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fred-decker.bsky.social

@fred-decker.bsky.social
268 followers 97 following 2.6K posts

Freelance writer, interested in almost everything (but I repeat myself). Was the kid who read encyclopedias for fun, now am the grownup who reads academic papers and follows smart people online.

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Reposted by @fred-decker.bsky.social
Cheryl Rofer @cherylrofer.bsky.social · 19h
The immensely wealthy men who run the AI companies are forcing the economy to serve their dreams and crowding out everyone else's.
paulkrugman.substack.com
AI Versus Everything Else
The hyperscaler boom is crowding out other investment
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 2h
A BFD. As people get ready to fill their heating oil tanks for the winter, they learn it will cost 80% more than last year. Your early Christmas Gift from Trump and the Republican Party is that your Christmas present budget will now go to their friends in the oil business.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 2h
writers, even very good ones, struggle with. ...and just to put it on the record, given the OP, I did not "learn so much" from this novel. :P (A little about other cultures, maybe)
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 2h
Very much appreciated the way you slowed things down after that first big (treading gingerly around spoilers, here) "interim climax." Gave room for the characters to breathe, expand, and find themselves. I'll also add that the sex scenes were uncommonly well-written, and that's something most
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 3h
The Trump regime wants to dismantle the International Criminal Court because it plans to continue committing war crimes. The Trump regime is refusing to allow international election monitors because it plans to continue committing election fraud. They are not being subtle.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 3h
Hmmm. I eat a *lot* of apples, gonna have to keep an eye open for this one. thewalrus.ca/canada-sunpu...
thewalrus.ca
Canada Has a New Apple. Its Story Is Bananas | The Walrus
The Sunpunch features tropical notes and twenty-five years of research and testing
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Gregory Lynn @needfulwords.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I think we should start painting everyone who is against UBI as soft on crime. Crime stems largely from desperation. Give people some real hope to improve their lives and crime will go down. Also the billionaires are driving people to desperation and causing the crime.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 3h
writers posting on Bluesky, and/or other writers/people I follow reposting them. Never miss a chance to put yourself forward, writers!
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 3h
Well *that* was a capital-R Ride, for sure. Props to @itsamia.bsky.social for a heck of a debut. Described it to my fiancee in non spoiler-ish terms, and she's asked me to read it to her when we're finished our current book (that's what we do instead of TV). Most of my current TBR comes from /
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ebisback.bsky.social @ebisback.bsky.social · 7h
Exactly 💯
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Leah Feiger @leahfeiger.bsky.social · 6h
Elon Musk's America PAC is quietly donating to the most consequential races of November's midterms, and @wired.com is tracking all of it - in real time. amazing work from @dell.bsky.social, who built this, and big lifts from @hugolowell.bsky.social, @dmehro.bsky.social, and @regret.bsky.social:
wired.com
Elon Musk’s America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We’re Tracking It Daily
To follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections.
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 8h
Shouldn't the Democrats have something like an Elon Donations Tracker posted on all of their websites and social media? Make this SALIENT? Might it make sense to point out repeatedly that he is a white supremacist and ask the public why he would be backing the GOP?
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Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 5h
The Trump administration will start selecting lawyers for unaccompanied minors. Meaning the judges work for Donald Trump, the prosecutors work for Trump, and now the attorneys representing children will work for Trump. This is a rigged system that will result in more untold horrors for these kids.
cnn.com
Inside the Texas courtroom where toddlers face immigration judges | CNN Politics
Migrant children as young as 2 are showing up at immigration courts nationwide, many without attorneys, to try make their case to stay in the US and avoid deportation.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 4h
Whoopsie, lost the link to the article. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
nbcnews.com
CIA officer arrested with gold bars admits he exposed secret intelligence source to a foreign official
David Rush, who was fired, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and will be sentenced Jan. 28.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 4h
So the five-bar discrepancy... was Trump's cut? Just spit-balling here.
A paragraph from the linked article, reading "During their search of his home, investigators seized about 300 gold bars, federal officials said, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches. Initially investigators said it was 303 bars, but on Tuesday revised that figure to 298 bars."
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 4h
Saw this on Gander, where the poster said it originated here on Bluesky. If anyone knows the origin, please let me know and I'll link back for proper attribution in a following comment.
Image of an attractive female protester, holding a cardboard sign on which someone has digitally inserted the words "'We can't tax rich people on unrealized stock gains because they haven't sold.' Then explain why my property taxes jump when my home value climbs. I didn't sell. I didn't cash out. Yet I still owe more off a higher assessment. Funny how 'unrealized' only works in one direction."
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 5h
Super Intelligence, please tell me which party started the Tariff war and currently controls the Senate?
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Angus McIntyre @angusm.bsky.social · 5h
I'd like to live in a world where we had the Democrats that Republicans invent to scare their voters instead of the Democrats we actually have.
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ebisback.bsky.social @ebisback.bsky.social · 7h
💥🎃🤣
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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 15h
How do I know Hegseth’s order to deny access to bases to members of Congress is about a cover up, not about safety? Because I asked for a military briefing at the embassy as a substitute and was told the policy prohibited military leaders in the region from even talking to me.
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Maj @lif3asmaj.blacksky.app · 7h
Not that this is news to anyone, but I watched this debate and well...let's just say that the GOP will likely tell candidates to not debate Dems like they did in 2021 & this debate will likely be why. If they haven't outright done so already considering how Paxton is ducking Talarico.
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Thatch @thatchspace.bsky.social · 12h
Found this gem via @doctorow.pluralistic.net newsletter. Its a nice read by @deadparrotbbs.com@deadparrotbbs.com over on Mastodon Why Plain Text Is Still One of the Best Technologies We Have deadparrotbbs.com/why-plain-te...
deadparrotbbs.com
Why Plain Text Is Still One of the Best Technologies We Have
Plain text is portable, inspectable, searchable, easy to back up, and remarkably resistant to obsolescence. Its simplicity has helped it survive decades of...
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 6h
It's *incredibly striking* how closely the rhetoric matches the MAGA/MAHA Administration's rhetoric....same nasty playbook
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Sam “The Great Pumpkin” Thielman @samthielman.com · 6h
oh look paid protesters
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Inside Ukraine 🇺🇦 @insideukraine.bsky.social · 16h
🇺🇦🫵🪖💥🐽President Zelenskyy warned Ukraine will retaliate symmetrically against russian infrastructure, including telecom networks in moscow.
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Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 6h
"Surging demand from data centers and air conditioners put the US power system through a tough test this summer. But instead of triggering a jump in fossil-fuel use, record renewables output carried much of the extra load and helped keep the lights on." The lies of the oil industry are falling fast
reuters.com
COMMENTARY: Renewables help US power system survive summer stress test
Surging demand from data centers and air conditioners put the US power system through a tough test this summer. But instead of triggering a jump in fossil-fuel use, record renewables output carried mu...
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Trita Parsi @tparsi.bsky.social · 6h
I guess this is what happens when AIPAC-AI writes your talking points without any human in the chain to check for basic humanity. David Valadao (R-CA-22) literally says that military aid to Israel helps the US because the money goes to the production and TESTING of American weapons systems.
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nomadRuss @russlinton.com · 6h
Renting supercomputer time to replace an intern is likely a dumb idea financially but the oligarchs are awash in so much ill-gotten funds, they just don't care. The only way out of this financially irresponsible doom loop is collapse. Or - just hear me out - regulation and accountability...
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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 8h
Other than an aside on the "white nationalism that has emerged out of the dark corners of the internet," (which she she pairs with the "excesses of work") Slade makes no mention of the role of race in the construction of the modern conservative movement. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | With Trump Flailing, Some Conservatives Are Having Second Thoughts About Trumpism
What is the future of the conservative movement?
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 5h
CO-SIGN
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Julie Cohen ❌👑 @filmmakerjulie.bsky.social · 9h
For months Gabriela Soto has relentlessly advocated for her husband Martin, unlawfully detained by ICE while buying diapers for their baby. Martin played a key role in the Delaney Hall hunger strike this summer. Last night we was RELEASED from ICE custody. ALWAYS FIGHT BACK.
Beautiful young family outside a detention center.
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Count Melancholia @lillyh.bsky.social · 17h
This is not the case in Alberta, which has the same language, culture and history as the rest of Canada (excluding Quebec) and has no case for "nationhood". This is a purely political ploy, stoked by US fascists. It has the same irrational character as Brexit had (also stoked by fascists).
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 7h
...and hey, Bobby Darin had already warned him to "look out for Miss Lotte Lenya," so he saw it coming.
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James Hell Brooks @kleinman.bsky.social · 20h
Also the American Revolution was not about "outworking the other guy." It was saving your energy while letting the other guy grind himself into dust and asking the French for help.
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fred-decker.bsky.social @fred-decker.bsky.social · 7h
If the union-busting wasn't enough, here's another reason to keep avoiding Starbucks. (...and of course, for Canadians, there's also the whole "avoiding US megacorporations" incentive as a bonus.)
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Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 15h
Mike Johnson says #VoteBlue!
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Alex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · 15h
Why isn't this on every TV screen and not the fairy tale of killer robots
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 16h
The alarmists have yet to be wrong 😕🇺🇸
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Blue Heron Farm @blueheronfarm.bsky.social · 21h
The GOP: Never not looking into children's underpants
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 8h
a “banana republic” is precisely when the political system is dominated by overweening corporate interests
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Pete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 11h
This is incredibly important. I feel deeply that curbing sexual violence will come from raising social expectations of men, not from ‘educating’ them. I fear this is an unpopular view, because people are afraid to face up to the scale of the issue.
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Desarrayed @desarrayed.bsky.social · 21h
you know Hegseth's brain breaks at this 19thnews.org/2026/09/wome...
19thnews.org
Hegseth made the fitness test harder for women in combat roles. Most female Marines are passing.
Despite tougher standards, Marine Corps data show more than 9 in 10 women in combat arms are passing the test.
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Alex Wenzel @alexwenzel.bsky.social · 19h
The Cornell community has floated abolishing the Cornell Police Department. We should take it seriously, especially if you think that survivors should have the option of going to the police instead of their schools. I feel strongly about this too, because something people don't understand is that universities at this point are essentially total institutions. For a lot of students, their schools are not just schools.
They're their landlords, their employers, their source of health care, their gym, their coffee shop, the arena where they attend concerts. It leaves survivors with almost no real options. If you can't trust your school and your school systematically discriminates against sexual-assault survivors, where is left for you to go?
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Matt Binder @mattbinder.bsky.social · 20h
the tech industry is about to invent books
Andrew Yeung 
@andruyeung
X.com
We created gyms because modern day work no
longer required physical activity. Without exercise,
our muscles atrophy.
I predict we'll need gyms for our brains too, once Al
starts doing our knowledge work.
10:53 PM • 10/4/26 • 1.3M Views
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Kybosh @kybosh.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I like seeing the dev of the SNES core on the Pocket actually telling one of these dudes off. Holy shit.
8 Closed
Experimental MSU-1 streami. #123
nasonliu wants to merge 2 commits into a
agg23 commented yesterday
If it works, that's pretty cool; I didn't think
would ever see this implemented (I also didn't
expect LLMs to exist).
However, this is not something you can PR
here, or anywhere. You sent me a nearly 50k
line diff, unasked for, completely LLM built, and
you somehow expect me to review it. There is
SO MUCH unrelated garbage here. Never
minding all of the docs and Python, you've
somehow touched basically all of the upstream
HDL, which already had MSU1 support, so idk
what in the world you're doing.
This kind of behavior is not acceptable. You are
infringing on the time and brainpower of people
by pushing "your" content that little/no of your
brainpower went into; completely unrequested.
I hope for the sake of all responsible
maintainers that you do not do such a thing
again.
Again, I think it's cool that you and your LLM
supposedly got this to work. It has no place in
my world.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This is beautifully said
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John Carpenter’s Halloran @profhalloran.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
As a Catholic, like Alito, I think it's so important for you to know how little—how absolutely not at all—your marriage (or your LGBTQ identity) impacts my religious liberty. In fact, refusing to acknowledge your marriage (or your LGBTQ identity) is a grave affront to your innate human dignity.
abcnews.com
Alito calls same-sex marriage a 'decisive' turn 'against religious liberty' in new book
A new book by Justice Samuel Alito presents his view of the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the country with a focus on religious freedom.
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Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 06/10/2026
I’m ready to be a CEO. I promise to take on debt, fire anyone who seems better than me at anything, and insist you’re going to love my product that kills you
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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The GOP cut funding to the IRS because *audits work* and they fundamentally don't believe rich people should have to play by the rules.
Line chart titled "Revenue per audit," subtitled "In-person audits, 2010-2014." It plots average revenue and average cost per audit by taxpayer income percentile, poorer to richer, from the 0–5th percentile to the top 0.1%. Source: Boning et al. 2023, "A Welfare Analysis of Tax Audits Across the Income Distribution."

Across the bottom half of the income distribution, revenue and cost track closely, both around $3,000–$6,000 per audit. Above the median, revenue pulls ahead of cost: about $10,000 vs. $5,000 near the 90th percentile, and about $17,000 vs. $8,000 at the 95th–99th. At the top, revenue jumps to about $31,000 for the 99–99.9th percentile and about $90,000 for the top 0.1%.
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Andrea González-Ramírez @andreagonram.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Midway through my call with @nbedera.bsky.social, I was so shocked I asked: "How are you not incandescent with rage every day?" If you want to understand the Cornell case and why universities fail survivors, read this. You may become furious too. (Gift link.) www.thecut.com/article/trum...
thecut.com
The Reason Why Colleges Still Fail to Address Sexual Violence
The “Cornell Seven” case highlights what’s wrong with Trump’s Title IX rules — and how the system was always designed to fail.
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