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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 10/10/2026

Trump is trying to create chaos and confusion around the midterms. Our job is to deny him the fear and cynicism he needs.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

AI executives know their technology will likely lead to disaster, yet they continue to develop and promote it. As a (former) technologist, AI fascinates me. But more and more it looks to me like a technology that humans should not be allowed to have. www.axios.com/2026/10/09/a...

axios.com

Scoop: AI companies plot "day after" scenarios for public revolt

Inside the AI industry's worst-case-scenario prep.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Future historians are absolutely going to feature these ads in their lectures on this period in history.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

When I have commented previously on Bsky that "Democrat" used as an adjective is Republican-speak and that we should be careful what words we use, people dismissed me and told me to lighten up. Here is why it matters.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

People need to stop hyperventilating about Trump's loony attempts to rename Lake Ontario and New Mexico, and focus on the bigger picture: the evidence is overwhelming that he is very, very mentally ill.

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The facts you need to know to explain that what Trump is doing has nothing to do with supposed noncitizen voting and everything to do with preventing eligible Americans from casting their ballots. substack.com/home/post/p-...

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

If voting truly means nothing, Trump wouldn't be trying so hard to stop it.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Yes, yes, YES. 90% of the punditry I've been seeing on the insurgent progressives/DSAs in the Democratic Party completely overlooks this possible reason for their success.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Yes, yes, YES. Being morally right means nothing if you can't convince others to support you. And being militantly strident, just because you're standing on solid moral grounds, isn't the way to do it.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

I know the list is endless but I genuinely think trashing the legitimate congressionally chartered org for celebrating the 250th to instead hijack our national assets and taxpayer funds for his personality cult grifter crap should, in and of itself, be fully sufficient to merit removal from office.

linuscatt · 1d ago
I worked at Smithsonian, specifically raising money for 250th. What I want people to know is we secured millions of private philanthropy to host a month long Folklife Festival on the mall, "The Festival of Festivals". Was going to feature well known festivals, think Burning Man, Farm Aid, Grand Ole Oprey etc. as well as smaller local and regional festivals from across the U.S. and territories. Goal was to feature truly the best and most beautiful creative expression in music, dance, arts and craft traditions, food, community etc. Can't name names but plan was to have headliners every night for free concerts.... Think the types of names who might be affiliated with the aforementioned large festivals. Stars were willing to perform because was under banner of Smithsonian. It had to all be scrapped bc the administration would not release permits to host on the mall. The money went elsewhere, but our nation was robbed of what would have been a once in a generation cultural moment.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

The dementia must be *really* setting in.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost @frost.house.gov · 12/06/2026

10 years ago today, 49 lives were stolen at Pulse Nightclub — a safe haven for Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community turned into a site of unimaginable horror. Let's honor the victims, survivors, and their loved ones by continuing to build a future free from gun violence, hate, and bigotry.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

We've been hearing about people leaving MAGA ever since Trump's first presidency. This is a nice story, but I'd like to see some numbers that show this time is different. www.salon.com/2026/06/08/i...

salon.com

It's not just hopium: People really are leaving MAGA - Salon.com

I was addicted to Trump’s elixir of rage and fear for years. It’s finally losing its power over others

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

John J. Cullen @johncullenocean.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Someone who doesn't know much about oceanography asked me if the dismantling of ocean monitoring capabilities was stupid and/or evil. It is stupid AND evil. The War on Science continues. As more people see it and push back, maybe the tide can be turned. 🌊🧪 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Dismay as Trump officials to dismantle key ocean monitoring system

Ocean Observatories Initiative, $368m network that has provided crucial climate data, latest victim of Trump cuts

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

One thing that won't get enough attention about John Cornyn's loss to Ken Paxton is that, no matter what happens in November, Texas Republicans just willingly gave up seniority in the Senate, one of the most prized currencies in federal politics. Let me explain what I mean... (thread)

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Michael D. Green, PhD @michaeldgreen.phd · 28/05/2026

President of MIT not mincing words today in @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/05/27/s...

So let me say it as clearly as I can: Without basic scientific research, supported by the kind of farsighted public investment that allows large-scale, undirected, curiosity-driven inquiry, the scientific pipeline will run dry.
In daily life, people may not feel the effects right away, or even in 10 years. But we will feel it. And when someone we love needs therapies that could have emerged but didn't or when other countries now
investing in science can launch new science-based industries or run their societies on vast resources of fusion energy or reap the benefits of quantum computing power or advanced medical breakthroughs, America will wish it sustained its leadership in scientific research here and now.
Sally Kornbluth is the president of MIT.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I will never understand why they supported him in the first place.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Watching a series of former Confederate states rush to eliminate any vestige of black representation in the House pretty much answers the question whether the Voting Rights Act was still necessary.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

For all the talk of how Democrats aren't close enough to the mainstream, only Republicans act—consistently, through all of their members in every branch, federal and state—as if they know there is no chance they could hold power in anything resembling a free and fair election.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

This excellent analysis lays bare that they realize they're wildly unpopular (popular agendas can achieve success through democratic means). And of course the more of this they do the more unpopular they become, so it's a treadmill and feedback loop.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

"The US-Israel war on Iran is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries combined." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

theguardian.com

5m tonnes of CO2 emitted in just 14 days of US war on Iran, analysis finds

Exclusive: War in the Middle East is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries combined

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

This is what ecocide looks like.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Here is Hillary Clinton’s opening statement to House Oversight on Epstein. Clinton says she does not recall ever encountering Epstein and says she knew nothing about his crimes. She also says that Trump should testify under oath and criticizes the committee for not holding any public hearings.

"Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee... as a former Senator, I have respect for legislative oversight and I expect its exercise, as do the American people, to be principled and fearless in pursuit of truth and accountability.
As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater, which is an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people.
The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.
As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.
Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It's unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade.
Mr. Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government's handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein's crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide.
You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions.
You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner's deposition.
This institutio…

as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.
I have spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the terrible abuses so many women and girls face here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual slavery. For too long, these have been largely invisible crimes or not treated as crimes at all. But the survivors are real and they are entitled to better.
In Southeast Asia, I met girls as young as twelve years old who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. In Eastern Europe, I met mothers who told me how they lost daughters to trafficking and did not know where to turn. In settings around the world, I met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help rescue others - with little support from people in power, who too often turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder.
If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he's far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It's a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll.
My work combatting sex trafficking goes back to my days as First Lady. I worked to pass the first federal legislation against trafficking and was proud that my husband signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which increased support for survivors and gave prosecutors better tools for going after traffickers.
As Secretary of State, I appointed a former federal prosecutor, Lou CdeBaca, to ramp up our global antitrafficking efforts. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 nations and directly pressed foreign leaders to crack down on trafficking networks in their countries. Every year we published a global report to shine a light on abuses. The findings of those reports triggered sanctions on countries failing to make progress, so they became a powerful diplomatic tool to drive concrete…

Infuriatingly, the Trump Administration gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department, cutting more than 70 percent of the career civil and foreign service experts who worked so hard to prevent trafficking crimes. The annual trafficking report, required by law, was delayed for months. The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House.
That is a tragedy. It's a scandal. It deserves vigorous investigation and oversight.
A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008.
A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files.
It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies.
It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes.
It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the "wildest party" on Epstein's island.
It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated.
It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers.
It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need.
It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act.
But that's not happening.

Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers.
If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein's trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.
If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done.
What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?
My challenge to you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein's crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking."

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

After a decade and a half of use, Facebook has undoubtedly built a profile on my political views. So I find it interesting that now I'm seeing more and more propaganda from right-wing politicians and political groups appear in my FB feed, the one that used to be predominantly updates from friends.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

The Trump administration is literally going to kill its supporters, and still they cheer the circus.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 03/02/2026

happening this morning in Minneapolis -- ICE agents drawing guns on observers. I reiterate again that it is only a matter of time before DHS kills more innocent people in Minnesota. Congress needs to shut this shit down right now.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

From the judge's ruling: "Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency." And there's a lot more in those 2.5 pages.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

TikTok will be tracking your location, personal info incl sexual orientation, health, religious association, financial activity, etc. TikTok is now a major surveillance tool for tech billionaires and the government. Delete your account first then the app.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.

Screenshot of an X.com post by The Associated Press (@AP) stating that dozens of immigrant families protested for better treatment behind fences at a Texas detention facility, where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent after being detained in Minnesota. Below is a video thumbnail showing a crowd gathered outdoors along a fenced walkway; many people wear bright blue or red outerwear, and some hold signs.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Minneapolis demonstrates in stark terms that Congress has a moral imperative to stop ICE, Trump's modern-day Gestapo. DHS funding (including ICE) is now front-and-center in the Senate. If Democrats cannot find the will to take a stand on this issue, then what do they stand for?

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Long past time for Trump to be taken to a dementia care facility.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20/01/2026

folks, this is some really weird shit. the president is not well.

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Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz · 23/12/2025

The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Jay Kuo has written an excellent summary of the first year of Trump's final term. As per the article, it is a massive failure on all fronts, but unfortunately he's still in charge and still doing damage. thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/trump-poli...

thinkbigpicture.substack.com

Backfire

On every major policy question, the Trump regime is failing badly. And voters are taking note.

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Reposted by Michael Portuesi

San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle.com · 05/12/2025

OPINION: If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be at Hitler’s Berlin Olympics in 1936 or at Mussolini’s 1934 World Cup, good news! You’ll get a chance at a similar experience next...

bit.ly

Think the World Cup draw was cringe? Trump propaganda machine just warming up

OPINION: If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be at Hitler’s Berlin Olympics in 1936 or at Mussolini’s 1934 World Cup, good news! You’ll get a chance at a similar experience next...

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 03/12/2025

It's wild but not surprising that last week the White House was leaning into "these seditious Democrats dared suggest that troops were receiving illegal orders!!!" and this week they are scrambling to figure out who to blame for issuing illegal orders.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

For the crowd who thinks that Trump has cleansed the Epstein files of his name - does anybody honestly think he won't get caught? His coverup staff are so incompetent they couldn't even doctor the Epstein prison video without leaving obvious signs of tampering.

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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

The relentlessly opportunistic Marjorie Taylor Greene hasn't had a change of heart, much less politics. She is just literate enough to read the writing on the wall. She knows that Trump is damaged goods now. So she may have taken to singing like a bird, but she's really just a canary in a coal mine.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

I honestly couldn't care about the Epstein files - I consider it a distraction from talking about the real problems our nation faces. But it sure is making Trump nervous, so I'm here for it.

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Michael Portuesi @mportuesisf.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

I tend to think the deal made by the Senate Democrats was a) orchestrated, and b) a cave-in. This article points out some positives of the deal. One positive not listed: Speaker Johnson might have to bring the house into session, which could force a discharge petition vote on the Epstein Files.

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