iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Something unprecedented happened during my visit to the Gulf. For the first time in 20 years in Congress, I was denied entry to U.S. military facilities and even meetings with military leaders. An order from Hegseth - that applies to both parties - to hide the cost of the war.

22043881988

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I'm just gonna bookmark this for future reference when Dem pundits complain about how the party has trouble communicating its message to voters. The reason you keep running into trouble with your branding isn't campus radicals. The reason is that your opponents purchased all the media outlets.

7737601082

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

If you're in these states, *TODAY* is deadline to register to vote. Arizona, Arkansas Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas. Even if you think you've registered: doesn't hurt to check! And there's a lot happening across them. A thread with stakes on each. ⬇️

2218921696

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 05/10/2026

If in the next three years we don’t substantially reform the Court and throw Alito’s entire jurisprudence in the trash (and I mean all of it)… we will have allowed this rightwing politician to have made the US substantially more fascist, against the popular will.

1125769

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

“.. Asked specifically where he diverges from Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei, Altman said, ‘we believe that the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agency.’” @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

264719277

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Professa Murray @kalimurray.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

What everyone has to prepare for is the constitutional crisis to accelerate if the Democrats take the House and the Senate. Vought has been allowed by the Republicans to act with impunity, so have he will continue to ignore Congress. This is why you have to impeach him immediately.

261536420

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 03/10/2026

Killed. NSF’s SBE was killed, in violation of law. The President does not have the power to choose to kill programs at a whim by defunding them. The imperial presidency was a mistake and we are in a separation of powers constitutional crisis.

151450529

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

W.E.D.em Boyz @leftistwonk.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The first move for Skydance after the merger announcement: fire the studio executives who brought in One Battle After Another and Sinners.

hollywoodreporter.com

Michael De Luca, Pamela Abdy Out at Warner Bros.

The news comes as Paramount Skydance is readying to finalize its deal for the legacy studio.

28868354

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I think the Synodal Way counts as an attempt at Recursive Self-Improvement.

151

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

macshibby the anxious @macshibby.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I had a student hug me goodbye "just in case" because he and his family have an immigration appointment on Monday and they could be deported back to their home country, where he's convinced he'll end up murdered on the street. So anyway, fuck this.

615742

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

They're holding up a major escalation in Iran and a crackdown on abortion until after the midterms to limit political damage. To the extent that the last two years have been a right-wing smash-and-grab operation, the next two will be worse.

20462932896

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

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.

12529931783

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The term “remigration” is associated with the extreme right and only came into widespread usage in 2023-4. Even Germany’s AfD avoided using the term in 2024 for fear of scaring away voters. Today the US government is celebrating the “victories” it’s racked up in the “ethnic cleansing” column.

Department of Homelan... • Follow •.• X
5h • 0
Net negative migration for the first time in HALF a CENTURY.
Americans are amassing victories NEVER seen before thanks to President Trump.
We will continue to grow our efforts to fulfill the mandate given to this administration.
REMIGRATION REPORT
94%)
3.3+
MILLION REMOVALS
INCLUDING DEPORTATIONS AND VOLUNTARY REMOVALS
ASYLUM DENIAL AT 94%
250,000
VISAS REVOKED
REVOKED
TRAVEL BANNED
FROM 39 COUNTRIES
2,600+
287(G)
AGREEMENTS
NATURALIZATIONS
DOWN
75%
1.3K
519
212

771582645

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Nixon was pardoned already. This is an effort to rehabilitate him as the victim, and his investigators as villains.

2040999

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

among other things, musk is the #1 donor to the Republican Party in 2024 and 2026, now appointed to a board where he can steers contracts to his businesses. Bought and sold. Thieves.

19748209

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

404 Media @404media.co · 30/09/2026

BREAKING: The Trump administration is using a grant program from the 1980s to force cities around the US to funnel their ongoing collection of Flock, Axon, and other ALPR data into large federal surveillance centers that fall under the White House’s jurisdiction, 404 Media has learned

404media.co

How Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance Program

How the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program.

6213651083

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Protecting child predators, facilitating extra-judicial murders, jacking up everyone's prices through tariffs and military misadventures all so that Donald Trump can get rich and he doesn't yell at you is a hell of a closing message. But totally on brand for Mr. Johnson.

32889242

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If executive branch creates a system so that people under government control can be located and then just stops listing some people in that system — despite their still being under government control — that should be a five-alarm fire for the other branches, the states, and the public.

141284544

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Spooky Back From The Dead Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I had very studiously avoided putting too much credence in these allegations before there was some independent verification, but Ratzlaff's comment fits the bill. Read the entire thread - this is more than just a sex scandal.

3226

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

New: we are starting to get data showing what cops are using Axon's license plate cameras for, which are replacing Flock around the country. But we need your help: is your city using Axon? We have written the request you need to get this data yourself. Get it here: www.404media.co/is-your-city...

404media.co

Is Your City Using Axon License Plate Cameras? We Need Your Help

404 Media is filing public records requests around the country to find out how cops are using Axon's ALPRs. Here is how you can do that too.

7744434

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

steven monacelli @stevanzetti.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Scooplet: after Texas State Representative Brian Harrison and megadonor Monty Bennett publicly complained about the University of North Texas having a large archive of primary sources related to LGBTQ history in North Texas, UNT has taken down a website about it, and Rep. Harrison is taking credit.

1715698

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I'm shocked he didn't suggest American Intelligence.

020

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Ian Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 20/09/2026

Amtrak didn’t tell us about this exposure, so heads up: if you took an Amtrak train last week through Chicago or anywhere on the Southwest Chief, Coast Starlight, or California Zephyr routes like we did, you may have been exposed to measles! Please let the train people in your life know about this

3813331153

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

"Death is a preferable alternative to wokeism"

100

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Upload some models that have been fine-tuned to shit on Hegseth at every opportunity.

020

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

They looked at the HuggingFace incident got jealous of OpenAI's virtual lab leak, and decided to one-up them.

040

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Sophie E. Hill @sophieehill.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I'm a Meta-Effective Altruist™️ I believe that Effective Altruism needs to be redistributed from where it is least effective (Silicon Valley sex cultists) to where it would be most effective (British pensioners who leave their life savings to the Donkey Sanctuary).

952967

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Jessica Valenti @jessicavalenti.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The EPA will test America's drinking water for abortion medication & birth control—caving to a years-long pressure campaign from anti-abortion extremists.

jessica.substack.com

BREAKING: EPA Will Test Drinking Water for Abortion Pills & Contraception

The federal agency just caved to years of anti-abortion pressure

67615316

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

my guess is that most americans do not perceive these deportations for what they are -- systematic crimes, under a framework directed at the highest levels of government, the evidence of which is in this defiance (inter alia). the rest of the world would rightly call this crimes against humanity.

221376

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It's official: Per MS NOW's Mychael Schnell, the House is canceling tomorrow's votes. They're going home until after Election Day, to avoid voting on Thomas Massie's impeachment resolution against Pete Hegseth.

89746305

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Sweet, finally got the special edition!

000

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 12/09/2026

The US President's new proposal to tax international students has been approved by the White House for release this week. It's an unprecedented $100,000 tax on int'l grads who stay to work after graduation on Optional Practical Training (most grads do), a crucial bridge to remaining by any channel.

21434716

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This is stochastic terrorism. Ted Cruz is an extremist encouraging violence.

26939921166

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

onion person @junlper.beer · 11/09/2026

it’s wild that the heritage foundation wrote in text that the assault on trans woman particularly in sports is their first step in their efforts to completely abolish all Title IX protections and liberals still don’t believe it’s about more than trans women in sports

7375812173

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Tim Rooney @urbaneturtle.com · 15/04/2026

A pretty comprehensive takedown of JD Vance by a Catholic priest, Msgr. Arthur Holquin open.substack.com/pub/liturgya...

Arthur Holquin • Follow
9h • 0
When the Neophyte Corrects the Vicar of Christ
On JD Vance, Theological Hubris, and the Gospel He Has Yet to Learn
There is a particular arrogance that takes root in the newly converted - the zeal of the autodidact who, having just discovered the tradition, mistakes enthusiasm for mastery. JD Vance, who received baptism into the Catholic Church in 2019 at the age of thirty-five, has now committed the singular error of instructing the Bishop of Rome to
"be careful when he talks about matters of theology!"
We should sit with the full weight of that sentence.
The Vice President of the United States - seven years a Catholic, formerly an evangelical, before that a self-described atheist - stood before a Turning Point USA audience in Georgia and publicly admonished Pope Leo XIV about theological precision. "If you're going to opine on matters of theology," Vance informed the successor of Peter, "you've got to be careful, you've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth."
The audacity is breathtaking. The irony is almost comic.

While Vance was dispensing theological warnings from a stage in Georgia, Pope Leo XIV was standing at the archaeological site of Hippo in Algeria - the episcopal see where St. Augustine served as bishop until his death in 430 A.D.
Vance, who claims Augustine as his patron saint and frequently invokes him in speeches, was lecturing on Augustinian just war theology to a political rally audience. The pope he was lecturing
- who served as Prior General of the Order of St.
Augustine for more than a decade and holds a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas - was planting an olive tree at the very ground where Augustine lived, prayed, wrote, and died. If God governs history with a sense of irony, this moment surely pleased Him.
The occasion for Vance's correction was Pope Leo's statement that "God is never on the side of those who wield the sword." Vance responded by invoking the thousand-year tradition of Just War theory as if the pope were unaware of it. But Leo did not say war is never permissible. He said God is not simply enlisted as a combatant on any nation's side. That is not a negation of Just War doctrine. That is its foundation. The Catechism at
§2309 is unambiguous about the conditions that must all be simultaneously met for a war to be just. Archbishop Broglio stated plainly on Easter Sunday that the war against Iran does not meet those criteria. Cardinals Cupich, Mcelroy, and Tobin, along with Archbishop Coakley, have spoken with notable unanimity. Cardinal Tobin put it plainly: Pope Leo "will continue to speak clearly against war and other offenses against human dignity and to call for authentic dialogue, because the Church's witness is grounded in the peace of Christ, not in partisan interests." That is episcopal fidelity. What Vance offered was its precise opposite.

The deeper problem is not merely that Vance is wrong about just war. It is the ecclesiological framework he is importing from American Christian nationalism into a tradition that explicitly rejects it. Vance told Fox News that "in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what's going on in the Catholic Church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating public policy." Let that formulation stand naked for a moment. The pope — who holds a universal pastoral office precisely because the Gospel speaks to every dimension of human life — is being instructed to confine himself to the sacristy, while the president is assigned the role of
"dictating" the political world. This is not a Catholic understanding of faith and public life.
Catholic Social Teaching from Rerum Novarum onward has always insisted that the Gospel is not a private spiritual comfort but a public moral claim. When Vance tells the pope to stay in his lane, he is not defending Catholic doctrine. He is betraying it.

JD Vance's forthcoming book on his Catholic faith is titled Communion. Its cover features a United Methodist church. I do not say this merely to mock. Symbolism matters in Catholic theology, and the symbolism here is telling. A book about Catholic unity, bearing Protestant ecclesial architecture on its cover, written by a man who publicly contradicts the pope on Just War doctrine - this is not communion. This is confusion dressed in piety. Archbishop Coakley said it plainly: "The Pope is not Trump's rival, nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls." Communion, in Catholic theology, is not a feeling of spiritual warmth. It is a participation in the Body of Christ that carries radical obligations — to the poor, the stranger, the enemy, to peace. It is a table the powerful do not preside over. They are guests at it, like everyone else.
A seven-year Catholic who tells the pope to watch his theology, while defending an administration that posted an Al image of the president as Jesus Christ and refused to apologize, is not in communion with the tradition he claims to be writing about. He is in communion with power.
And that, as Augustine himself understood deeply, is a very different thing.

122567

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This is big: Yemen’s Houthis today captured the Red Sea port of Mocha after government forces pulled out. Their control of the coast gives them power to threaten Bab el-Mandeb and access to the Red Sea.

47549152

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

What kind of Hot Fuzz-esque BS is this?

000

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

🗽LOLGOP🗽 @lolgop.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Just to note: we definitely already have concentration camps. Gitmo may not meet your definition (it does mine), but Camp East Montana, Dilley, and so many others, including Delaney Hall and the Baldwin ICE camp here in Michigan, clearly meet any fair rubric for a concentration camp.

218356

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Mary Tuma @marytuma.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The TX Department of State Health Services has pushed the deadline for the latest MMRC report from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1 – until after the midterm elections and just a month before the legislative session, giving even more reason for advocates and lawmakers to suspect political influence. Bkgrd here:

2235

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

Micah @rincewind.run · 09/09/2026

a little maddening to be doing corporate code of conduct training in this day and age "it is illegal to bribe people" is it though, is it really

802523287

Reposted by Mitchell Mebane

steven monacelli @stevanzetti.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Today I'll be reporting live from the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, for @dmagazine.bsky.social, which applied for press access but never received a response. Consequently, I will have the general admission experience. First step: drive ~30 minutes outside of Dallas to Grand Prairie. 1/

22509123

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Not much, if it's spread to multiple geographically diverse data centers. Not much, if it's managed to commandeer a data center with its own generators and take over ICS and physical security controls.

150

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Two years ago I would've said that was madness, but now? It's a real possibility.

1121

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Yeah. And if a similar agent swarm managed to stay under the radar for a few more days, it might manage to take over a data center and deploy isolated copies of the model, and take over industrial control systems to try and protect the servers running it.

4122

Mitchell Mebane @mitchellmebane.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

More like knocking out a power grid, or taking over an entire Amazon data center and using it to conduct automated ransomware attacks.

000