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uncle of the second class

@nerves.bsky.social
507 followers 1.6K following 4.1K posts

I have just read Against the Day, and I will not be taking questions at this time. Chicago, he/him.

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AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 1h
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- the worst-ever in the vast central African country -- has killed more than 4,000 people, officials say u.afp.com/S9aG
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brent 🌹🗽 @therealbrent.bsky.social · 14h
remarkable thing to admit
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Erika McEntarfer @erikamcentarfer.bsky.social · 2h
Good 🧵 worth your time. It's so unusual to have a frozen job ladder outside of a recession. A labor market with low unemployment but almost no opportunity to move to a better job isn't healthy for workers, economic growth, or productivity.
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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 18h
If you need to send a fundraising email with the header “We know you’re not an ATM” maybe it’s a sign you ought to reign in the grifter consulting firms that are alienating supporters with a constant stream of panhandling spam to raise money that mostly gets poured back into their own coffers?
Dem fundraising email headed “We know you’re not an ATM”
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Casey Drottar @caseydrottar.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The first team to advance to the 2026 Division Series: the Chicago White Sox, as we all surely expected when this season began
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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...
But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I think that is true, but I do not think it is necessarily an immutable law of the American Voter. It is a product of leadership and culture made up of individual decisions. It's a feedback loop, in part, of political leaders telling voters that it is right and good and just to be that way.
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maureen @maureenf.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“When asked about the missing section of video, the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) said it had not been redacted—and on that day, “Chicago Public Safety camera(s) may have been out of service or experienced technical problems.”
still from comedy bang bang reading “555-come-on-now”
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Reuters Legal @legal.reuters.com · 29/09/2026
The US pharmaceutical lobby group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said on Tuesday it had named former US House Majority Leader Eric Cantor as its next president and chief executive officer.
reut.rs
US drug lobby group PhRMA names former House leader Cantor as CEO
The US pharmaceutical lobby group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ​said on Tuesday it had named ‌former US House Majority Leader Eric Cantor as its next president and chief ​executive officer.
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Jim LaPorta @jimlaporta.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Def. Sec. Hegseth signed a memo today that CBS News obtained two months ago eliminating civilian tenure at military service academies. The Daily Wire was first to report on Tuesday that Hegseth signed the memo CBS News first reported on. Story: www.cbsnews.com/news/dod-pen...
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Dana Hull @danahull.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Elon Musk's America PAC spending on Senate races. This is just based on what we know so far via FEC filings: focus on Texas, Ohio and Michigan
America PAC spending on Senate races
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I was explaining this at a political meeting last night. Stephen Miller has smartly decided to fly below the radar after the backlash to Minneapolis, Chicago, and other outrages. But by many measures things have gotten worse.
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Eric Rauchway @rauchway.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
my god
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Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I’ve been saying this for years: the difference between (western) billionaires and (eastern) oligarchs is that the billionaires enjoy complete impunity, whereas the oligarchs do not. This is the financial dimension of that.
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Cameron 🇺🇸🗽🦅 @cameroncorduroy.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
talking about water use policy is impossible because "AI data centers use a lot of water to cool the computers" sounds way more believable than "they're draining the Great Salt Lake so the Governor of Utah can sell alfalfa to Saudi Arabia" and yet
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Matt Cameron @mattcameron.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
my man went so rogue that he wrote everything out as a chapter in the single most influential document of the MAGA movement a full year before the election before sliding comfortably into exactly the position he was lobbying for after it
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calizaybak.bsky.social @calizaybak.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
He keeps telling everyone who he really is, like I get his social media team is great at dunking on Trump but still he is not on the right side of much.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 26/09/2026
If you’re doing Meta’s comms, this can’t be what you hope for.
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Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Agree with Greg‘s general point. But let me ask the hard question about moral hazard: if the likes of Zuck or Jensen (or Dartmouth or Paul Weiss) pay no price for having kowtowed to Trump, won’t they end up looking smart for having done so? And if we want to curb this moral hazard, what must we do?
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Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Ctrl-F “Laquan McDonald” <Not found>
nytimes.com
Rahm Emanuel Makes His 2026 Play
The longtime Democratic insider has emerged as a behind-the-scenes force in his party’s push to win back Congress. After that, he’ll think about 2028.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This is the trailer that all the major platforms refuse to run as a paid ad:
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Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
One of my most galaxy-brained takes is that politicians and political groups should talk more about workers’ share of national income. It's one of the clearest, simplest ways to describe how billionaires and corporate elites captured so much of the economy--and something policy can change.
axios.com
U.S. workers' share of national income falls to a new low
Labor's bargaining position has worsened markedly in the last half-decade.
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Emily Flitter @emilyflitter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
NEW: The Trump administration has been trying to squeeze undocumented people out of the banking system. There are signs that it’s working (gift link) ⬇️ www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is Changing How Undocumented People Bank
In the months since the Trump administration embarked on America’s most sweeping immigration crackdown in decades, the connections between immigrant families and lenders are coming loose, according to...
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
So confused. How was Pro Publica able to uncover and report this bribery scandal and administration cover-up without being at the White House and having the president assuring them they are stupid piggies? hhttps://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-susan-collins-navatek-campaign-donations-investigation
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 22/09/2026
Happy #Chicagohenge, everyone! Astronomical fall officially arrives at 7:05pm CDT today. Happy shooting if you're out chasing the sun between Chicago's concrete (and steel and glass) canyons. The forecast is iffy this afternoon, but worth a shot.
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David DeWitt @daviddewitt.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Commentary: Ohio GOP tax giveaways to tech giants now building data centers will continue to plague the state for 30 years. But that $2.3 billion in tax exemptions is just one of many shortsighted deals where state assets were turned over to corporations ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/21/o...
ohiocapitaljournal.com
Ohio data center tax boondoggles just one example of Kasich corporate giveaways • Ohio Capital Journal
The Ohio Republican tax giveaways to the tech giants now building data centers in Ohio will continue to plague the state for 30 years. But that $2.3 billion in tax exemptions is just one of many…
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EmmanuelSPV @emmanuelspv.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Before (1970) / After (2026) Rue Michel Chasles in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. A sign that many such changes in Paris are recent, is that this change actually happened only in 2024 !
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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is eugenics
Emily Hilliard, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, confirmed on Wednesday that the department had not yet made a decision about whether to provide the shots through that program.
Vaccines for Children provides free shots to children who are uninsured, underinsured or eligible for Medicaid, as well as to American Indian and Alaska Native children.
Pediatric doses are available for children who have insurance, or whose parents can afford to pay for vaccines out of pocket.
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Michael McLean @michaelmclean.me · 16/09/2026
I've made a ward scorecard for Divvy bikeshare infrastructure, inspired by the @chiwho.bike dashboard. You can drill into a ward and look at the station deployment and ridership trends. michaelmclean.me/chicago-divv...
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is ridiculous, including (1) Kavanaugh was always a GOP hack and (2) Feldman doesn't realize his own premise is that Kavanaugh is a dimwitted hack who votes solely based on socializing, not principled legal interpretation. Moreover: no Supreme Court Justice is "forced" to do a damn thing.
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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I'd only be worried about a Trump coup if... a) They fired all the professional generals and replaced them with loyal hacks b) They brought Nat'l Guard troops from pro-Trump states into DC until 1/20/29 c) Trump was building a massive bunker with drones next to the White House wait a minute...
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Micah @rincewind.run · 14/08/2026
the real lesson for insiders is that the next Dem administration should appoint someone who is similarly willing to baby the press and feed it little bits and pieces, at least in private, because the press is tremendously susceptible to this sort of thing the rest of us are right to be pissed
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Corbin Hiar @corbinhiar.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
“Boren’s requests could have undercut a national firefighting system that works to ensure resources are allocated where they are needed most, four former federal fire officials said, at a time when federal crews have been stretched thin battling wildfires across the West.”
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JW Mason @jwmason.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
It’s remarkable how persistent this myth is. German democracy survived hyperinflation; it did not survive mass unemployment in the 1939s. It would be better to say this the other way round: because German leaders are conservative, they remember hyperinflation. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
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Paul Cohen @paulecohen.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
the comparisons with Galileo that everyone is rushing to make are really interesting -- but not for the reasons that most people think the Galileo affair was not an instance of a heroic scientist falling victim to a an all-powerful Catholic Church monolithically committed to obscurity and dogma,
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Karthik Sankaran @rajakorman.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
I just realized that I literally may have invented the secret third thing in the global imbalance debate—neither Chinese mercantilism, nor persistent US fiscal deficits, but the size and structure of US healthcare spending. www.ft.com/content/631a... American healthcare costs drive global imbalances
ft.com
American healthcare costs drive global imbalances
Dark matter revealed?
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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
This, via @melaniemitchell.bsky.social is super helpful background on what is going on in background. "“Number one: It works. It improves things ...Number two: the chain of thought “isn’t necessarily faithful to what’s going on ... number three: A lot of that text isn’t even useful."
quantamagazine.org
Is AI Reasoning Right for the Wrong Reasons? | Quanta Magazine
The idea that artificial intelligence can “reason” is more intuitive than ever. But intuitions can be wrong, and the science is far from settled.
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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Today in Every Accusation is a Confession
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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Some take this fact as a reason to look down on & even disenfranchise these people. But they're neither stupid nor irresponsible, usually. They're busy with other things important to them. The trick is how to secure their attention. I wrote a whole book about it: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu
Democracy for Busy People
Advances an alternative approach to democratic reform that focuses on building institutions that empower people who have little time for politics.   How do we make democracy more equal? Although in th...
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Jason Scott @textfiles.com · 03/07/2026
I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure. Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.
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Politico @politico.com · 01/07/2026
Frustration roils lawmakers briefed on Pentagon's war request
dlvr.it
Frustration roils lawmakers briefed on Pentagon's war request
Even Republican on the House Appropriations Committee emerged from the classified briefing urging Pentagon officials to give them more information.
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Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I have no idea what the ultimate impact of some pretty far left candidates winning primaries will be but I do think the media freak out about it even as far right nationalists are in Congress is pretty telling.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/07/2026
the use of “performative” as an insult here is why these people are losing their primaries. yes, voters want you to perform their anger and disgust! they want representatives to represent their symbolic interests! the idea that good representation is necessarily quiet and unobtrusive is wrong!
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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 29/06/2026
From Naperville to Little Village, ICE arrests continue today in Chicagoland after a weekend where cities across the U.S.—including as far away as Oklahoma City—reported surges in activity.
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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Soft power is when you force the British to make 1776 brand cheddar cheese
1776 aged cheddar, product of the UK. The label celebrates 250 years since the American Revolution.
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AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 26/06/2026
🌲Afghanistan aims to plant millions of trees Under the shade of recently planted poplars in northeastern Afghanistan, Char Bagh's villagers are rediscovering the value of trees after years of wartime deforestation.
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Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
LA jails just posted their 22nd in custody death for this year -- this time someone in the women's facility:
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 25/06/2026
JD Vance: "I think Nixon's historical legacy is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, and deservedly so. I joked that if Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12 hours news story. The idea that it took down a presidency is crazy."
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Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I finally sat down and read this whole thing and holy shit dawg
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
There's been a quiet yet vicious fight between commercial banks & crypto, & crypto is winning. Eleanor Davis-Diver has this report on how stablecoin issuers are storming through the regulatory agencies. "Wall Street might be looking back on those days of bank-specific deregulation with nostalgia"
prospect.org
Crypto Industry Gets Its Way on GENIUS Act Rulemaking - The American Prospect
The primary federal regulators of stablecoins are finalizing their rules for GENIUS Act implementation and, much to the chagrin of the banking industry, crypto firms are getting everything they want.
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