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pentangeli.bsky.social

@pentangeli.bsky.social
520 followers 714 following 115 posts

Sanity has fled A hillbilly elegy For the U.S.A.

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 4h
huh. what could this posssssssssibly mean. the US media willful professed ignorance on this stuff is increasingly embarrassing. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
wsj.com
Trump Waives Most Russia Sanctions Passed by Congress
The president signed an executive order to exempt Russia from parts of a law he signed last month.
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Craig Harrington @craigipedia.bsky.social · 6h
There's no law Congress could pass that Donald Trump would faithfully execute. This is the core problem with the Republican Party (courts and legislatures) effectively declaring him King.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 6h
🚨NEWS: Trump just WAIVED sweeping sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia under the Lindsey Graham Russia and Iran Sanctions Act, which he signed just LAST MONTH. The executive order suspends 500% tariffs on Russian goods and 100% tariffs targeting major buyers of Russian energy.
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 6h
The money trail from Moscow to the Trump crime family will be never-ending.
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 6h
BREAKING: President Trump puts new Russia sanctions passed by Congress on hold, saying a waiver is in the U.S. national interest.
bit.ly
Trump puts new Russia sanctions passed by Congress on hold, saying waiver is in US national interest
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 6h
BREAKING: WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump puts new Russia sanctions passed by Congress on hold, saying a waiver is in the US national interest.
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Tim Marchman @timmarchman.bsky.social · 12h
NEW: @tessowen.bsky.social and I spent the day getting to the bottom of the White House press secretary’s ties to a Kristi Noem-tied rare earths startup that aims to use AI to mine the cosmos. By the time we had, she’d been fired! We also talked to the lady who recruited her into a fitness MLM:
wired.com
Katie Zacharia Was Linked to an AI Rare-Earths Startup. It’s Even Weirder Than It Sounds
The short-lived White House press secretary was listed as an adviser to a Kristi Noem-linked company that aims to use AI for mining. Both the company and she say she never worked there.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 13h
I told ya, they both did it.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 14h
Breaking News: The U.S. budget deficit is nearing $2 trillion, its highest level since the pandemic. Higher interest rates are inflating borrowing costs as the Trump administration spends on the Iran war and tariff refunds.
nyti.ms
U.S. Budget Deficit Nears $2 Trillion, a Reality Check for Trump’s Cost Cutting
Higher interest rates are inflating borrowing costs as the Trump administration spends on the Iran war and tariff refunds.
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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 14h
Since there’s an opening for press secretary, I know a great candidate who’s not only a lawyer, but a neurosurgeon, a Grammy-winning recording artist, and the inventor of the Post-It Note.
George Santos smirking
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 14h
Katie, I hardly knew ye.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 15h
Every word of this story is mortifying, but in particular, the evidence of complicity by the IDF and Netanyahu in buttressing the violent Israelis who are attacking Palestinians and journalists. Gift Link: wapo.st/4B6E8Jb
wapo.st
Israeli settlers attack Palestinians and Washington Post photographer in West Bank
The settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives and beat Heidi Levine, a veteran photojournalist. Witnesses said Israeli soldiers did nothing to halt the violence.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 15h
Anyway, good case study here. You can be as evil as you want, you can kill as many people as is possible, you can shove churro ladies into vans then off to black sites in countries they've never even heard of, but if you can't do the performance of fascism — that's when you're in real trouble.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 15h
BREAKING NYT: Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired Friday, after less than a week on the job, according to three people familiar with the matter.
nytimes.com
Katie Zacharia, Trump’s New Press Secretary, Is Fired After 5 Days
The ouster came as Ms. Zacharia was shadowed by questions about how she had presented her legal career and handled her first press briefing.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16/10/2026
Trump sounds genuinely upset that Putin didn't defeat Ukraine in one day, which he insists Russia could've done had their generals not taken "a wrong turn"
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Bob Mann @robertmannbooks.com · 15/10/2026
The Times using “critics say” in every other paragraph of this piece is cowardly. Like writing a weather story and using “observers say” to point out that it’s raining.” Journalism-lite. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/u...
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The Trump proclamation: it's perfectly okay for Russia to bomb Ukrainian schools, churches, hospitals, shopping centers and apartment buildings. But Ukraine is forbidden to strike the refinery and fuel pipelines that Russia uses to sustain its war effort. In other words, a one-sided ceasefire.
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Trump begging Putin for a symbolic (and illegal) gift of diesel fuel shows only that he wants others to feel as grateful to Putin as he does.
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
What a shock. So it turns out Scott Bessent lied about everything during his confirmation hearing. Including this.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11/10/2026
Wow — listen to these new comments from Trump. Thanking Putin, trashing Zelenskyy, characterizing Russia as eager for peace and Ukraine as intransigent. The mask is totally off.
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Simon Rosenberg @simonwdc.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
This rancid Russian oil deal is a very Trumpian mix of idiocy, compromise, betrayal, and desperation.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This would sink a presidency in any other era. I would bet most Americans will never hear it even happened.
wapo.st
Trump bought over $1 million in SpaceX debt days before unveiling space policy
The purchase, revealed in his latest financial disclosure, involved a firm directly affected by his administration’s actions — and led by presidential ally Elon Musk.
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Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Just another day in the Presidency as directed by Fellini.
Trump nodding, Susan Dell emoting.
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
GOAT = Giant Orange Asshole Trump
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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 06/10/2026
Telegraph: “Russia has been accused of sending secret agents to defecate in the lavatories of Finnish MPs in a bizarre escalation of its hybrid warfare against the West” Russia is mining the elevators
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Impeach, convict, remove.
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
If it involves RUSSIA, RUSSIA, Trump is always ready to help.
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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 04/10/2026
⚡️Plague death triggers quarantine, mask mandates in Russia's Irkutsk region in Siberia. The measures come after Darya Shipilova, a lab technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, died after reportedly contracting plague on Oct. 2.
kyivindependent.com
Plague death triggers quarantine, mask mandates in Russia's Irkutsk region in Siberia
The measures come after Darya Shipilova, a lab technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, died after reportedly contracting plague on Oct. 2.
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Brad Duplessis @bradduplessis.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Army is establishing a new command. FASCOM = Futures and Autonomous Systems Command.
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
American NAZA
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Adele M. Stan @addiestan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Please pay attention to this. "Musk-led war commission triggers alarms in Pentagon" www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
politico.com
Musk-led war commission triggers alarms in Pentagon
Two of the Defense Department’s biggest contractors will help lead a project that could directly benefit them.
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Eerily similar to the scenario posed by Annie Jacobsen
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A plague case has been linked to a lab worker’s death in Siberia. Nearly 200 people are now under observation after the lab worker died from plague. Because apparently “deadly plague at a Russian lab” wasn’t ominous enough. www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/n...
themoscowtimes.com
Nearly 200 People Under Observation After Irkutsk Lab Worker Dies From Plague - The Moscow Times
Health authorities in Siberia’s Irkutsk region have placed nearly 200 people under medical observation after a laboratory worker died from plague, according to media reports and a statement by a regio...
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Rep. Robert Garcia @robertgarcia.house.gov · 02/10/2026
This corruption must be investigated.
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Matt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...
So the message of this research out of China, where you were seeing a lot of kids using A.I. to help them, was that when they were using the A.I., they were getting things done faster. But it turned out that the skills they were learning were not holding, that their actual personal performance, at least in the way we traditionally measure it, was degrading.

What do you think when you hear that?

The last part — I completely agree. Try to get a kid to do long division right now. The multiplication table is starting to be forgotten. Doing square roots, my goodness. Basic math is being forgotten. Does it matter?

That’s my question for you.

Yeah. I don’t think it does. I don’t think it does.

But there must be some set of skills that matter.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But maybe not those. We’re going to discover new ones. Just maybe not those.

There are a lot of skills that don’t matter. My first confession, I actually don’t know my address.And I ——

I don’t really believe that to be true.

It’s completely true. Janine will tell you and Lori will tell you.

One day I had to pump gas — it was a few years ago. They needed my ZIP code, and I panicked. I didn’t know my ZIP code. I don’t know my telephone number. I forget these things. I can live with it.

But let me take the other side because I don’t want to fall into a thing where, because some skills can be safely offloaded ——

Yeah.

I also can’t get anywhere without a mapping system now. Never could, frankly. But I’m a big reader. And one of the skills I really value, one of the capacities I have that I really value is an attention span formed on physical books.

You’re a big reader. I’ve read about the kind of reading you do. And there is, prior to A.I., a lot of concern and noticing among college professors and others that the way people use the internet has probably shortened attention spans.
Some skills can be safely given away. Others are valuable. They are capacities that are needed for that flexibility, for that creative thinking, for that focus. It can’t be the case that everything can be traded off.Some skills can be safely given away. Others are valuable. They are capacities that are needed for that flexibility, for that creative thinking, for that focus. It can’t be the case that everything can be traded off.

Yeah. Well, I think that we’re going to lose some finer intellectual dexterity, but we’re going to be better systems thinkers.

Today’s engineers are far better systems thinkers than I was when I graduated from school. But I was a much better transistor thinker.

What do you mean by systems thinker?

They think of large systems. Today’s computers have trillions, hundreds of trillions of transistors in them. When I first graduated from school, the first chip I worked on had 200 transistors. I knew every one of them by name. No engineer does that today. Most engineers now work well above the transistor, well above the functionality, and they’re cobbling things together to do things.

So you need to think much more about systems and interactions of systems. So some of the lower-level knowledge is gone.
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Alvaro M. Bedoya @bedoyausa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Folks, Paramount's new editorial "independence" board for CNN and CBS will be hand-picked by the Ellisons and will report... to the Ellisons
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Reuters @reuters.com · 16/09/2026
A wave of manufacturing investment promised to revive struggling American heartland towns and build a US supply chain for electric vehicles and batteries. But policy changes since Trump's return to office have upended the boom, costing thousands of jobs reut.rs/4AkSdlS
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“Another measles-related death was reported in Pennsylvania… The death happened Saturday, Sept. 12, when a 40-year-old Jefferson County woman was pronounced dead from complications associated with measles, coroner Greg Furlong confirmed.” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social
wtaj.com
Measles-related death reported in Jefferson County
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Another measles-related death was reported in Pennsylvania, this time in Jefferson County. The death happened Saturday, Sept. 12, when a 40-year-old Jefferson C…
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The United States, the only country in history to be so shamelessly stupid it erects a triumphal arch after LOSING a war.
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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Between October 2025 and July 2026, the U.S. accepted 10,258 refugees. All but three (3!) were white South Africans. Regardless of your opinion of South Africa's laws and government, I don't know how you could call this anything other than an explicitly racist policy.
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Jamison Foser @jamisonfoser.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is your periodic reminder that the Supreme Court has had a Republican majority for longer than I have been alive (I am 51 years old) and only court expansion would immediately end the MAGA right's hold on the court and its use of the court to destroy democracy.
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pentangeli.bsky.social @pentangeli.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Tear it the f*** down 12:01 pm 1/20/2029.
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Philip Gourevitch @pgourevitch.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
really hard to say if Roberts is Trump’s apparatchik or if it’s the other way around — but it doesn’t matter — the SCOTUS coup rolls on
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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The President has decided that in order to make ground beef cheaper, he will cut tariffs on ground beef. And I'm wondering if he could generalize from this one product to other products, and perhaps concede that tariffs raise prices on American consumers.
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James Talarico @jamestalarico.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I wish Ken Paxton would protect puppies the way he protects pedophiles.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
“And please, when I fail, will you tell me? You have the absolute right to cuss me out, if need be, when I deserve it, because no one knows or cares about me more.” … “With all my heart, Natalie”
Dear Mr. President,
I'm sorry. I thought I was the only one left behind last night, and had no idea Margo's car was also pulled over, and sent back to the Airport. Since I was alone in the van outside Customs without my passport, I panicked, and should have just called Secret Service instead of you. I also am sorry if I was an embarrassment walking the course in Scotland. The first day I was told there were no carts, and people walked, which is why I walked. The second day, 1 was specifically asked by, I forget who his name was, but one of the main people who worked there, if I could continue walking, and tell any other girls who would head out there to do the same to spare the Course any more Carts. If there is anything else I have done to cause you trouble, please forgive me. I know that some people have said I haven't been texting them back, and there have been some International cell issues (John was having technical issues on the Plane too, so asked me to help him out).
I want things to always be right between us. I also know I've been distracted all week (forgetting to eat throughout the days, and even forgetting to sleep, and only catching a couple hours at a time). I haven't been myself, dwelling on the Past, and the pain of losing my Dad, and I started letting the remarks of people who haven't bothered me before, get to me-not because I care what others think, but because I see myself being lowered in your eyes and good opinion. That is the fear you see, because 1 never want to bring you anything but joy. I'm sorry I lost my focus. You are all that matters to me. I don't want to ever let you down. Thank you for being my Guardian and Protector in this Life-That's what I wanted to use this card for, when you saw me at the Cash Register, and once again did what you didn't have to do, and gifted me with Mementos of this Trip of a Lifetime, a Coming of Age. I will return a better person. I have to sign off now, as the cars are leaving.
See you soon.
With all my …Dear Mr. President,
Now this is the Note I wanted to write (But the apology needed to come first.)
I have learned so much about myself on this Trip-I always knew coming home to my roots would be enlightening, but I had no idea how much. For the first time, in I don't know how long, you forced me to "unplug." We could be out on the Course, with no machines, and even forget what time it was! I didn't have to be "Human Printer." I could take time to enjoy good conversation, and still get all my work done at the end of the day. In fact, I even had time to take long morning and evening walks to enjoy each Sunrise and Sunset (though I did forget to eat and sleep!). With so much thinking time, I confess it did have a slightly negative effect at times, that I know you picked up on, but the end result, I believe, will be worth it. I had no idea how rapidly I was approaching burnout, and starting to envy those whose only "job" seems to be to talk with you, and look pretty. I want that job!! So many times, I'm just trying to stay afloat with all that's coming in for you, I look like a hunchback who didn't have time to freshen up (at least you know what I should look like)! Plus, I miss the days when you used to call, during my Talkshow days, and we'd talk about everything and nothing. I want to get back to that synergy. We shouldn't have to talk about work all the time!! I've always felt like an in-betweener, somewhere between Staff and those you enjoy talking to on the Plane or at Dinner, because that's who I used to be to you when I was a "Talkshow Host" (as much as I hated that actual job!). I wish I could hear every conversation, because that's when you're having a good time, getting away from it all, at least for a few moments.
But after going through all this self-analysis, my conclusion? I need to reunite my past self with my current into a better version who will make you proud. And please, when I fail, will you tell me? You have the absolute right to cuss me out, if n…
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