iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Greg Olear @gregolear.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

One of the best things I’ve read in a while:

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.

1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting.
2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value.
3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE.
4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on.
5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle."
6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground.

7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack.
8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video.
9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk.
10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun.
11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him.
12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes.

13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times.
14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him.
15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1.
16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground.
17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building.
18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear

witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values.
I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct.

Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.

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Seth Abramson @sethabramson.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Be clear on the fact that this regime will keep murdering us in broad daylight until the people behind all this are removed from power. Not quarreled with—removed from power. If any part of you thinks this will get better or stay the same rather than get exponentially worse, stop thinking that way.

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Brian Tallerico @briantallerico.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Conner4Real will return in Avengers: Doomsday.

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Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

The Vanity Fair photographer from the Susie Wiles story. Holy. Shit. www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...

Were there moments that you missed? Anything that happened that’s on the cutting room floor?
I don’t think there’s anything I missed that I wish I’d gotten. I’ll give you a little anecdote: Stephen Miller was perhaps the most concerned about the portrait session. He asked me, “Should I smile or not smile?” and I said, “How would you want to be portrayed?” We agreed that we would do a bit of both. And then when we were finished, he comes up to me to shake my hand and say goodbye. And he says to me, “You know, you have a lot of power in the discretion you use to be kind to people.” And I looked at him and I said, “You know, you do, too.”

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 25/11/2025

1/ THREAD: This year ICE has sent a record 600 immigrant kids into federal shelters, more than in the previous four years combined. Data suggests some are being separated from their families. For one 15-year-old, it began with a cracked windshield 👇

Article excerpt: Shortly after 8 a.m., Carreto’s phone rang. It was Carlos, telling her an officer with the Florida Highway Patrol had pulled over the truck on Interstate 4 near Tampa. The stated reason: cracks in their windshield. But Carreto was worried. She knew Florida police were collaborating with federal immigration authorities. Her fiancé was undocumented. She says she rushed to the scene and made it there just before the immigration officers.

As she feared, Matias had been detained. But to her surprise, so had Carlos. He was just a kid. (ProPublica is only identifying Carlos by his first name because he is a minor.) Carlos was in high school. He’d been living in the United States for over two years and was working toward applying for legal status to stay long term. The government had given her, a legal resident, custody of him. Now he was in handcuffs. Why would they take him too?

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Vapor Weyve @nymphomachy.meangirls.online · 09/11/2025

I never knew you could do that. I never knew you could just leave absolutely savage, excoriating obituaries for people who end up outliving you, that stick around to as claymore mines of volcanic invective that trigger when THEY die. That is genuinely some Death Note shit. I am in awe

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magpie TRICKS @magpie.tips · 01/10/2025

rip jane goodall i hope you read this post

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Kimmel’s defiant return highlights one of the most disturbing dynamics of Trump II, that so many people in positions of leadership are chickenshit frauds who would rather fold in advance than put up anything resembling a fight www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Kimmel’s refusal to capitulate stands out because so many other well-situated people—those with the resources, platform, and power to stand up to the president, including, initially, the leaders of ABC—have surrendered, withdrawn, or become Trump sycophants themselves. One by one, American leaders supposedly committed to principles of free speech, due process, democracy, and equality have abandoned those ideals when menaced by the Trump administration. These cascading acts of cowardice from the people best positioned to resist Trump’s authoritarian power grabs have made Trump seem exponentially more powerful than he actually is, sapping strength from others who might have discovered the courage to stand up. Defending democracy requires a collective refusal to acquiesce to lawless behavior from many different sectors of society. All of these powerful people trying to save their own skin have effectively multiplied Trump’s attacks on constitutional government, by enhancing a false sense of inevitability and invincibility.

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

"How Are the Very Rich Feeling About New York’s Next Mayor?" A Dramatic Reading of The Recent New York Times Dispatch from the Hamptons. Presented by The Gilded Age's Morgan Spector.

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Mine is “we do not need to bring ink and paper into this” and I think about it every time I buy a donut

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Look, I’m happy for you gentlemen and the community you’ve built, don’t get me wrong, but does anyone know how to enable the “no bears” setting on bluesky?🙈

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Sorry scientists but my friends and I did this same thing 10 years ago. The color was called “King Blue” and it was accessible by doing mushrooms

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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Senator Chris Van Hollen is on his way to El Salvador to discuss bringing Kilmar Abrgeo Garcia back home.

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james folta @jamesfolta.com · 15/04/2025

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Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Kurt Vonnegut man

Kurt Vonnegut tells his wife he's going out to buy an envelope:
"Oh, she says, well, you're not a poor man.
You know, why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet?
And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I'm going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.
I meet a lot of people. And see some great looking babies. And a fire engine goes by.
And I give them the thumbs up. And I'll ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don't know. The moral of the story is — we're here on Earth to fart around
And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And what the computer people don't realize, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around.
And it's like we're not supposed to dance at all anymore."

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

I know a Facebook marketplace listing hates to see me coming

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Eliza Orlins @elizaorlins.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Right now @booker.senate.gov is filibustering on the senate floor “for as long as [he is] physically able.” Grateful to see Dems with some fight in them! This part about John Lewis is particularly meaningful. Check it out and then go find Senator Booker live on every platform!!

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Surprised by everyone on #filmsky who said that The Monkey was mid. Yes the script had a few clunkers, but also some genius laugh lines and so much fun splattery gore. Plus, a classic horror opening scene with Adam Scott as the damsel in distress. Maybe make room for some joy in your life?

media.tenor.com

a monkey with a big smile on its face

ALT: a monkey with a big smile on its face

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Feeling very validated about my high school Dropkick phase rn

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Art Candee 🍿🥤 @artcandee.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

We need more people like Frankie in the world.

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

One nice thing about the Oscars being over is that now I don’t have to finish The Brutalist

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Premium subscriber content just for @stevedyer.bsky.social - the Drag Race Betsey Johnson runway groups as ITYSL quotes:

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Tim Heidecker @timheidecker.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Opt out tomorrow!

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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

There’s something happening in this country.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

🗣️ @aoc.bsky.social out fighting for the people & federal workers: “Every day our job is to wake up and say ‘what can I do today?’ — There is no act too small. Every action matters.” 🇺🇸

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Pretty much only on social media these day so that every few weeks I can see a fantastic new bug

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AltYellostoneNatPar @altyellonatpark.org · 18/02/2025

Apologies for posting so often but there's so much going on. The personal stories coming out are gut wrenching and deserve to be heard. Ranger Gibbs is one of them.

Brian Gibbs
I am absolutely heartbroken and completely devastated to have lost my dream job of an education park ranger with the national park service this valentines day.
Without any type of formal notice my position was ripped out from under my feet at 4pm on a cold snowy friday before I could fully print off my government records. I was locked out of my email and unable to access my personal and professional records.

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AskAubry 🦝 🐆 @ask-aubry.com · 15/02/2025

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 🐆🥣😳 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Is this an AI generated image that applies directly to me? Amazing #thisaintTexas

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Who do we think Jason Keller is cheering for? He has to choose, right? #superbowl

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Can’t stop calling it “Super Bowl Licks” unfortunately #SuperBowlLIX

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise starring in pregame commercials for America and football respectively… just say you all love Hollywood so much and we are the most beautiful and interesting! It’s okay!! #SuperBowlLIX

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Amazing article- this is my personal Best Picture of the year🏆

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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 23/01/2025

Hundreds of couples participated in a mass wedding in Bangkok as a law recognizing same-sex marriage came into effect in Thailand.

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Useful info! Will definitely give this a try- I just started using Goodreads and it’s a pretty terrible app. Plus, screw Amazon

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 16/01/2025

This is by far the most wonderful story I've read all week. I'll be linking to it in tomorrow's newsletter. I haven't seen it get too much attention so I'm sharing it here as well. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

theguardian.com

‘Solar Mamas empower our people by giving them electricity’: the women lighting up Zanzibar

Women with little to no formal education trained to become solar technicians, transforming villages and tackling patriarchal norms

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Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

"Walmart makes the places it operates in poorer than they would be if it had never shown up at all. Sometimes consumer prices are an incomplete, even misleading, signal of economic well-being." Fascinating studies on the broader effects of Walmart: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

theatlantic.com

The Walmart Effect

New research suggests that the company makes the communities it operates in poorer—even taking into account its famous low prices.

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Matthew Kressel @matthewkressel.net · 09/01/2025

It's especially important to realize that at a time of water shortages contributing to the wildfires in LA, AI uses an absurd amount of water to keep its datacenters cool.

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

I don't know if the LA fire department is properly funded or not but the claim that the city cut its budget last year — which is circulating widely on the right — is false. As Politico notes, the budget actually INCREASED by $50 million. A portion of the funding was approved in a separate bill.

That assertion is wrong. The city was in the process of negotiating a new contract with the fire department at the time the budget was being crafted, so additional funding for the department was set aside in a separate fund until that deal was finalized in November. In fact, the city’s fire budget increased more than $50 million year-over-year compared to the last budget cycle, according to Blumenfield’s office, although overall concerns about the department’s staffing level have persisted for a number of years.

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

My current guiltiest pleasure on tv is The Adventures of Large Man, but their biggest challenge is making it look like Large Man could ever actually lose one of the fights he gets in constantly. Excited to see if that problem is solved in season 3.

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james folta @jamesfolta.com · 07/01/2025

Don Trump is saying a bunch of dumb shit today that people are riffing on, and I'm tapping my "you can't shame hog-men who are utterly without shame" sign

lithub.com

Comedy failed us, again.

In 2016, the writer Andrew Lipstein and I gathered a bunch of funny and talented friends to make a magazine called Paul Ryan. It was a follow-up to a previous satire project, The Neu Jorker, and fo…

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rayrayhayyy.bsky.social @rayrayhayyy.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Haven’t posted anything here yet so in no particular order, here are my favorite movies of 2024: 🦄The Fall Guy 🧪The Substance 💪🏼Furiosa 🐒GLADIIATOR 🚼Alien: Romulus There are a lot I haven’t seen though, what did I miss?

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