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Keith M. Judge

@optimist-press.bsky.social
1.4K followers 505 following 9.3K posts

@Chicago Owner/Operator @Optimist Press Newsletter: optimistpress.substack.com I sift thru the sands of BlueSky for interesting stuff.

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Reposted by Keith M. Judge
Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2h
All the more depressing when you remember the largest bar on this graph is only one tenth of campus sexual assault (90% of campus sexual assault goes unreported altogether)
Sexual misconduct reports at nearly 300 colleges in New York state
Reported incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking in schools' disciplinary process from 2018 to 2024.

0
6,250
12,500
18,750
25,000
Reported incidents
25,818
Reported to law enforcement
4,243
School judicial process sought
4,561
People found responsible
1,729
Students expelled/employees dismissed
312
Suspended
623
Incidents involving students, including some where the accuser or accused are employees.
Source: New York State Department of Education
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 2h
conservative Moral Values, folks bsky.app/profile/kyle...
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 05/08/2026
As of last night, there are now *7* pastors, former pastors and seminarians who've become Democratic nominees running for Congress. Some have already won safe Dem seats, and several are in hotly contested races. In multiple cases, the GOP has attacked their faith. religionnews.com/2026/08/04/p...
religionnews.com
'They're not real pastors': As clergy run as Democrats, Republicans question their faith
(RNS) — 'It's a sign that they are really scared they're gonna lose this seat,' the Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran pastor running for Congress in Iowa, said. She is part of a wave of religious ...
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David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 2h
The influence that Elon Musk, his companies and their employees continue to have at the highest levels of the US government is astounding......and @telliotter.bsky.social is the reporter doing more than anyone to uncover it www.wired.com/story/myster...
wired.com
A Mysterious Nonprofit Run by SpaceXAI’s Top Lawyer Is Paying the Salaries of Government Workers
The National Design Studio has been something of a successor agency to DOGE. A WIRED investigation finds some of its members are on loan from a nonprofit run by SpaceXAI’s general counsel.
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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 2h
Martín Alonso Soto Hernandez, who helped set off the Delaney Hall hunger strike, is free. "I don’t have words,” he said while holding his wife and two children. “Thank you so much for everything. I always, always stayed in prayer.” religionnews.com/2026/10/07/i...
religionnews.com
Immigrant who helped set off Delaney Hall hunger strike released from ICE custody
ELIZABETH, New Jersey (RNS) — “I don’t have words,” Martín Alonso Soto Hernandez said, in Spanish, while holding his wife and two children. “Thank you so much for everything. I always, always stayed i...
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Keith M. Judge @optimist-press.bsky.social · 2h
This messaging, which is being repeated on Facebook across multiple outlets verbatim, sounds like projection.
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Keith M. Judge @optimist-press.bsky.social · 12h
"Why stop there?" said Miller, "When we can just nuke them all and blame Iran" . . .
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isaac @sevier.io · 12h
"The Democrats will go out and call everything they don't like communism but won't describe or even say fascism and what it is because if they did everyone would understand seeing it everywhere"
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Arizona Right Watch @azrww.bsky.social · 12h
Tonight, community members gathered at the Marana Town Council meeting to speak out in opposition to an incoming DHS concentration camp that is likely being opened at the at the end of November. Council members ended up limiting public comment to just 10 people and turned away the rest. Shame.
A woman speaking at the lectern in front of the Marana Town Council officials.

A person is holding a sign up, it says “NO ICE IN MY DRINK NO ICE MY TOWN”
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Keith M. Judge @optimist-press.bsky.social · 12h
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Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 16h
these people are dipshits
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Solomon @solomonrmissouri.com · 17h
And this is why she should have stayed in jail www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
Election deniers Cleta Mitchell and Tina Peters want Trump’s commerce secretary to seize voting machines
The problem? No federal official can seize control of election administration from the states and counties, who hold the power run elections under the U.S. Constitution.
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Rude Law Dog @esghound.com · 06/10/2026
Early voting turnout in Virginia is jaw dropping stuff among Latino voters. Across all other demographics, numbers are well ahead of 2022 at the same point but Hispanic/Latino turnout is 50% higher than it was in 2024-- a presidential election year!
Race, 2022 Count (Share), 2024 Count (Share), 2026 Count (Share)
Asian or Pacific Islander, 7,293 (3.61%), 19,832 (3.43%), 15,827 (4.59%)
Black, 27,395 (13.54%), 85,589 (14.82%), 56,985 (16.53%)
Hispanic or Latino, 4,260 (2.11%), 14,508 (2.51%), 21,577 (6.26%)
Native American, 71 (0.04%), 285 (0.05%), 509 (0.15%)
Uncoded, 818 (0.4%), 1,512 (0.26%), 87 (0.03%)
White, 161,779 (79.99%), 455,802 (78.9%), 249,021 (72.22%)
Unknown, 639 (0.32%), 169 (0.03%), 820 (0.24%)
Total, 202,255, 577,697, 344,826

[This alt text added by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview AI]
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 18h
The ICE Air Operations official handbook allows minors as young as 13 to be shackled on ICE flights. We don’t know this girl/young woman’s age, but if she is over 18, it probably isn’t by much. I don’t know how those flight “guards” sleep at night.
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Truthout @truthout.org · 18h
ICE operates a major surveillance center in rural Vermont that processes 1.55 million biometric and biographic queries annually. The agency communicates with more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies throughout the country, many of them through an expanding network of 287(g) agreements.
truthout.org
Activists Target What They Call a Major “Spy Center” for ICE in Rural Vermont
As ICE widens its surveillance dragnet, activists plan a week of action to disrupt a major data network.
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Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 20h
10th Cir. reverses kidnapping convictions for the people involved in that weird New Mexico compound where children were held for exorcisms (one died) bc kidnapping requires an *unlawful* taking, and the kid's father had lawful custody when he took the kid. www.tampafp.com/life-sentenc...
Defendants argue that the government didn’t prove that they unlawfully kidnapped Abdul Ghani. At trial—and in the jury instructions—the government advanced only one theory of unlawfulness: that Defendants’ kidnapping Abdul Ghani was unlawful because neither Abdul Ghani nor Hakima consented. The government failed to show how Abdul Ghani’s or Hakima’s failure to consent to the taking would make Defendants’ actions unlawful. To start, the parties agree that Abdul Ghani was too young to consent.24 As for Hakima, the government identified no court order or state law making it unlawful for Siraj and Defendants to take Abdul Ghani without her consent.25 Indeed, as Abdul Ghani’s parent, Siraj had parental and custody rights under Georgia law. See Ga. Code. Ann. § 16-5-45(a)(3). So given evidence that Siraj agreed with his
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Truthout @truthout.org · 20h
Conservative figures have reacted with glee to the Trump administration’s approval of a firing squad death sentence for Muslim Army member Nidal Malik Hasan, in what would be the first execution carried out by the U.S. military in over six decades.
truthout.org
Far Right Gleeful Over Firing Squad Death Sentence for Muslim Fort Hood Shooter
Trump has approved the killing of Muslim US soldier Nidal Malik Hasan — the first Army execution in over 60 years.
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Common Dreams @commondreams.org · 20h
“Refusing election observers is usually something that countries in a position of weakness do, when they know that they have corrupt or unfair elections."
commondreams.org
Intimidation Feared as Trump DOJ Boosts Its Own Election Monitors While Rejecting International Observers
International election observers criticize Trump's refusal to invite OSCE to monitor US midterms, raising concerns of voter intimidation. Is the administration trying to manipulate the elections?
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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 21h
The Trump administration’s actions resulted in the destruction of the largest ancient Cottonwood tree on Indigenous territory in Arizona. This tree, known as the “Grandmother Tree,” was 250 years old.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 19h
Fuck.
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Jen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · 19h
News of the Cornell rape case has fueled a 73% spike in calls to the National Sexual Assault hotline in the last week. "Yesterday alone, they were more than double normal. Many of those contacting the hotline say they were prompted to call as a direct result of reading about Jane Doe," says RAINN.
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David Greene @davidgreene.bsky.social · 20h
As the Supreme Court said of Lafayette Park, "Although originally part of the White House grounds, President Jefferson set it aside as a park for the use of residents and visitors" and is in fact "visited by vast numbers of visitors from around the country" and the DC area.
Screenshot from the US Supreme Court case Clark v Community for Creative Non-Violence: "The network of National Parks includes the National Memorial-core parks, Lafayette Park and the Mall, which are set in the heart of Washington, D.C., and which are unique resources that the Federal Government holds in trust for the American people. Lafayette Park is a roughly 7-acre square located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Although originally part of the White House grounds, President Jefferson set it aside as a park for the use of residents and visitors. It is a "garden park with a . . . formal landscaping of flowers and trees, with fountains, walks and benches." National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, White House and President's Park, Resource Management Plan 4.3 (1981). The Mall is a stretch of land running westward from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial some two miles away. It includes the Washington Monument, a series of reflecting pools, trees, lawns, and other greenery. It is bordered by, inter alia, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. Both the Park and the Mall were included in Major Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the Capital. Both are visited by vast numbers of visitors from around the country, as well as by large numbers of residents of the Washington metropolitan area."
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h
Trump ignores a question about "what did mean when you said 'let them take out Los Angeles and San Diego?'"
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Ken Schwencke @schwanksta.com · 06/10/2026
A year ago, @propublica.org told you immigration agents had detained more than 170 U.S. citizens. We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts. The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported. projects.propublica.org/american-cit...
projects.propublica.org
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
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Brett "Solidarity 2026" Banditelli @banditelli.org · 06/10/2026
The problem with your company being ran by pilled reactionaries is that when you run into an actual problem, the only response is more pilled reactionaryism.
"Trump mobile was informed they had been breached, they then replied with 'We have no team to handle this' and that anyone who hacks them are a terrorist," the group wrote "Well unfortunately for them, all 36 1 5 customers and their PIl, alongside telecom details are now up for grabs. Feel free to take a gander at it yourself, don't be shy, we (and them) certainly aren't stopping you."
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Conor Browne @brownecfm.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This is obviously a worrying development, especially considering the fact that air travel was involved. I am considerably more concerned by the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in this region than I am by current events in Russia. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Kenya confirms first case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus
The patient had been living in DR Congo, where more than 4,000 people have died from the disease this year.
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Shablo Pleye @shablopligh.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
“… Trump’s justice department has moved to strip the citizenship of 40 naturalized citizens accused of crimes in what authorities describe as “the largest” such initiative over a single period during his administration”
theguardian.com
US justice department moves to strip citizenship of 40 naturalized citizens
Officials file ‘denaturalization actions’ against people accused of crimes in what they call ‘largest’ such initiative
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Lauren Harper @laurenleharper.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
DHS detains hundreds of US citizens in private centers- making GEO Group and others billions. ICE gives local cops up to $2M per immigration arrest. Yet ICE couldn't figure out how to pay for body cameras for months. And DHS can't get it's FOIA office on track so the public can conduct oversight.
projects.propublica.org
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
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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.
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 06/10/2026
"Rep. McCaul's Wife Trades Stock in a Counter-Drone Contractor Profiting From His Laws" Peter Castagno for @sludge.bsky.social
readsludge.com
Rep. McCaul's Wife Trades Stock in a Counter-Drone Contractor Profiting From His Laws
CACI stock has risen more than 70% since Linda McCaul's first purchase, as the contractor wins counter-drone contracts, including a spot on a $1.5 billion DHS program operating under her husband's 201...
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Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 06/10/2026
First on @nbcnews.com: www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
nbcnews.com
FBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protesters
The former analyst says supervisors were told not to put things in writing, so many of the directives came in face-to-face meetings.
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Bayliss Wagner @baylisswagner.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
BREAKING: In Nebraska rally, Trump just suggested he would be unbothered to see Iran "take out" LA or San Diego: “They could take out a city,” he said. “Let them take—Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That’s—this is a very small price to pay."
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Patrick De Oliveira @plso.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
the transformation of learning institutions into lifestyle providers, etc. And, of course, the crisis is further exacerbated by the feckless university leaders (with some noble exceptions), who have made it very clear that large remuneration packages certainly don't buy courage and integrity.
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Patrick De Oliveira @plso.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
but also due to the even weaker institutional position universities now find themselves in—caused by the neoliberal-driven austerity that long preceded the current administration's tactics of holding funding hostage, the massive campaign from the right to delegitimize higher ed, ....
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Patrick De Oliveira @plso.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Academic freedom in the U.S. has arguably reached a new nadir—maybe worse than the 50s. This is not only due to the scale and range of the assault on higher ed, which is targeting everything (individuals' views on Gaza, DEI initiatives, the curriculum, collaborative research with other countries)...
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 05/10/2026
We've reached the open use of anti trans slurs phase by Trump. Dems haven't done shit to call out Pete Hegseth and Nancy Mace doing it so now it's become normalized.
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Jonathan Hansen, but scary @jonathanhansen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
God damn, talk about someone just reveling in the freedom they now have, after they fully removed their public mask… I think we often forget just how truly ugly and soulless a fucking piece of shit bigot monster that Megyn Kelly is. Luckily, every time she opens her mouth, she reminds us.
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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 06/10/2026
For that matter, is there even a mechanism for a PAC to pay the federal government for misappropriated funds by the White House and have the ads been paid for? At a minimum the networks airing these ads need to tell us the answer to the second question.
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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 06/10/2026
Make him prove it.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Seems like if you're going to make a national story out of Hasan Piker, who campaigned a few times with the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, saying Israel causes antisemitism, you should also make a national story out of the favorite intellectual of the US Vice President supporting Hitler.
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CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective @crimethinc.com · 06/10/2026
People in Ithaca sent a message to those who would normalize sexual assault on campus, paying a visit to Cornell’s main administrative building, Day Hall, which houses the office of the university president. If graffiti didn't change anything, it would be legal. crimethinc.com/KillPower
Day Hall at Cornell University vandalized early Monday morning, October 5, 2026, with graffiti reading "Smash the patriarchy" and "At Cornell, rapists are protected, protestors are expelled."
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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
JUST IN: Images from the reconstruction of Marimar Martinez's October 2025 shooting in Chicago by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum:
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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 05/10/2026
I don't know who needs to hear this, but the autonomous vehicle developers who most vocally argued that society must accept a certain number of deaths to enjoy the technology's safety benefits (Tesla & Uber ATG) were the only ones who killed people and never actually delivered on their promises
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Keith M. Judge @optimist-press.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I stand by what I wrote.
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Keith M. Judge @optimist-press.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I stand by what I wrote.
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Michael Froomkin @mfroomkin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Relative got a $500 check from US Treasury and a shocking letter full of lies signed by Trump and ending with "May God bless you". Basically a pre-electoral bribe. News reports say they're sending almost a million of these. Full text in alt below. (I told him to cash it quick before it bounces.)
Dear [name],

For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov. That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!

With this Historic Action, my Administration is taking the surplus funds that accumulated from the Obamacare ''Premium Tax" and issuing a one-time $500 REFUND to Americans who use the HealthCare.gov platform to purchase their health insurance, but who do not receive Taxpayer Subsidies to help pay for their Coverage. You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back.

Healthcare Dollars should benefit Patients, not Insurance Companies or Government Bureaucrats. Since returning to office, I have fought to lower Healthcare Costs, increase Accountability, and Put Patients First. Through TrumpRx, we are delivering massive discounts on Household Prescription Drugs, and my Most-Favored-Nation Pricing Agreements have already saved Americans more than 1 Billion Dollars on much-needed Medications. We also secured an unprecedented 50 Billion Dollar investment to transform Rural Healthcare, expanded access to Health Saving Accounts for millions of people on Obamacare, and restored Pnce Transparency, all while roofing out the Waste, Fraud, and abuse across our Healthcare System.

I am proud to return your money to you, and I will never stop fighting to put the American People FIRST, restore Affordability, protect your hard-earned money, and lower the Cost of Healthcare.

May God bless you, and may He continue to bless the United States of America!

Sincerely,

[signed] 

DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is happening all over rural America. We need to wake up, people. There's no Greg Bovino in his Nazi coat to blow whistles it. It's daily Gestapo-type terror, aided by the banality of evil local cops www.sltrib.com/news/2026/10...
sltrib.com
ICE enforcement in a small Utah town sent a community into fear. Local police played a key role.
ICE enforcement in a small central Utah town has residents afraid to leave home, avoiding main roads and keeping their children home from school, one resident said.
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Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It's more fun to find the Real Bad Guy than to stop a systemic problem.
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amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Bovino left and many people stopped giving a shit.
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