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Scott Polhemus

@polhem.us
380 followers 387 following 45 posts

Civic tech guy and Spider-Man nerd living in Brooklyn. Blog: polhem.us Pics: @img.polhem.us

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Reposted by Scott Polhemus
BallotReady @ballotready.org · 13/10/2026
✨ New feature: you can now sign in to your personalized BallotReady voter guide to save your choices for later, so you'll be able to pick back up right where you left off. You can even use your existing @bsky.app account to sign in! Learn more: support.ballotready.org/article/841-...
support.ballotready.org
Sign in to BallotReady to save your progress
Enter your home address on BallotReady.org and click "Get started" to access your personalized Civic Center. Tip: We need your full address to get you the most
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Scott Polhemus @img.polhem.us · 05/09/2026
Sunset at Jacob Riis Park Beach
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 02/09/2026
Heck yeah, that’s awesome
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Bethany Black @bethanyblack.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The data from New York shows that if you raise taxes or bring in a wealth tax the rich don’t leave. They stay and try and commit tax evasion, and if you make that too difficult they stay and pay and more people want to live and work there.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 25/08/2026
Yep, that was me! Chatting with you and others at @atproto.nyc definitely motivated me to dust off my prototype, with any luck I’ll be sharing a public alpha before too long 😅
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 22/08/2026
made it to @atproto.nyc community day 2026 [9qja4umu] #atprotonyc
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 20/08/2026
To be fair, giving everyone’s LLM-in-their-pocket eyes on the world still has serious privacy implications. It’s just a very different problem from “might be recording everything everyone is doing all the time”, and I’m reserving judgement until we know what these things actually are.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 20/08/2026
Apple’s really going to have to put “THESE DON’T TAKE PHOTOS OR VIDEOS!” in big bold letters on every box and advertisement for these things. It’s going to be VERY hard to convince the general public that these wearable devices with cameras built in are not being used to spy on them
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Beth Andres-Beck @beth4ma.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
The Democratic Establishment is trying to rig a primary in Massachusetts. And they're using AI money to help. Stand up to this by going to bethfordemocracy.com and donating to help us reboot democracy
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Solidaritymaxxing it's addictive euphoric and transcendental according to those who have begun their journey towards working for all of our collective liberation and understanding how it benefits eveyrone and it's a hell of a lot more useful and less stupid than stubbornly remaining tangled up in the toxic web of patriarchy and white supremacy)
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 05/02/2026
as i keep saying, the things to do to secure elections are to volunteer to work the polls or to serve as an observer, & to pressure your *state representatives* to take steps to further secure voting locations and ballots. you should also learn about how election administration works in your area.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 18/01/2026
I could sub this in with countless moments from Andor or Mandalorian or the action scenes from Acolyte, but gotta give Skeleton Crew some love too! This one got a belly laugh out of me despite seeing it coming. The Kathleen Kennedy era made me into a Star Wars fan.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 18/01/2026
I loved @alexandermfreed.bsky.social’s latest Star Wars novel (“The Mask of Fear”) and it’s really stuck with me, so I just had to write about it. TLDR: if you liked Andor, you’ll definitely like this book! It’s more of *that* kind of Star Wars. polhem.us/posts/book-r...
polhem.us
Book Review: "Star Wars: Reign of the Empire - The Mask of Fear"
Yes, that title is a mouthful (I’ll just call it "The Mask of Fear" from here on out). Yes, this is a tertiary piece of media in one of the biggest franchises in entertainment history that assumes a c...
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ULTRON'S ANGER TRANSLATOR @rochardscott.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
There you go. A real plan for those who want someone to #DoSomething
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
WHO GIVES A DAMN? It’s a public service, right there in the name. It exists as a public good for all the people in this country. It’s not supposed to turn a profit, you dolts. Go audit the Pentagon and see what kind of return on investment we’re getting there.
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Amanda Litman @amandalitman.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Know a young progressive candidate running for state or local office in 2026? @runforsomething.net is accepting endorsement applications. The full process & criteria is online here. Share this far & wide! runforsomething.net/run/candidat...
runforsomething.net
Apply for an Endorsement with RFS!
Running for office in 2025? We want to work with you! Check out our endorsement criteria and apply today!
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Scott Polhemus @img.polhem.us · 03/12/2025
I’ve been sitting on the sketch for this for four years but I FINALLY turned it into a painting last night! #art #pokemon
A large Snorlax sleeps happily in the forest while three baby Munchlax sit on her belly and hang off her paw. A backpack hangs from a nearby branch, with food spilling out. Two of the Munchlax are snacking on an apple and a donut.
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Charles Soule @charlessoule.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Saw an interesting piece of advice recently: ask the AI search engines for an answer in a field in which you are very knowledgeable. The results will make it clear just how much they get wrong, and how brazen they are about it. Now, apply that to every subject in which you are NOT an expert.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 13/11/2025
Great, now it’s in my head and I have to listen to Lincoln for the millionth time. Thanks a lot
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 13/09/2025
Was going to joke that this made me feel old, but Plastic Beach was literally 15 years ago and in my head that’s still a recent album so joke’s on me
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Open call to sign, and link to donate. Please spread the word.
foodaidforgaza.org
Jews for Food Aid for Gaza
Jewish people support food aid for families in Gaza and an immediate end to the Israeli government’s food aid blockade. #JewsForFoodAidForPeopleInGaza
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Scott Galloway @profgalloway.com · 24/04/2025
He’s so good at this.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 04/03/2025
Just finished reading Timothy Zahn's novel "Thrawn". My first Star Wars book ever, and I really enjoyed it! Felt like a nice companion to some of the better Star Wars shows of late, particularly Andor (with lots of thematic parallels) and Ahsoka (given the title character is actually in that one).
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John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 04/03/2025
Imagine DOGE opens your mail and finds your household electric bill. To eliminate this cost, they burn your house down without warning. Then they total up the bills that, as a homeless person, you will never again pay. On its website, DOGE boasts about the money it has saved you.
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Amanda Litman @amandalitman.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
18F did things like making online government forms (like filing your taxes or submitting VA claims) easier to fill out, create text message notification systems for govt agencies, and streamlining internal data sharing. They were literally making govt more efficient & user-friendly. This sucks.
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Your regular reminder that the more often you own your mistakes, the easier it gets. It is like any muscle-- work it more and it gets stronger. All people mess up, and sometimes we do so publicly. It's not the end of the world to acknowledge that we missed the mark; it's how we clean up.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 20/02/2025
@nickperon.bsky.social This whole thread is legendary 👏
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 20/02/2025
If you see this, post a Spider-Man.
A hand-painted Spider-Man figure keychain from Thailand
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 19/02/2025
Thanks so much for sharing. While not at all the same situation, emotionally it resonates with my own experience coming out from working on the 2016 Dem campaign. I don’t know if I’ll ever find another team so deeply committed to a shared mission and supporting each other. Always admired 18F a ton.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 16/02/2025
Shout-out to @danslott.bsky.social and @panelsyndicate.bsky.social for the beautiful issue of Amazing Spider-Man that inspired this post! (ASM 801)
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 15/02/2025
In my latest blog post, I unpack the Jewish value at the heart of Spider-Man and what it can teach us about activism and justice in the present moment: “Whoever saves a single life is considered to have saved the whole world.”
polhem.us
I Believe There’s a Hero in All of Us
There’s a scene in Spider-Man 2 (2004) where Peter Parker has, for the time being, given up the superhero gig. He’s been walking on air from that weight being lifted off his shoulders, but he soon lea...
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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
"I called it ethnic cleansing. But when I saw the images of starving babies in Gaza I had to upgrade my language." By Art Spiegelman (Maus) and Joe Sacco www.theguardian.com/world/pictur...
Comic strip-style dialogue between Spiegelman and Sacco; one panel:
I called it ethnic cleansing. But when I saw the images of starving babies in Gaza I had to upgrade my language.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
TRUMP AND MUSK TO AMERICA: DROP DEAD.
lawdork.com
Trump and Musk to America: Drop Dead.
In 1975, President Gerald Ford rejected New York City’s request for a bailout, prompting the New York Daily News to publish its now-famous “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD” headline.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 08/02/2025
How cool would it have been if it was, like, Spider-Byte or literally anyone else who was actually in the movie? 😭 (I’m sure no one is more disappointed about it than the folks at Insomniac, though.)
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 08/02/2025
Untold Tales of Spider-Man #7 by @kurtbusiek.bsky.social has a fun callback to this when Peter uses “Palmer” as a fake name at the eye doctor 😁
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ULTRON'S ANGER TRANSLATOR @rochardscott.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
33% of registered voters in the country voted for this clown. The rest of us need to do something. It's all hands on deck.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 04/02/2025
🚀 Want to try building on AT Protocol but not sure where to start? I've got you covered with this lil' @glitch.com app. ✅ Log in using OAuth ✅ Read & write data using official API client ✅ Custom lexicons Check out the source code, play around with the live demo, or remix it to make it your own! 🙂
glitch.com
Atproto Starter
Get started with AT Protocol on Glitch! This app demonstrates logging in using OAuth, accessing AT Protocol APIs, and defining custom lexicons for reading and writing custom data types to your Persona...
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 03/02/2025
No one voted for Elon Musk. An unelected billionaire is trying to raid the Treasury Department and take money from the American people. This is a constitutional crisis and we choose to fight. We’re taking action to stop the Trump-Musk power grab this week. Join us: www.mobilize.us/indivisible/...
apnews.com
Elon Musk's DOGE commission gains access to sensitive Treasury payment systems: AP sources
The move by DOGE means it could have wide leeway to access important taxpayer data, among other things.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 30/01/2025
@atproto.com’s PDS repo is so underrated. A generic, authenticated, fully CRUD-capable API for whatever data I want to throw at it? Hosted on my behalf for free with zero setup required? It’s the stuff of dreams for folks who just want to build fun little web apps that actually do things.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 29/01/2025
Just posted a new article to my blog, basically gushing over Bluesky's AT Protocol as an antidote to the social media walled gardens we've all been stuck in for the past decade-plus and how exciting the project is as both a software engineer and a proponent of the open web.
polhem.us
Bluesky’s AT Protocol is the real “everything app”
The blatantly fascist owners of certain established-but-declining social networks like to wax poetic about a world where everything you do online might take place within their own restrictive ecosyste...
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 14/01/2025
Good point! Now that you mention it, the Stark "nano-tech" does behave a lot like the symbiote suit. It's even got some "intelligence" of its own with the AI personality and all.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 13/01/2025
This feels ideologically pure and correct for well-known entities, but I worry it does very little for normies (complimentary) who don’t own their own website and wouldn’t want their online identity tied to their employer.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 07/01/2025
Damn, now I feel old 😅
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Jordan D. White @cracksh0t.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Spider-Man is really important to me. For all intents and purposes, Spider-Man is my religion. I am super non-religious--really more anti-religious. But in discussion with people who like religion, all the things they say they got from it that were good things? I got those things from Spider-Man.
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Myq Kaplan @myqkaplan.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
"if you could have dinner with any scientist, alive or dead, which one would it be?" "Schrödinger"
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 17/12/2024
I won’t spoil the guest appearance but if you’ve listened to basically any comedy podcast in the past decade you will HEAR his lines out loud in your head.
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 15/12/2024
This one got me
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Scott Polhemus @polhem.us · 14/12/2024
LOL were you were at the Brooklyn show last night by chance?
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