iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 27m

The last Trump-Kushner-Witkoff “peace plan” for Russia-Ukraine had more on data center construction opportunities than on security guarantees that could make peace last. This time it’s an oil deal. The whole effort has been trying to sell out Ukraine for personal profit and neo-fascist solidarity.

nytimes.com

U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies

President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of inter...

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Chrononaut @chrononaut.bsky.social · 15h

The idea that public transit is expensive compared to road transportation and that driving a car is a sign of "independence" rather than of complete reliance on a huge ongoing government investment program is based on nothing but vibes and ignorance.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 13h

ISIS has killed thousands. They beheaded people on video. The wider network spans continents, and the central org controlled over 100,000 sq miles at peak, including Iraq’s second largest city. The worst in the Caribbean is maybe low level drug traffickers. The comparison spotlights how wrong.

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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 21h

Directing DOJ to slow-walk politically damaging decisions until after people vote would be a major scandal under any normal administration. Here, it’s just Friday.

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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 21h

Today, 8 years ago, my friend, Saudi Journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered.

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 18h

Sliwa getting a flu shot: This could be very embarrassing. I’m supposed to be a tough guy, right? Mamdani: I can hold your hand. Sliwa: What happens if I faint? Mamdani: I got you. Doctor: You’re in great hands, literally. New Yorkers can find free flu shots and locations at nyc.gov/healthmap

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Tuffy @smtuffy.bsky.social · 17h

Ha, this a much more diplomatic approach than I had bsky.app/profile/smtu...

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

Could the "LLMs can't do anything" crowd and the "LLMs can do everything" crowd go somewhere private to yell at each other so the rest of us can have a normal "this new tech can do things previous tech couldn't but is limited in various ways, let's figure out best uses and regulations" conversation?

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 17h

Cornell apparently reacted to the gang rape case not with "oh no, that's so awful for the victim," but with "oh no, that will look awful for the institution." Similar reaction Penn St. and Joe Paterno had to Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 18h

"Polarization is Not the Problem" by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social is deservedly getting attention, and a line from it applies here: Telling "everyone to quiet down and be 'civil'... benefits those who are willing to grab as much power as they can without concern for legality or civility."

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 18h

Free speech Civility Intellectual diversity Etc. All these concepts that boil down to valuing and respecting a pluralist society with individual rights, now repurposed to undermine, weaken, and fight against those very things. So much of mainstream elite consensus bought into it. And here we are.

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Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The Keynote Speaker at the Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in March, folks.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 19h

There's a new wave of Democratic ads across the country that are somehow brutally partisan and incredibly effective and it's going to take some time for me to get used to this?

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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 22h

Wow, these job numbers are TERRIBLE. Many people are saying we must have an “incompetent” president who is “asleep at the wheel”

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

CNN on the last jobs report before the midterms: "It came in cold -- surprisingly cold. Job growth weaker than expected, unemployment unexpectedly went up, and paychecks aren't keeping up with prices. This was disappointing all around."

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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 23h

I'm not sure who saw this coming, but so far nearly all the jobs created during the second Trump administration have gone to women.

Line chart titled "So far during Trump's second term, just 8% of all job growth has gone to men" showing change in employment by gender since January 2025. Total nonfarm employment grew by 776,000 jobs through September 2026, with women gaining 711,000 positions (92% of growth) while men added only 65,000 jobs (8% of growth). Women's employment gains accelerated sharply through 2026, reaching 711,000 by September, while men's employment growth remained flat with brief periods of decline, including a drop of 96,000 jobs in February 2026.

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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 23h

Not so much an October surprise as an October yes that sounds right

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 22h

"The remarks of both Trump and Hegseth are appalling. They’re alarming. But they’re also instructive. In the Trump interview and the Hegseth speech, these enemies of liberty and law, of decency and democracy, reveal what they believe, and make clear who they are." www.thebulwark.com/p/not-to-ala...

thebulwark.com

Not To Alarm You, But Trump’s Brain Is Melted

And Hegseth’s neo-fascism is out in the open.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 22h

One of my biggest concerns in 2023-24 was the likelihood that, if Trump got power again, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and related figures such as Palmer Luckey would get more deeply burrowed into the U.S. national security apparatus, in all sorts of dangerous ways that will be hard to dislodge. Alas.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 23h

One crazy thing about this new outpouring of racism against South Asians and calls for expulsion or forced assimilation is it was kicked off by some brown skinned students at a Texas game wearing cowboy hats and excitedly celebrating their football team — ie some guys very assimilated to America.

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

How many cases broke bad for Trump in court today? I count a number of them today in this piece, which I hope you’ll take a moment to read. joycevance.substack.com/p/another-ba...

joycevance.substack.com

Another Bad Day in Court for Trump

Today, as Trump was busy trying (and failing) to convince his own people that “affordability” is a word made up by Democrats, the courts were having a field day with him.

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Good news. This was always a bad idea.

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Joshua Holland @joshuaholland.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“Dems say…” Too bad a media outlet couldn’t confirm it.

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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 01/10/2026

CEO compensation has increased 1,316% since 1978. And worker compensation? Just 28%. The system is rigged. We need to start taxing the rich so they pay their fair share.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The techno-dystopia I actually fear is a future where most people think truth is whatever Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Grok say, and the very small number of people who control those systems use that to manipulate for their own ends, making our current epistemic crisis seem small in comparison.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Iran can see the US political calendar too. Have this whole time. Much as Iran used the MOU period—when Trump surrendered, tried lying about it, then bombed again—to prepare with allied militias, they’ll use this time to get ready for post-midterms fighting, knowing the US president will be weaker.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

When Bush did "Mission Accomplished," the US military had actually accomplished something: defeated the Iraqi military, overthrown Saddam Hussein's government, and occupied the capital. Badly premature to treat the whole thing as over. But by contrast, Trump hasn't accomplished anything in Iran.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We already won the war, we just have to keep fighting the war so that we don't lose the war.

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Judge had the discretion to dismiss WITHOUT prejudice but in a censure of how prosecutors played loose & fast with what they knew to be the evidence in this case, has dismissed WITH prejudice. The gov’t is out of business in this one.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Amidst a failing war the US started, the SecDef chose to focus on measuring military members’ hormones, and injecting testosterone into personnel whose hormone levels he dislikes. He also fixates on PT while losing an air war. If you said this to someone a few years ago, they wouldn’t believe you.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

When I say John Roberts is a liar, hack, anti-democracy ideologue, and enemy of the Constitution, I do so in a civil manner. No yelling or cursing here. But since he will be remembered as an utter disgrace who tried to destroy the republic but failed, some in the future might say it less civilly.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

(watching as people complain that my friend has just set the social contract on fire and fostered the rise of a brutal fascist regime that has led to the deaths of millions) "Oh come on, now, be nice to your neighbor"

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

John Roberts' friend and defender is quoted in the piece, saying they shouldn't be shaming Roberts for the wreckage and ruin he's brought to this country because of "civility." The bullies always cry "civility" when the victims push back in the slightest.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hey you, Europe, You know how we started a war without telling you, failed badly, and hurt all our economies? No, after we tariffed you, lectured you that Russia isn’t a threat, and demanded territory. Okay. So. Weaken yourself to rescue us or we’ll hurt our own economy more and you’ll be sorry.

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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Most of you know that I think Senator Ed Markey is Biz Markie every time I see his name. But I also realized this weekend that every time I try to say the (maybe ex-)tradwife influencer Nara Smith's name, I first say Neera Tanden. Very confusing when amongst the denizens of DC.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Trump expressed support for the Iraq war as it started. He later criticized Bush for not stealing oil or doing enough war crimes (namely targeting innocent family members of insurgents). Then he acted on that vision of war with Iran, and it's failing badly. Enough Trump-absolving revisionist BS.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The "stick to sports" thing would've gone differently if it had anything to say about the single biggest opponent of separating sports and politics.

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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

To be clear the phenomenon we’re experiencing isn’t “the internet exists.” It’s the evolution and expansion of online fora, and people’s gradual reciprocal adjustment of their behavior in response to the incentives created by these fora. So you’d expect trends to intensify over time.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Laugh at Eric Schmitt and Co. for Hawkeyes/Hawks, sure. Their screw up is funny and they deserve the mockery. But also, this was the GOP and allied media geared up to defend a coup attempt with lies and jail a prosecutor because he tried to enforce the law against a criminal. How far we've fallen.

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Dinosaur Bob @dinosaurbob.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Holy shit this skeet has triggered the same subset of users who don’t want you to bring up that they had a Ron Paul phase before voting for Bernie.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

US withdrawal from Iraq was scheduled a few years in advance. But with Iran hitting US bases there, and Iran-allied Iraqi militias launching drones at Saudi Arabia, the withdrawal looks—to everyone in the region, and the wider world—like the US under fire ceding more of the Middle East to Iran.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Some of the wrongest in politics are “popularists,” who say public opinion can’t be changed, so politicians should never try to lead, only follow polls. This meant treating 2024 as permanent, conceding on immigration and other things. But as @gregsargent.bsky.social writes, the opposite’s working.

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

What emerges when you take a deep breath is a picture of what we all know by now to be true. This is not a president who is committed to governing, to public service. This is a smash and grab, and we are the victims. joycevance.substack.com/p/flooding-t...

joycevance.substack.com

Flooding the Zone

Jack Smith kicked off his testimony on the Hill today like this: “I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump.” He told senators that his...

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Buying fast food for my family, it’s over $50, which feels like a lot. Not unreasonable from the restaurant, but like going out to dinner, not grabbing something cheap. So I looked up fast food prices, and they’ve risen faster than inflation. Add that to the why people say stuff’s expensive list.

crews.bank

Chart of the Day: Fast Food Inflation

Today’s Chart of the Day shows the inflation of fast-food prices over the last of 10 years vs. actual inflation of everything else.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Details and logic are the enemy of these conspiracy theories. It has to be vague insinuation and a reliance on the audience's imagination. Give them an excuse, feed into a vague "I knew they were shady," and it works. How does this hold together? Besides the point. Believers don't ask. Or care.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

What stands out with Eric Schmitt flopping so badly is these conspiracy theories need very little to sell. Two people the right has already cast as villains appearing in the same place —just same state or country will do—is usually enough. But this one was instantly false in such an obvious way.

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