstar.com/news/us-news...
irishstar.com
'I asked 7 AIs to guess Donald Trump's IQ - their answers were savage'
Donald Trump has often boasted about his intellect, but a YouTuber asked seven AI models to estimate his IQ - and some of the generated assessments are completely brutal
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
JUST UNSEALED: A judge ruled this week that the first Trump admin's "Remain in Mexico" policy illegally subjected thousands of people – many with meritorious asylum claims — to horrifically dangerous and violent conditions and deprived them of access to attorneys. cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/legal-doc...
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Remarkable: As of now, Latino early vote is outpacing where it was at same time in 2024 in both percentages of vote share and in RAW VOTE TOTALS. That's big. Presidential turnout is usually higher than midterms. I obtained new analysis from Dem firm TargetSmart: newrepublic.com/article/2164...
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The saving grace is that Trump's people are both delusional and incompetent. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/u...
nytimes.com
How Trump’s Revenge Campaign Descended Into Turmoil (Gift Article)
The president’s allies have sought to prove a “grand conspiracy” through a sprawling Justice Department inquiry. It has buckled under staffing shake-ups, internal disputes and trouble finding evidence...
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
MAGA still sees Trump as a strongman even as "his brain is turning to shit" and Natalie Harp now "looks like his nursemaid," says @jenrubin.bsky.social. His aides are griping to Fox like "whiny crybabies." On the pod Jen is so good on the crackup of Trump propaganda: newrepublic.com/article/2164...
newrepublic.com
Trump Rage at Fox Backfires as Aides Leak Humiliating Motive Behind It
As the embarrassing roots of Trump’s fury at Fox News come to light, the author of a piece on MAGA manliness marvels at how whiny Trump-MAGA have become as the election nears.
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This is what Christo-fascism looked like — specifically the Romanian fascism of the 1930s. Hegseth is a Christo-fascist. (1/3)
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
For people still wondering what fascism is, Hegseth’s proposal to livestream an execution and Trump’s “love me” ad are useful introductions. (2/3)
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 09/10/2026
He’s so damn good at this. Jon Ossoff came out swinging against Mike Collins in the Georgia Senate debate. “It’s not just that you’ve hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office … It’s that you’re robbing your constituents to subsidize your donors.” 🔥
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Kasey Gifford @kaseygifford.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
To put this in perspective chestnut trees used to be dominant species in the United States. Billions of trees were killed by fungal blight and now fully grown America chestnuts are functionally extinct. There is no getting them back. Ever. All for a data center. www.gadgetreview.com/one-of-ameri...
gadgetreview.com
One of America’s Last Chestnut Groves Is About to Be Destroyed for a Data Center
A rare 200-tree American chestnut grove in West Virginia may be cleared for data-center development, but the project denies the site is on its land.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This would sink a presidency in any other era. I would bet most Americans will never hear it even happened.
wapo.st
Trump bought over $1 million in SpaceX debt days before unveiling space policy
The purchase, revealed in his latest financial disclosure, involved a firm directly affected by his administration’s actions — and led by presidential ally Elon Musk.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I think there are a lot of ideas that get tagged as "radical" which actually have a great deal of popular support.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I think there are a lot of ideas that get tagged as "radical" which actually have a great deal of support. The supposed "far left" in US politics is about aligned with centrist to center-left parties in Europe.
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David Slack @slack2thefuture.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
RIP Margaret Hamilton, the brilliant software engineer whose code launched chaos theory and put the Apollo missions on the moon. arstechnica.com/science/2026...
arstechnica.com
RIP Margaret Hamilton, whose code saved the Apollo 11 Moon landing
Hamilton also coined the term "software engineering" and founded two successful software companies.
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Tells you my (more maritime) perspective, but the first thought I had hearing this announcement was to wonder how they were going to get those tractor-trailer rigs up to the fuel dock in the harbor.
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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Like my friend @rokhanna.bsky.social says here, Congress has a constitutional right to assess the damage of the Iran War. Denying a Member of Congress even a briefing with military officials is a full blown cover up.
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Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"Miller did not want the facilities that were comfortable. He did not want facilities that were humane. We were told point-blank that that was not what the administration wanted." - a government contractor whose company was approached to convert several of the warehouses into ICE facilities.
npr.org
ICE has quietly used this warehouse as a detention facility all summer, neighbors say
Throughout the summer, rumors have been bubbling in North New Jersey that ICE has quietly been using a warehouse as a detention center. NPR investigated.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Looks like everyone at the White House (or their families) were getting their beaks wet in Republika Srpska www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-...
cbsnews.com
Photo shows top Trump aide's daughter with pro-Russia politician in Bosnia
Katie Wiles is a partner at the political lobbying firm Continental Strategy. A spokesperson for the firm acknowledged to CBS News that Wiles had taken the trip to Republika Srpska but on business for...
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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
NEW: Marco Rubio’s ethnonationalist speech gets no pushback in the New York Times presswatchers.org/2026/10/marc...
presswatchers.org
Marco Rubio’s ethnonationalist speech gets no pushback in the New York Times | Press Watch
Stenography is no way to report on dangerously divisive and retrograde pronouncements from this government
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yet another example of the potential long term costs of this idiotic, short sighted and corrupt administration. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/o...
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Firsk.bsky.social @firsk.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/w...
nytimes.com
How a U.S. Diplomat Suppressed and Altered Reports Critical of Israel (Gift Article)
A top aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee skewed information to portray the Netanyahu government in a favorable light, according to multiple officials and documents obtained by The Times.
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It’s not socialism that they hate, it’s pluralism.
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