Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistSoraya Nadia McDonald @soraya.press · 07/10/2026This is sexual violence as a form of terrorism. It is political violence and it is chilling and horrific, and AOC was absolutely right to be terrified that the goons (now pardoned) laying siege to the capital would rape her if they found her. Small changes won't fix this. FLIP THE TABLE NOW 3444681470
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistOlúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 04/10/2026one thing I remember thinking about during the NYT's wall to wall coverage of Claudine Gay's fake plagiarism scandal is how regularly the NYT denies credit to the work of local, independent, and/or student journalists 8960198
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistEmily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.wisn.comSkydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airportFour people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m. 123103492687
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistKaren K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 24/09/2026AI transcriptions are like washing machines. Both technologies help solve a problem, but create new problems and new expectations about productivity. Washing machines are more efficient in many cases, but some items still need to be hand washed or dry cleaned. 1021832
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Here's a good test case for our framework, demonstrating how a real incident can be turned into a false "rigged election" rumor or narrative. Here the DOJ highlights a case where a postal worker discarded mail that included ballots, and uses that to suggest voter fraud and untrustworthy elections. 725088
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMelissa Ryan @melissaryan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026This feels like Pluto isn't a planet levels of change. But I dig it. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...med.stanford.eduHuman brain is two separate organs, Stanford Medicine-led research findsStanford Health Care delivers the highest levels of care and compassion. SHC treats cancer, heart disease, brain disorders, primary care issues, and many more. 1212
Reposted by Disillusioned Optimistashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 12/09/2026i am incredibly excited to share our research about how paying people’s rent through mutual aid made an impact on minnesota this year we accidentally collected more data than anyone ever has for an effort like this, and can very seriously say we prevented an eviction bubble that everyone expected 3030991153
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistSpectrum News NY1 @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social · 11/09/2026The last speaker at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony lost his father to the attacks. 9367841758
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistAna Marie Cox @anamariecox.com · 23/08/2026See, it's just *not that hard.* 181049164
Disillusioned Optimist @jenmiwri.bsky.social · 20/08/2026That would be so great! People who don't even read news would read local news because their grandkid won an award at high school that's only covered by the local site! 000
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistCarole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 20/08/2026A professor writes: (Jason Stanley) The problem is that journalists failed to do basic journalism. Not a single reporter seems to have checked’ Jason Arday’s citations. The ‘quantifiable metrics’ of his work. Prof Stanley did: ‘Arday is easily comparable to the leading scholars in the field’ 6126801064
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistCollins Watch @collinswatch.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Susan Collins pulls into town in a bus full of her supporters; then they all get off the bus; and then she addresses the folks who were on the bus with her as if they were regular Mainers; and legacy media covers this, pretending it isn't deeply bizarre. (Notice the guys with cameras.) #MEpolitics 759101794009
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistEileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 14/08/2026This shows what a filthy stew our justice industrial complex is – the only incentives are 1) pleasure derived from violence and domination 2) personal advancement. Not just cops. Prosecutors knew he was the wrong guy. They spent 14 mos. trying to convict him. He lost virtually everything he owned. 06127
Reposted by Disillusioned Optimistemptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 13/08/2026I think we should look at Scott Bessent's FinCEN decision as akin to Todd Blanche's bid to immunize Trump and the failsons. Even just Trump Org has hundreds of beneficial orgs. Imagine how many the crypto corruption has? Now, poof! All gone. www.fincen.gov/news/news-re...fincen.govFinCEN.govToday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing a final rule that permanently removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to repor... 12417198
Reposted by Disillusioned Optimistbrasidas @brasidas.bsky.social · 12/08/2026That's probably within expected levels for a primary, but the data you would want is which candidate is benefitting from people who haven't voted in a primary before. Are primary regulars going for the DSA and polls are missing invisible normies, or the other way around? 1294
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistOlúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Jes Staley, ex-Barclays CEO to Jeffrey Epstein: '“You want to know why we are not São Paulo, watch the TV adds [sic] on the Super Bowl...Its all about hip Blacks in hip cars with white women. The group that should be in the streets, has been bought off. by Jay Z.” www.theringer.com/2026/07/23/m...theringer.comThis Has Always Been Jay-Z’s BlueprintJay-Z said 2026 will be a year of “all offense.” Here’s what that really means. 21335111
Disillusioned Optimist @jenmiwri.bsky.social · 24/07/2026This whole thread is great. Makes me wish I knew more about the submarines and dinosaurs commonly found in the Great Lakes! 000
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMax Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026So if you’re not an investigative reporter, how can you know if the people picking your fruit are being mistreated? I spoke with experts who said the gold standard for preventing worker abuse is the Fair Food Program: www.propublica.org/article/h-2a...propublica.orgEmployers Have Exploited and Abused H-2A Farmworkers for Years. It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.The seasonal visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death. Experts, lawyers and advocates say there are ways to reduce and even stop the har... 118463
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistBethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 10/07/2026There's an OMB rule change that would require political oversight of scientific grants, and could pull any that don't "reflect presidential priorities" Another country has tried this before! It was the USSR and it was called Lysenkoism. By @thsaey.bsky.social www.sciencenews.org/article/omb-...sciencenews.orgHere’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of scienceProposed federal rules would rely on political appointees to decide how a lot of U.S. science gets done. History shows the consequences of such actions. 22871431
Disillusioned Optimist @jenmiwri.bsky.social · 08/07/2026I love these threads! They make me chuckle, but it's also somewhat comforting to know that many of the new terrible things are kind of the same as the old terrible things, and they're probably not really that terrible. 000
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistJess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 08/07/2026I don’t mind paying taxes when they pay for roads and schools and healthcare and libraries and post offices and fire services. I don’t like paying taxes when they pay for Trump enrichment schemes or golden ballrooms or bombs to drop on girls’ schools. 452332565
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Some thoughts on the latest actions by Secretary Hegseth and the effects on a command I know well www.thebulwark.com/p/what-happe...thebulwark.comWhat Happens When the Country Loses a GeneralIt takes a long time to build up a leader. 46977322
Disillusioned Optimist @jenmiwri.bsky.social · 12/06/2026After reading this, I feel like I actually understand what's up with the whole El Nino thing. All the science - but in a way that non-science people (like me!) could understand. If you live on the west coast, or just want to know what's going on, it's worth the read. Longish, but no filler. 140
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistKai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 09/06/2026We’re the bad guys. 1643762902
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistJustin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 03/06/2026In a statement to @benmullin.bsky.social, Scott Pelley disputes what Bari Weiss said in this morning's editorial meeting, claiming he was never offered "a way back" as she claimed. "These executives cannot gain the trust of the staff with lies. This is antithetical to everything we stand for..." 12043561272
Disillusioned Optimist @jenmiwri.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Ugh! This is so true! And demoralizing. When the only difference between D and R is the one says out loud that they don't like Trump, but they both enact the same general policy decisions, it does start to feel like you're a gullible idiot to keep thinking it matters. 010
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistDaniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 29/05/2026I know there is a lot going on, and not all of this is new, but numerous aspects of this OMB proposal are highly alarming and would, if enacted, effectively force American scientists receiving federal funding (which is...most of them in some capacity or another) to stop engaging with the public. 16639329
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistGillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 01/05/2026I hope @nickjudin.bsky.social doesn’t mind me saying this, but I got a peek behind the scenes this week and can tell you he put his whole heart—and his considerable reporting chops—into helping this family tell the world what ICE did to them. NYT repeated his work w/o care or credit. Infuriating. 2429151
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistKory Stamper @korystamper.bsky.social · 29/04/2026A wholesome story for nerds: On Saturday, I was signing books at a local bookstore for Independent Bookstore Day. The store had a signing-palooza with new authors every hour; toward the end of my hour, a woman came up and asked what my book was about. "Dictionaries," I said, and she lit up. 1/n 432141626
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistHELL Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 22/04/2026Priceless post from the official White House social media 229100462730
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistT. Greg Doucette @gregdoucette.bsky.social · 25/01/2026Periodic reminder: if you were to break down the Bill of Rights clause-by-clause, more than half of them make it harder to investigate, arrest, prosecute, and punish people for crimes It is the most profoundly anti-law enforcement document the Government has ever had And that's a good thing 9536122
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistBradford Pearson @bradfordpearson.bsky.social · 23/03/2026ICE officers getting paid for standing around doing nothing while TSA employees work without pay is a pretty succinct summation of where we're at right now 14557711788
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 23/03/2026This is Benjamin Netanyahu's draft-age son lounging by the pool at his luxury condo in Miami. He is not headed for Iran. Barron Trump is lounging in luxury somewhere else. He is also not headed for Iran. Don't let political opportunists sacrifice your children to distract from their corruption. 10327711101
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistGillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 18/03/2026I just heard back from the reporter, and I am genuinely speechless. Is “we don’t care” the business model? 222322638
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMegan Wachspress @meganwachspress.bsky.social · 16/03/2026If he's going to get a national profile on the strength of a younger woman's campaign, I'm going to come out and say it: during his short-lived tenure as a math professor, Biss had an inappropriate romantic relationship with one of his undergraduate students. I was that student. 240134564886
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMike Walker @newnarrative.bsky.social · 15/03/2026Afghan who fought for US forces dies in ICE custody as Trump on track for grim record www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...independent.co.ukAfghan who fought for US forces dies in ICE custody as Trump on track for grim recordMohammad Nazeer Paktyawal served with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and legally evacuated the country, then died within a day of being taken into ICE custody, according to his family 6521311171
Reposted by Disillusioned Optimistsouthpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 13/03/2026If it costs 300 million Americans more to go about their daily lives, but 250 thousand already-rich oil executives and investors get to experience another boom—this is good for the economy. 23793153
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMarisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 09/03/2026I just sent this email to the news director at NBC4 Washington about the unprofessional and disrespectful way they handled publishing the body camera footage of the DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace that was obtained via my FOIA lawsuit: 10748531007
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistJoni Askola @joniaskola.bsky.social · 04/03/20261/10 If the last few days of Iranian strikes on Dubai have proven anything, it’s that a massive number of people completely despise the city and those living there. And honestly? There are very good reasons to despise them. A thread on the city of hypocrites 🧵👇 22374166
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistPookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 02/03/2026People tend to think of functional illiteracy as just being unable to read words aloud or such. What it *really* means is such as not being able to perceive subtext, context, understand who the audience of something may be, etc. Media illiteracy is fundamentally part of functional illiteracy. 41405404
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistEsheru @esherukweku.bsky.social · 02/03/2026One of my favourite sides of politics/media. 132135434262
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 28/02/2026OFFS. When Iran tried to interefere in 2020, researchers caught them and called them out. Then the Benz-Weiss-Taibbi-Musk-Jordan-Trump axis labeled those researchers "censors" ... and set about defunding them and dismantling their organizations. 3838651256
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistPookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 28/02/2026The promise of OpenAI and Grok being used in war is that no human can be held accountable for the war crimes it commits, all the way up to where it sits on the chain of command. The total abdication of any kind of accountability, any kind of "am I following an unjust order" moral hesitation, etc. 111385529
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistSenator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 28/02/2026We had a deal with Iran to ensure limits on its nuclear capacities. Trump ended that deal. Now he says that sending our young people off to fight and potentially lose their lives for this country is just a ‘cost of war.’ This is the cost of his broken promises. No war with Iran. 801527492
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistMelanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 28/02/2026Updated: 8090372779
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistAda Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 26/02/2026Singapore demonstrates that specially-bred mosquitos can keep dengue suppressed at city-scale. When scientists breed male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia, the males don’t bite, and when they mate with wild females the eggs don’t hatch. buff.ly/pGU9c9z #ShareGoodNewsToobuff.lyWolbachia-infected mosquitoes can lower dengue risk by 70%, citywide experiment findsDengue is a mosquito-borne virus affecting millions of people each year, with symptoms ranging from flu-like illness to severe bleeding and organ failure. Scientists are now using Wolbachia, a… 210229
Reposted by Disillusioned OptimistScott Shapiro @scottjshapiro.bsky.social · 19/02/2026UK: Prince Andrew arrested. South Korea: Former President Yoon sentenced for life. Brazil: Former President Bolsonaro serving a 27-year sentence. USA: President Trump demands $10 billion payout from taxpayers. 198150405602