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oystertoadfish.bsky.social

@oystertoadfish.bsky.social
103 followers 76 following 359 posts

The scary thing about a democracy is that the citizens can vote to end it

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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's great that R's seem poised to lose the midterms in epic fashion, despite their prodigious efforts to cheat. But before we get *too* excited, just remember that if gas were $2 cheaper, then Rs would hold Congress.
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Reposted by @oystertoadfish.bsky.social
4fuxake @blueheartedly1.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Absolutely. 👇
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Not content to spend tax dollars on political ads, to engage in off-season gerrymanders, to purge voter rolls based on false pretexts, to screw with vote-by-mail, or to promise a $5000 bribe after the election... Trump tries buying votes 1 month before the election www.cnbc.com/2026/09/30/o...
cnbc.com
Trump administration starts sending $500 Obamacare refund checks — who stands to benefit
The refunds come after millions of people lost premium subsidies for their health insurance and right before the midterm elections.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
D's lost to Trump because not enough people voted for Harris in 2024. If you're one of those people, then take a good look in the mirror before you blame others for Trump.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Republican: Abortion is murder blah blah blah. We gonna regulate that uterus. Democrats, in unison: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUsp...
youtube.com
Every Sperm is Sacred - Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
YouTube video by Monty Python
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The motto of the lobbying industry: "Technically not illegal!" www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
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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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The ProPublica report is absolutely devastating and I'm not even halfway done with it. The NYT article makes it seem like nothing. The ProPublica article is super detailed and paints a picture of pervasive and bipartisan corruption. Read the ProPublica article. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
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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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hey, I dislike Susan Collins as much as the next guy, but the NYT article *does not* say the allegations against Susan Collins are corroborated, and it *does not* say the FBI was prepared "to move against" her, only that the investigation was shut down by senior FBI agents
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I think you misunderstand Natalie's job
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Man lusts after woman, woman lusts after power.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
But now that we're past the primaries and their unconditional fealty to Trump may cost them their seat in the general election? Now suddenly they find the courage to back away from him... just enough, they hope, to keep their seats and not earn Trump's anger. www.washingtonsun.com/campaigns/re...
washingtonsun.com
Survival Over Loyalty: Why Republicans Are Breaking With Trump
A string of GOP candidates are publicly disagreeing with the president’s policies or downplaying ties to the president as his approval ratings slide.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
How I hate Republicans. Destroying memorials, rampant corruption, illegal wars, friendships with dictators, attacking the press, war crimes, sex offenses, ICE gestapo, DOGE, weaponizing the DOJ against adversaries, attacking allies.. you name it, Trump's done it and none of that mattered to R's.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
To be fair, Trump is doing his considerable best to turn the US into a clone of Russia where he assumes the role of his hero, Vladimir Putin.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Hard to argue with their analysis..
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Someone should ask him if he will switch parties if R's retain control of the Senate.
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Reposted by @oystertoadfish.bsky.social
Anna Kramer @annackramer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
🌞 I’m a reporter for the @washingtonsun.bsky.social. And I’m so proud to be part of this next great investment in the news. Believe in what we’re doing? Subscribe and get in touch. Send tips, tell us what stories could use some sunlight. Can’t wait to do this together.
washingtonsun.com
Dana Milbank: The Washington Sun Rises Today. I Hope You’ll Join Our Orbit.
My boss, Tim Grieve, posted a photo on X last week of a shipment of office chairs that had just arrived at the Arlington, Virginia, headquarters of our new publication, The Washington Sun. “It's fun t...
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I'd call it the McConnell-Grassley rule, but close enough.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Interference with the mail that causes voters to be disenfranchised should be a felony with a long statute of limitations, if it is not already. Hopefully US democracy will survive and the next Democratic administration will have the stomach to prosecute. www.cnn.com/2026/09/01/p...
cnn.com
USPS whistleblower describes new plans for voting by mail hidden from the public | CNN Politics
The US Postal Service effort to develop a sweeping new system for verifying mail ballots has invited a host of IT concerns among agency officials, with some describing the process internally as a “sh*...
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Sadly, Trump has about 2.5 more years before his term expires.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Not that I recommend attempting this, but... m.youtube.com/shorts/1vggu...
m.youtube.com
PLAYFUL COYOTE! 🐺❤️ ##cute #animals #animal #nature #wildlife #love #weavethecoyote #puppy #phone
YouTube video by Timmy mc
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Is this a purposefully complex arrangement to get millions of ordinary people to buy the chips that power AI and depreciate over time, like all computer hardware does as it ages? Reminds me of subprime mortgages/credit default swaps fortune.com/2026/08/12/n...
fortune.com
Nvidia found a new way to keep the AI boom funded: your retirement money | Fortune
A $500 billion Wall Street push could route insurance and pension capital into GPU-backed infrastructure as Big Tech leans harder on debt.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Yes, R's can either fully enable Trump's corruption (and perhaps enjoy a little of the spoils themselves while they are at it), OR they slightly oppose Trump on one thing and lose their next primary, all while they and their families deal with death threats from Trump's rabid MAGA cult.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Fetterman suffered a debilitating stroke that, among other disorders, wrought catastrophic damage to his sense of morality.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
To be fair to Trump, he also loves humiliating and dominating men. www.newyorker.com/news/john-ca...
newyorker.com
Mitt Romney’s Humiliating Trump Reversal
Romney was among the few prominent Republicans willing to tell truths about the Party’s Presidential candidate. Now he grovels for a job.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Remember when Rs were furious that Hunter Biden sold art while his father was president? The total amount Hunter made is estimated to be $1.5 million. The Trump corruption is orders of magnitude worse, but for some strange reason Rs, don't care.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Do you like AOC? Mamdani? Is there any politician you admire that can actually win an election, be it at the federal, state, or local level? Generally speaking, winning elections is easier than revolution. If actually want to effect change, participate in D primaries and vote D in the general.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
You owe it to yourself and the causes you believe in to vote smarter. We're both losing, and I didn't know about you, but I hate losing, especially to a total ass like Trump. There is a primary campaign where you get to have a voice in who becomes the D nominee. Who do you like? I like Buttigieg
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The failure here was yours. You failed to recognize the reality that either Trump or Harris would become president, that Trump is much, much worse than Harris on every issue (including the one you claim to care about), and therefore the morally and logically correct action was to vote for Harris.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I hate to break it to you, but you lost the 2024 election too. You should be kicking yourself **every single day** for not voting for Harris in 2024 and enabling Trump to wage war in Iran. You can't harp on D's for what you call genocide and then enable the R party, which is far worse.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Reading about all of Trump's attempts to take control of the 2026 midterms, I have to tip my hat to the founders for having decentralized federal elections that are run by the states. We'd be really screwed right now if the Trump administration were in charge of distributing and counting votes.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Hopefully Maine voters can appreciate the nuanced view that yelling at people and throwing the occasional bottle is, just maybe, not as bad as voting to support Trump's authoritarian regime and overturning reproductive rights while pretending to be concerned.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Trump, the arbiter of truth for about 1/3 of Americans. What a sad state of affairs.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
The 14th says a person who swears an oath to support the constitution and then commits insurrection or rebellion cannot hold any govt office, let alone the presidency. But all 9 justices rewrote the 14th to make it not "self-executing", allowing Trump to run after Jan 6. Outrageous. Shameful.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
French is wrong. D's have let R authoritarian bullies run amok with no response. The McConnell-Grassley blockade of Obama appointee Garland for nearly a year, followed by pushing through Trump appointee Barrett in weeks, demands a response. Expand the court, stop R judicial activism, save the US.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
This is very much *not* the true shape. I'll let my friend explain: youtube.com/shorts/Nvjk_...
youtube.com
How Smooth Is Earth w/ Neil deGrasse Tyson
YouTube video by Top 5 Fella
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Articles like these with tips on how to avoid diseases like cyclosporia infection always seen to leave out the most important one: Vote for Democrats www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/h...
cnn.com
As the outbreak of diarrhea caused by a parasite grows, here’s what’s safe to eat and what to avoid | CNN
Cases of diarrhea caused by the parasite cyclospora continue to climb, and with the threat of weekslong illness and no certainty about the source, it’s easy to wonder: Is there anything in the produce...
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Something to keep in mind as we wait for Trump to declare two Democratic senators from Georgia illegitimate.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
A future D president should declare Trump 47 as illegitimate and that all attendant executive pardons and judicial appointments are hereby annulled. The courts have no jurisdiction to overturn this declaration, as it is based directly on the constitution, which binds all branches of government.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Facts: -Trump swore an oath to support the constitution when assuming the office of president in 2017. -Trump engaged in rebellion against the US on January 6, 2021. Therefore Trump is not eligible to hold any office under the US (federal, state, or local). It's that simple.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
The 14th amendment requires no magic congressional, judicial, or executive incantation to be effective. It says what it says, in clear and plain English. SCOTUS does not have the authority to rewrite the constitution, and opinions that attempt to do so are invalid even when unanimous.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Trump 47 is unconstitutional: "No person shall ... hold any office ... under the United States ... who, having previously taken an oath ... as an officer of the United States ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same."
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
"I drink form the keg of glory, Donna. Bring me the finest muffins and bagels in all the land." www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8Ct...
youtube.com
Keg of Glory | The West Wing scene
YouTube video by Chiderbox
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Fantastic show, but I find rewatching The West Wing in the Trump era profoundly depressing.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
It is an answer, just not an answer you like.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
... to appease misguided or bad-faith people, who will misrepresent the inclusion of certain facts as an endorsement of the behavior of the accused. Sometimes accusers lie. Facts matter. All rape is bad, but there are degrees of rape, both legally and ethically. Facts matter. 2/end
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Obviously, all communication they had that evening is relevant to the news story. Facts are facts. If the news starts to hide relevant facts in stories like these, then such reporting will have less impact in the future, as rational people will wonder what facts are being omitted... 1/x
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Still waiting for you to specify your own criteria as to what makes a fact relevant to a news story, in general terms, before we go any farther. Are you afraid to look at your own question objectively and logically?
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
By calling it a game, I am suggesting that you know why it is relevant and you are not engaging in good-faith, honest discussion. But if I am wrong and you are engaging in good-faith, then give me your criteria for which facts are relevant to a news story and we'll take it from there.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
If we're going to play this game, then we should first agree on general ground rules that determine which facts are pertinent to a news story. You start by giving your rules. Then we can test your own criteria on a bunch of different news stories, including this one.
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oystertoadfish.bsky.social @oystertoadfish.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Unpopular opinion: if true, then this is a fact which is relevant to the story. News media should report all relevant facts without fear or favor. As many have noted, it does not change the conclusions that the act was not consensual and that Platner is unfit for office.
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