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rogermerritt1.bsky.social

@rogermerritt1.bsky.social
1.1K followers 332 following 9 posts
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Reposted by @rogermerritt1.bsky.social
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 9h
The rhetoric of tech in a nutshell: I value convenience, efficiency, ease first and also have no capacity to recognize humanity, my own or others, but feel qualified to run the world. Someone send an army of divorce lawyers; after all this guy already wants to disconnect.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 3h
The U.S. re-joins an exclusive club
Screenshot of a list citing human rights organizations such as Amnesty International identifying four countries that have recently or historically carried out public executions: Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia. The text describes public hangings in Iran, executions under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, reported public executions in North Korea, and Saudi Arabia’s historical use of public beheadings.
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 1h
Medieval barbarism
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 2h
Rubio is petulantly annoyed because he gave this big speech in Athens about The Future of Western Civilization -- and coincidentally, on the very same day, his ambassador to Greece gets caught soliciting a donor to pay off her $100,000 credit-card bill.
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 1h
This is Nazi rhetoric
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 1h
The Romans called such efforts to distract a restless public “Bread and Circuses.”
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 1h
Of course Hesgeth and his warped concept of strength is behind this bsky.app/profile/robe...
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 1h
Turning state violence into a public spectacle is a very fascist move BTW.
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1h
I think people should listen to what the administration trying to bring back spectacle lynchings, race riots, and middle passage-esque deportation voyages are trying to tell you about themselves. bsky.app/profile/bren...
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1h
Because it’s gonna cost that much to fool voters like we usually do with culture war bullshit to distract them from how badly we fucked up the economy with incompetence and another new Republican war.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 1h
The last legal public execution in the United States took place on August 14, 1936. 20,000 people turned up to watch it. Hegseth's horror show will be watched by millions. What has become of America?
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 1h
United States of America brings back public executions courtesy of Pete Hegseth. The sort of tyrannical behaviour that ISIS and the Taliban engage in. baynews9.com/fl/tampa/mil...
baynews9.com
Pentagon says firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamed
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said the execution would be "public"
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1h
After the First Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War, and the Iran War, Republican voters are just going to have to accept at some point that warmongering is their brand, despite how often the people who start them talk about peace.
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 7h
Again he’s really losing it with the AI stuff now
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
+
The White House considers anyone that uses the term, "Artificial Intelligence," as opposed to the highly accepted new and more accurate term,
"Super Intelligence," THE ENEMY! President
DONALD J. TRUMP
2 ReTruths 9 Likes
10/8/26, 12:14 PM
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 5h
I've just been reading Albert Speer's Inside the Third Reich for a thing and Trump definitely resembles late-stage Hitler: surrounded by sycophants, rejecting all criticism, denying facts about the war he's losing, making mad declarations, seeing enemies everywhere. Not great
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 4h
The vested rightwing self-interest is becoming very shrill now. Still not enough for some voters to dump their tribe for betraying the country and letting us all down so disgracefully.
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Bremain in Spain @bremaininspain.com · 07/10/2026
The Trump playbook is showing up in Britain’s council chambers. When Reform gets power, journalists start losing access. www.uglypolitix.com/p/reform-has...
uglypolitix.com
Reform has a problem with journalists
The Trump playbook is showing up in Britain’s council chambers. When Reform gets power, journalists start losing access.
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Bremain in Spain @bremaininspain.com · 07/10/2026
In a rather worrying development, it's now been revealed that Reform is intending to set up a 'digital newsroom' with an expanded ‘national publishing operation’ which will include video content, ahead of the next general election. leftfootforward.org/2026/10/refo...
leftfootforward.org
Reform is now setting up a national newsroom
Reform UK is now setting up a 'digital newsroom' with an expanded 'national publishing operation' which will include video content, ahead of the next general election. Press Gazette reports: "The N...
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
To be clear, we're going straight back to Brexit chaos if the Conservatives or Reform are in power, and that is because of their commitment to withdraw from the ECHR, which would almost certainly mean parts of the TCA suspended and huge US diplomatic pressure. www.ft.com/content/f923...
ft.com
Tory plan to rip up UK-EU food deal risks ‘huge uncertainty’, producers warn
Food and drink industry fears it may be forced to comply with different regulatory regimes every few years
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The New World @thenewworldmag.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The president was in Nebraska on a campaign stop when he came out with the eye-catching new policy – along with an idea for a new game show ✏️ Rats in a Sack 🐀
buff.ly
Trump says: ‘Bomb America!’
The president was in Nebraska on a campaign stop when he came out with the eye-catching new policy – along with an idea for a new game show
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Heather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
A £6bn tax cut that creates a perverse incentive for older people to *upsize* is not a good policy - www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Badenoch’s inheritance tax gambit makes no economic sense
The Tory leader’s proposal to slash the tax would shovel £6bn of taxpayer money to the already-wealthy
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Perfectly put.
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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Though it will be fun watching her being asked repeatedly if she will make Nigel Farage PM or force another election, the perpetual Lib Dem question for a new electoral landscape.
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Just Treatment @justtreatment.org · 06/10/2026
🚨The government is looking for UK alternatives to Palantir to run the NHS data platform, the FT reports. This follows a week of protests in 40+ places across England and a rally of hundreds at Palantir's London HQ. Help keep the pressue up: nopalantirinthenhs.com
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Hard Boiled Egg @perigominas.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
A minor point, but when mouthpieces say "promising future" they don't mean the person concerned is on a clear path to do things of great importance for the benefit of society that is redemptive for the terrible things they have done now. It means they've been promised a future that's good for them.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Every now and then, when people say stupid things about socialism, I have to roll out these lines from Arthur Lewis, on what socialists want.
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David Phinnemore @dphinnemore.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
If you’re wondering why the anticipated UK-EU SPS Agreement will be GB-specific and not replace the arrangements for Northern Ireland under Windsor Framework, look no further. www.ft.com/content/f923...
ft.com
Tory plan to rip up UK-EU food deal risks ‘huge uncertainty’
Food and drink industry fears it may be forced to comply with different regulatory regimes every few years
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Forever @msforeverwondering.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
#rejoinEU share widely please
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50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Breaking: Man Posing As ICE Agent Arrested Outside Polling Site. Deploying ICE to a polling place is illegal. However, trusting convicted felon Donald Trump to obey the law is a fool’s errand.
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🚨BREAKING: GOP lawyer Cleta Mitchell and convicted election denier Tina Peters are pushing a scheme to have Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seize voting machines, as part of a broader effort for the Trump administration to interfere with the midterm vote. 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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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It feels crazy to need to write this, but journalists should not be arrested because the president doesn’t like the way they report on the sizes of his crowds. www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump...
mediamatters.org
Trump keeps demanding criminal punishment for reporting he dislikes — including about his crowd sizes
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Maine Newsroom @mainenewsroom.com · 06/10/2026
10/6 The story of Senator Susan Collins refusing to meet with 17 female Maine elected officials who went to DC to talk to her about Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination #maine #MEpolitics
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This is absolutely what’s going on with Badenoch’s polling improvement. She is very much not getting any better or any more popular or electable. There is no (shoot-me-now) ‘Keminaissance’. It’s just that Farage has got even worse. And rightwing money needs a horse to back…
I can see only one major reason for this.
Various media owners, secretive sponsors of tax-averse "think tanks" and climate change-denying plutocrats, who seem determined to see normal service resumed in Downing Street as soon as possible, are having serious doubts about Nigel Farage's electability, and Badenoch remains their only other option.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I'm not sure if @oversightdemocrats.bsky.social have issued a statement on this yet, but they should publicly announce that if Russ Vought tries to fuck with the election in any way they will fire him out of a cannon when they take power.
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 06/10/2026
Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized Trump’s treatment of US allies, and backed the idea of retaliation for protectionist moves
bloom.bg
Yellen Says Trump ‘Appalling’ on US Allies, Backs Retaliation
Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized President Donald Trump’s treatment of US allies, and backed the idea of retaliation for protectionist moves.
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Naomi Smith @pimlicat.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Less than a week to go before MPs debate joining the EU. Tell your mp to be there 👇 bestforbritain.org/take-action/...
bestforbritain.org
Tell your MP: 628 constituencies want EU membership. Only 4 don't. - Best for Britain
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Simon Usherwood @simonusherwood.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Britain is coming back. Maybe. If we can agree on what we want, and if the EU lets us" Useful piece from @rostaylor.bsky.social
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NOELREPORTS @noelreports.com · 06/10/2026
Zelensky says Ukrainian intelligence has updated information on Russian preparations for a massive strike and urged people to respond to missile alerts. He said Ukraine’s Air Force is ready, but its response is limited by available defenses and depends heavily on partners. #Ukraine
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Thanks again to @mrjamesob.bsky.social for highlighting Kemi Badenoch's banning of journalists she doesn't approve of, which very few other journalists in the country seem willing to mention for some reason inews.co.uk/opinion/bade...
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
NEW EPISODE: Less than 30 days before the midterms, Trump told a reporter that anyone looking for mail voting fraud should "start off by taking a look at California." I explain the real reason Trump is targeting the state and how we fight back. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVTC...
youtube.com
ALERT: Trump is Setting a Trap for California's Vote Count
YouTube video by Democracy Docket
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 06/10/2026
"Whatever conclusions reached by the commission of an octogenarian crank and two billionaires, they'll be handed off to Hegseth, who believes wars are won by whichever side can do the most pushups, and whose obsession with creating an all-white, all-male military is dragging DoD down by the day."
publicnotice.co
“Project Meridian” is the stuff of satire
Elon Musk, Newt Gingrich, and Palmer Luckey walk into a bar ... and are given the keys to the DoD.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Voters loathed the Tory party when they booted them out in 2024.They really needed to shake off their disgrace with humility and better ideas. They haven’t. They’ve doubled down. More Brexit, more austerity, more anti-immigration ugliness, more tedious arrogance… and no good reason to vote for them.
Party seems to have learnt nothing from 2024 defeat
John Oxley

The Conservative Party is keen to show it is now ready to return to government, two and a half years after a
historic defeat.Their self-soothing explanation posits that defeat came from not being able to do what they wanted 

No such pivot is happening at the current conference. The Tories have come to Birmingham calling for a return to orthodoxy, with similar lines about cutting benefits and regulation. Even so, they seem trapped by the same contradictions
- pledging to cut benefits, but not the winter fuel payments and triple lock on pensions that go to their voters.
There is no "hug-a-hoodie" moment in Birmingham. The Conservative Party is not indicating that it has changed or seeking to broaden its appeal. It is doing the opposite: it is a party returning to its core, restating all the old ideas voters have rejected but louder.
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Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Gotta say until you read the actual motion it's not clear just how rabid the Greens' positioning is. The motion calls for the end of the State of Israel.
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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I despise seeing what’s really going on stuffed into a “but critics say” clause.
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
📌 ICYMI — Conservative Plan to Scrap Solar Rules for New Homes Would Lock Millions Into Gas Use — @josiahmortimer.bsky.social Pledge to abolish the Future Homes Standard is branded 'a plan for poor housing and high bills' by fuel poverty campaigners, as the solar sector urges the party to think…
bylinetimes.com
Conservative Plan to Scrap Solar Rules for New Homes Would Lock Millions Into Gas Use
Pledge to abolish the Future Homes Standard is branded 'a plan for poor housing and high bills' by fuel poverty campaigners, as the solar sector urges the party to think again
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This proves only two things. The Ukrainian campaign against Russian refineries is causing serious damage. Putin has asked Trump to help him out and the US president obliged.
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Janine Gibson @janinegibson.ft.com · 06/10/2026
This is as magnificent as an obituary as the life of its subject demands. Jeffrey Archer, perjurer, fantastist, charismatic grifter went to prison yet died ennobled; but somehow I still feel nostalgic for this specific breed of untrustworthy wrong'un www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...
thetimes.com
Jeffrey Archer obituary: MP, peer and multimillion-selling author
Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, politician with a ‘gift for inaccurate précis’ who became a prolifically successful writer, dies aged 86
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Just the dumbest collection of halfwit confetti emerging out of that conference. Tax cuts everywhere, paid for with imaginary spending cuts. Huge spending projects with precisely zero utility, except to anchor their 'defence day' narrative. Clowns.
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James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The pitch here seems to be, ‘we’ll build the houses and infrastructure we failed to build during the 14 years we were in government, but we’ll do it in the most damaging and lowest quality way possible’. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Tories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural England
Shadow chancellor will also promise to scrap affordable homes regulations as part of strategy to refocus on growth
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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Anyway, about that plan to win back younger, remain leaning, wealthy, broadly socially liberal voters who form the traditional of the Tory coalition
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