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Holly Thomas

@holstat.bsky.social
198 followers 90 following 93 posts

Here @ last! Morning Editor @ Katie Couric Media Opinion @ the Indy + The New World Massive CNN back catalog @ Muck Rack Graduate Diploma in Law @ City Lincoln's Inn scholar I write about pop culture, U.S. news, the internet, and the law.

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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 23h
Trump’s new AI website is kinda fun, it turns out.
Can the president use taxpayer funds to air his old campaign ads on TV?

No. Federal appropriations law has long barred using taxpayer funds for political advertising.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 22h
I've seen ppl do this, and I stg it causes the same internal rot as habitual lying. The shame metastasises over time, & unless they lance it (aka tell the truth, which is more daunting the longer they leave it), they end up doubling down to bolster the alternate reality in which they're fine + good
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Craig Johnson @cajohnson-craig.bsky.social · 23h
Also, they're talking about events in the BAY AREA, the heart of the kink and sex world in the US. That scene isn't without its problems! But it's been working them out for decades and has real plans and protocols for this. But human safety and consent has never been what the AI men want.
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Morrigan Croft @morrigancroft.bsky.social · 23h
As an autistic woman* it's really interesting when men fall back on "I can't help it, I'm autistic" as an excuse for SA and consent violations because as an autistic person all I've ever done is make myself smaller for a world that won't accommodate my disabilities.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 23h
Important, when talking about the threat posed by AI, to ground that convo in the fact that it is made and controlled by people. We keep talking about AI models as though they're these unbiddable entities, because otherwise we'd have to acknowledge the fact that we've let these people run riot.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I wrote the paragraph below last week, and honestly, I regret not going so much harder.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
When male managers have daughters, women at their company are paid more. This suggests two things. One, many men don’t fully appreciate women’s humanity until they’ve “made” one of their own. Two, they are capable of empathy, given a nudge. Wrote this: www.independent.co.uk/voices/world...
independent.co.uk
It shouldn’t take having a daughter for men to start caring about women’s rights
As the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Gender Gap report shows, on current trends, it will take 120 years for a girl to be born into a world in which opportunities are truly equal. Holly Thomas ask...
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wrote about how Facebook's attempt to keep up with TikTok gave it the makings of a far-right cesspit. www.thenewworld.co.uk/holly-thomas...
thenewworld.co.uk
Rupert Lowe is coming for your parents – and he’ll get them on Facebook
The social media platform was once a harmless place, full of friends and family. But now it has become much darker and politically manipulative
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Spider-Man: Slightly Stale Day deadline.com/2026/09/spid...
deadline.com
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Re-Release In Works With Extra Footage
After the success of Avengers Endgame: Encore , a re-release of 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' is being planned with extra footage.
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
S.E. Sinkhorn @sesinkhorn.com · 28/09/2026
ask me sometime about my younger self's propensity to trust that people were telling me the truth because it did not occur to me that people in a professional environment would just. LIE. to me. or that people in positions above me didn't know what they were doing.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Insane on its face, even more insane considering pretty much any fertile hetero couple can just *make* a human child irrespective of being the worst or stupidest two people you've ever met
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
One of the Cornell students accused of gang rape, Scott Kretzschmar, denies it and says through his attorney that they are going to “confront” the survivor through the court system. I can already tell you that means victim-blaming, DARVO, and smears. She is going to need a lot more of our support.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sorry for such a bleak post, but I can't stop thinking about the men who were in that Cornell fraternity and presumably saw the Snapchat message allegedly advertising "free pussy," and did nothing, tacitly allowing their friends to allegedly commit gang rape. Men, your passivity destroys lives.
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Luke McGee @lukemcgee.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Rupert Lowe is coming for your parents – and he’ll get them on Facebook by @holstat.bsky.social www.thenewworld.co.uk/holly-thomas...
thenewworld.co.uk
Rupert Lowe is coming for your parents – and he’ll get them on Facebook
The social media platform was once a harmless place, full of friends and family. But now it has become much darker and politically manipulative
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"They at least behave as if they do" yeah so did I when I wanted to get out of PE
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I still can't believe Mad Men was number 3
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
How could there possibly be more to know
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
30 Rock should not be No. 8! It hasn't aged well! Both The Office-s are much better! If Mare of Easttown is here as a limited series, Band of Brothers should be too! The Good Place is MUCH better than The White Lotus! No Euphoria?! So, so many awful takes, thank you, NYT
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Taylor Lorenz @taylorlorenz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Yup! And this is amidst a MASSIVE COVID surge and the same week the CDC reclassified COVID levels to make high levels seem low aka lie to the public about transmission. Not one of the big “leftists” ranting about this story have mentioned the CDC change or Covid surge once!!
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"Criminal damage" is a very broad descriptor "Simple" (not a legal term) damage costing < £5,000 carries a max penalty of a fine of up to £2,500, up to 3 months in custody, or both. But racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage dealt with in the Crown Court carries a max 14-year sentence.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What's it gonna take for posh female influencers to stop describing the fabric of every garment they're advertising as "buttery" I know I'm being a dick, but it's giving me the same ick as that five-year phase when every book written by a woman was described as "fiercely tender"
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Really speaks to the toxicity of the GLP-1 discourse that my first response upon seeing this headline was "UGH no" Today we're treating brain disorders by correcting an underlying signalling system with a miracle drug; tomorrow, college students are "awakemaxxing" www.economist.com/science-and-...
economist.com
The brain may be about to have its Ozempic moment
Pharma’s newest obsession involves mimicking the system that keeps people awake
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
40 days til the midterms.
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 24/09/2026
Everyone, stop what you are doing. I've discovered there is a politician called Teresa May running for city council in British Columbia. And this is from one of her campaign videos. Never have two people with the same name had such different vibes.
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 23/09/2026
i think it is worth noting that one of the first actual elected democrats to prominently call for underbussing trans people, seth moulton, just got crushed in his primary 65-35
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I didn't need this piece about how American college girls are using GLP-1s to get "thin enough" to qualify for the "best" sororities to convince me that I'd find being in a sorority worse than hell, but it sure did anyway. www.thecut.com/article/soro...
thecut.com
The Secret ‘Ozempidemic’ on Sorority Row
College girls are desperate to join the best sororities. Some are turning to weight-loss drugs to get there.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Grim gambling news that won't get nearly as much traction as Sydney Sweeney's rack: Kalshi, another (mainly) sports betting platform is asking the CFTC to allow margin trading on its platform, which would let users gamble with borrowed funds.
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Lisa Guerrero @lisaguerrero.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Not only did I meet Robert Kraft, I worked for him. His kid Jonathan asked me to “remove the black music” from my gameday playlist in ‘94 & I refused so they fired me. I was the cheerleader director at the time.  I sued them for wrongful termination and won. So yes, I know that motherfucker. 
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I’m too tired to concentrate, and I’ve been rewatching Buffy for the (redacted) time lately, so for no other reason than I need to get these thoughts out of my head in the hope that they make space for more profitable ones, here are a few Buffy takes I’ve been sitting on!
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It's v "those darn dinosaurs exploited the power failure that downed the electric fence"
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Mollie Goodfellow @hansmollman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
They should make the David Walliams Alton Towers thing a Jacqueline Wilson world where you can experience being born into a dustbin, having an eating disorder and being groomed by a teacher
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The RNLI has said the abuse of volunteers in Portsmouth has forced it to close the lifeboat station there and stop operating since September 10. Nearby stations have been providing cover to the area instead. One of the UK's largest coastal cities without a lifeboat because of the far-right.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Re-upping with the additional specification: And what if you are referred to a chronic fatigue clinic? Any magic words that might prompt them to be super helpful?
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Reckon when you have a net worth of more than half a billion dollars & have sold more than 150 million records, and could absolutely afford to stand with your friend and simply not play a few gigs, and choose not to, you are complicit.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Has anyone UK-based on here had experience of chronic fatigue/been told they have chronic fatigue? What was your experience like with the NHS/do you have any tips on how to elicit actually useful care?
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Agree with this. Also really didn't like the flip "instinct tells me that gambling wrecks a lot more lives than Sydney Sweeney." The debate around Sydney Sweeney isn't distinct from gambling when she is advertising a betting company that she is an equity partner in!
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I wrote about why all the wellness-obsessed tech bros are so pathetic! "When immortality, or even just some nebulous sense of physical “optimisation” feels within touching distance, the little things both cease to matter and matter a great deal" thenewworld.substack.com/p/why-are-al...
thenewworld.substack.com
Why are all these longevity bros such total snowflakes?
One bad night’s sleep and it’s moan, moan moan. They reckon they’re the pinnacle of the species – but what’s the point of living forever if you don’t have a life to start with?
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"wow, everyone knew this already" is such a cynical, annoying and unfortunately extremely common response to tech news. assuming your privacy is being violated and proving that it is are two very different things, and the latter is the result of hard work and rigorous reporting
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I get why athletes are outraged by Sydney Sweeney's sports betting ad, but I fear this may be the point. The furore is a neat cover for what it's actually selling (gambling) & to whom (young men and boys, who are esp vulnerable to gambling, the deadliest addiction there is)
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Gonna get RSI from checking Patti Smith's Insta for signs of life
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Jane has to stick around for a while, I stg
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Added my voice to the chorus. "One of my favourite Dolly facts is that she was an uncredited producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy was a blonde girl who had phenomenal gifts, and secretly devoted her life to saving the world against overwhelming odds." www.independent.co.uk/voices/dolly...
independent.co.uk
Dolly Parton was exactly the woman we needed her to be
The icon, who has died aged 80, spent her life winning an uphill fight to make spaces for women where none existed before, says Holly Thomas
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Finding some of the framing of this story pretty weird, I gotta say
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Emily is back! And she’s more triggered than ever. This series imagines how Emily Charlton, the real heroine of The Devil Wears Prada, might express herself if she had time for therapy. Snap open a crisp, refreshing Diet Coke and have a read. hollymcthomas.substack.com/p/emily-char...
hollymcthomas.substack.com
Emily Charlton Goes To Therapy (again)
Part 2: I need a Diet Coke break
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Reposted by Holly Thomas
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 23/05/2026
I've you've watched DWP or DWP2, trust me and click.
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
After just a little over three years, I'm back! And yes, I have started a Subst — *single shot rings out* This first post goes out to everyone who's suffered bullying at work, straight from the victim of the worst office bully of all time. hollymcthomas.substack.com/p/emily-char...
hollymcthomas.substack.com
Emily Charlton Goes To Therapy
Part 1: A Cuckoo in the Nest
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