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hilzoy

@hilzoy.bsky.social
13K followers 3.6K following 23K posts

Ethics R Us. Cambridge MA

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Reposted by hilzoy
Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 1h
Arguably the biggest democracy referendum next month: Virginia is one of only three states where the state constitution says people should lose their right to vote FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIFE if they are convicted of any felony. This measure would allow anyone to vote after prison.
boltsmag.org
“It’s Time”: Virginians Will Decide Whether to Repeal Jim Crow-Era Lifetime Ban on Voting - Bolts
Voters will decide this year whether to end Virginia’s uniquely harsh felony disenfranchisement rules. They'll also vote on abortion, gay marriage, and redistricting.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 2h
A whole political movement should be stood up against this arrogant and sociopathic bullshit www.politico.com/newsletters/...
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 1h
Abstract interests like having accepted a job and moved your family to a red state.
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Adam Isacson @adamisacson.com · 2h
New boat strike tonight. Yes, they're still happening. The death toll now stands at 238. x.com/Southcom/sta...
Known Lethal U.S. Attacks on Civilian Vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific
238 reported people killed (including 23 unrecovered survivors).
68 reported attack events.
72 reported boats struck.
3 reported survivors recovered.
45 reported events in the Eastern Pacific. 21 reported events in the Caribbean. 2 reported events in unspecified locations.
32 events ordered by Southern Command Commander Gen. Francis Donovan (101 reported killed). 19 events ordered by President Donald Trump (76 reported killed). 14 events ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (50 reported killed). 3 events listed as “under the direction of U.S. Southern Command” (11 reported killed).
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 2h
Fantasia. Hippos.
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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 14h
What’s the evidence on rent control? I charted the findings from 112 studies: Great for rent-controlled tenants ✅ But: Pushes up rents for other people ❌ Pushes down new housing construction ❌ Pushes down building quality ❌
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David Wessel @davidmwessel.bsky.social · 11h
Krugman: Current evidence does not support view that rising long-term interest rates are being driven by fears of US govt default or concerns about runaway inflation.Likely that biggest source of rate surge is immense demand for funds created by AI boom. paulkrugman.substack.com/p/who-droppe...
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 11h
I’m seeing a fair amount of pushback to this, so: note that Wolfers is not talking about doing this with professional Republicans: politicians, people who make a career out of doing MAGA commentary on X or Fox, etc. He’s talking about sitting down with someone you know and like with different views.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 12h
remarkable piece of journalism. really worth reading.
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 12h
OOPSIE Legal risks pile up for Altman as OpenAI uncovers dozens of hacks - www.ft.com/content/2c24...
ft.com
Legal risks pile up for Altman as OpenAI uncovers dozens of hacks
Cyber security incidents involving company’s AI tools leave ChatGPT maker vulnerable to wave of lawsuits
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 12h
Of note, one of this year's ballot measures is purportedly to fund necessary medical research, but a close examination reveals that it's basically a $4 billion taxpayer payout to a single sketchy nonprofit. That's why it's important to read the fine print.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 12h
Who knew that deportation requires a plane with marble showers and a table topped with manta ray skin? www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/u...
nytimes.com
Kristi Noem’s Agency Gave Her Donor a Lucrative Contract Just Before She Left (Gift Article)
The Homeland Security Department signed a multi-million dollar agreement to buy five aircraft from a company owned by a political contributor of the secretary on her last day, documents show.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 12h
Thread.
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David Beard @dabeard.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
“Older Cuban men who had lived in the U.S. for decades have been deported to Mexico, where they have struggled to get by. Some Cubans have been deported to Africa.” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
How Trump’s Deportation Policies Have Rocked a South Florida House Race (Gift Article)
Representative María Elvira Salazar, a Republican, ran an ad criticizing the Trump administration. It may have jolted other Republicans — and drawn attention to her Democratic opponent.
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Community Notes for the win here, Megyn Kelly. 👌
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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Voter registration deadlines are SUNDAY in Alaska, Rhode Island, South Carolina. And MONDAY in: Arizona, Arkansas Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and *Texas*. If you live in these states, verify your registration now, literally.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 04/10/2026
We started our very own private school with @arktimes.bsky.social. All it took was $45, a few clicks on a state website and an American flag.
propublica.org
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Neither the article nor the posting it’s reporting on contain details on what’s going to change. On the one hand, some changes are defensible: hospitals sometimes get in trouble for trying to figure out things like how to get people to wash their hands by trying different things in different wings.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Gift link. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
Senate Races in Republican States Tilt Toward Democrats, Polls Find (Gift Article)
Democrats are performing strongly in five reliably Republican states where they are trying to flip Senate seats to win control of the chamber, new New York Times/Siena polls found.
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Justin @jlentini09.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Shared by a woman I would've used a steak knife
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T.J. Stiles @tj-stiles.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
🧵 It's not just that Trump is wrong. It's important—and dangerous—that he has no policy process, no investigation of conditions and consideration of appropriate steps. It's all personal. Oh, and very wrong. A huge example is AI data center construction. 1/9 Gift link. www.wsj.com/economy/the-...
wsj.com
The AI Build-Out Is Becoming the Biggest Economic Bet in U.S. History
Data-center spending is greater than that for canals, railroads and grid combined—creating jobs and stock-market wealth, while boosting inflation and crowding out housing.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Unhinged.
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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
"After measles swept through her household, the young woman wanted to get vaccinated. Her doctor said she couldn't because she had leukemia and the treatments had weakened her immune system" @bachynski.bsky.social
inquirer.com
A 20-year-old Amish woman with leukemia got measles and died in Pa.’s largest outbreak in three decades
After measles swept through her household, the young woman wanted to get vaccinated. Her doctor said she couldn't because she had leukemia and the treatments had weakened her immune system.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
For anyone seeing this movie: of course any war involves the risk of civilian casualties. The issue is how many lives you’re prepared to risk to get a given enemy combatant, and the problem with Israel’s actions is that those numbers are REALLY high. See here. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/asse...
lawfaremedia.org
Assessing Israel’s Approach to Proportionality in the Conduct of Hostilities in Gaza
The Jabalia strike indicates that the IDF’s tolerance for civilian casualties is multiples greater than that of the U.S. in the ISIS war.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 03/10/2026
Jesus. TN is such a nightmare.
theguardian.com
Outgoing prison chief in Christa Pike case oversaw five ‘botched’ executions, lawyers say
Frank Strada will leave role next month after uproar over execution attempt sent Pike to hospital in critical condition
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David Nir @davidnir.com · 03/10/2026
In addition to being America’s top economic commentator, Paul Krugman is also an excellent interviewer. @gelliottmorris.com and I had a fantastic conversation with him on the midterm metrics we’re looking at, including the generic ballot, primary turnout, special elections, and more. Watch here!
the-downballot.com
Paul Krugman discusses the midterms with David Nir and Elliott Morris
We separate the signal from the noise with the must-read commentator
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The GOP has put $2 million to this campaign, and the billionaires have put $23 million in. Their contribution is 92% of the money Tiffany raised.
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Molly McKew @mollymckew.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This story is a perfect snapshot of a nation with leaders who channel that money is the only thing that matters, accelerated by social media scrambling brains into no concept of morality or shared decency. It’s all just “influencing” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/w...
nytimes.com
What We Learned About American Teenagers Supplying Guns to Cartels (Gift Article)
Our reporting revealed how Mexican criminal groups are relying on teenagers and young adults in border states like Arizona to help supply their weapons.
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
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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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
theguardian.com
Comedy wildlife photography award finalists 2026 – in pictures
A selection of the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2026 finalists – from a shortlist featuring a caiman wearing a wig, a leopard doing a handstand, a strutting white-tailed eagle and a polar bear appeari...
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J.M. Hamilton @jmhamiltonblog.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
@socalleslie.bsky.social
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Anyone who is wondering about inconsistencies in the stories of sexual assault survivors, along with anyone else who hasn’t seen it, should watch Unbelievable. www.netflix.com/title/80153467
netflix.com
Watch Unbelievable | Netflix Official Site
After a young woman is accused of lying about a rape, two female detectives investigate a spate of eerily similar attacks. Inspired by true events.
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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Marjory Wentworth, Springfield area activist & G92 faith group member, tells me tonight: “I have to wonder about the timing and location - the same day of the funeral for Pierre Damas Bal in Springfield. This young man was a victim of Trump's cruel policies, & the rally dishonors Pierre's memory &…
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Thread.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I am in my sixties. Ask me anything. The answer to this question is: we had maps. They were made of paper. We looked at them before we started driving and memorized the salient points.
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Michael J. Stern @michaeljstern.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
😂
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Friends don’t let friends decide who to vote for on the basis of aesthetics. If we all convinced our friends of this, we’d be in a much better place.
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Carol Rosenberg @carolrosenbergfeed.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Breaking news: A military judge has thrown out yet another confession in the 9/11 case, ruled it was involuntary.
nytimes.com
Judge Throws Out Another Confession in Sept. 11 Case (Gift Article)
Prosecutors have long considered the defendants’ admissions during interrogations in 2007 to be their best evidence.
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NPR @npr.org · 02/10/2026
Democratic lawmakers, veterans and concerned citizens gathered in Memorial Circle to protest the arch Trump wants to build there. Their hopes lie primarily in a lawsuit and next month's midterms. n.pr/472XAIX
n.pr
As Trump's proposed arch looms over D.C., protesters pin their hopes on the midterms
Democratic lawmakers, veterans and concerned citizens gathered in Memorial Circle to protest the arch Trump wants to build there. Their hopes lie primarily in a lawsuit and next month's midterms.
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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
NEW: DHS agents tracked people observing ICE arrests, photographed them, ran their plates, pulled personal information, and added them to a Palantir database, according to newly unsealed court filings. w/ @regret.bsky.social
wired.com
ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database
DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.
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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 02/10/2026
In Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia, voters will decide ballot measures and constitutional amendments that are meant to protect abortion access—or, on the contrary, reinstate an abortion ban. Learn more in our guide:
boltsmag.org
Your Cheat Sheet to the 2026 General Elections - Bolts
Congressional races will take center stage on Nov. 3, but they’re just the tip of what to watch. Prosecutors and governors, attorneys general and sheriffs, school boards and mayors, utility... Read More
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Suuuuper interesting, I was not tracking this. The judge found the law criminalizing noncitizen voting is a voter qualification statute, and therefore outside of Congress’s power. Surprisingly, this is an issue of first impression! Decision is here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The best reading of the actual statute that underpins this criminal case yields an inescapable
conclusion: 18 U.S.C. S 611 is a voter qualification statute, and the Constitution does not authorize
Congress to legislate voter qualifications for federal elections. Except for very specific constitutional
provisions (that cannot support this statute; we will go through them, Congress has no power to say
who can vote or who cannot vote in federal elections-that foundational power is reserved for the States,
and limits Congress.
Some legal principles are so fundamental that they form American constitutional bedrock, and
this case reveals a big one: When you're prosecuted based on a law that Congress did not have the
authority to pass, the prosecution cannot stand. That principle in federal law harkens back to cases
like Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 180 (1803), and United States v. Hudson, 11 U.S. 32, 34 (1812), and
has had explicit and unbroken support in criminal cases since Ex Parte Siebold, 100 U.S. 371, 376-77
(1879) ("An unconstitutional law is void, and is as no law. An offence created by it is not a crime. A
conviction under it is not merely erroneous, but is illegal and void, and cannot be a legal cause of
imprisonment."). The principle is so fundamental that it even predates our constitutional republic; it
lies at the very heart of our constitutional heritage. See, e.g., Bayard v. Singleton, 1 N.C. 5, 9-10 (1787) (striking down a legislative act as unconstitutional and holding that a court cannot enforce an
unconstitutional law in any type of proceeding). This principle acts as a shield for every person facing
criminal prosecution in the United States, citizen and non-citizen alike. That shield protects the
Defendant here, and none of the Government's arguments break through it.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
BREAKING: A federal judge in El Paso today issued an emergency injunction blocking the Trump administration's border barrier and road construction across the Big Bend region. #BigBend #NationalParks biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. Photo credit: Laiken Jordahl, Center for Biological Diversity
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If only it were a kitten filter …
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
“.. It’s a perfect storm,” said one senior Senate GOP aide, granted anonymity to candidly discuss the race. @politico.com #KSsen www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
TIL that enslaved people who ran away to the woods (as opposed to cities, the north, etc.) were referred to not just as ‘maroons’ (the term I knew), but ‘outliers.’ I checked, and this word seems originally to have referred to a stone that was quarried but not used.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Kieran Healy, on that tourism graph. kieranhealy.org/blog/archive...
kieranhealy.org
Trump Tourism Effects
In the past day or two on social media I kept seeing this graph from a Semafor story on the declining volume of international visitors to the United States. Semafor Graph. It seems to show, and was be...
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I am always amused by the fact that one of my best friends from college consulted on Clippy.
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Cri 🕊🐝🐜📝🎭⚽😷 @crawlieswithcri.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Luine - the OG Halloween cat. #cats #becurious
photo of a cornish rex cat sitting up tall in an empty hallway. she is backlit and mostly in silhouette.
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Thread.
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