iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 21h

I have had enough of the howling winds and wars you want me to buy. Give me a blanket the crackling of a log fire and stars. Yes - more stars. #haiku #poem

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 21h

If the defining act of our age winds up with no one left to accuse because our leaders all John Yooed us into an abu ghraibified present of eternal war, surveillance, and extraordinary rendition (which seems now to be more "quite ordinary rendition") historians of the future will have a field day.

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The term “remigration” is associated with the extreme right and only came into widespread usage in 2023-4. Even Germany’s AfD avoided using the term in 2024 for fear of scaring away voters. Today the US government is celebrating the “victories” it’s racked up in the “ethnic cleansing” column.

Department of Homelan... • Follow •.• X
5h • 0
Net negative migration for the first time in HALF a CENTURY.
Americans are amassing victories NEVER seen before thanks to President Trump.
We will continue to grow our efforts to fulfill the mandate given to this administration.
REMIGRATION REPORT
94%)
3.3+
MILLION REMOVALS
INCLUDING DEPORTATIONS AND VOLUNTARY REMOVALS
ASYLUM DENIAL AT 94%
250,000
VISAS REVOKED
REVOKED
TRAVEL BANNED
FROM 39 COUNTRIES
2,600+
287(G)
AGREEMENTS
NATURALIZATIONS
DOWN
75%
1.3K
519
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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I sometimes get on the case of my staff when they are negligent about entering their monthly time in our incredibly annoying, poorly designed, and frustrating timekeeping system. It isn't because I'm a bureaucratic stickler. It's about attention to detail.

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Sen. Adam Schiff @schiff.senate.gov · 02/10/2026

Eight years since the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the brutal torture and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and no one in the Saudi government has been held accountable. (We may even help them with a nuclear program.)

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

this is some good news for a Friday. Though I'm almost surprised that Gavin didn't veto this smart law along with the passel of other smart laws he, in his wisdom, decided were too dangerous for the people of California.

calmatters.org

California bans child marriage after 9-year fight to outlaw the practice

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law prohibiting marriage for people under 18. Liberal civil rights organizations fought previous efforts to ban the practice.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

“Forget it, Jake. It's Florida.”

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"The mayor was criticized last year for his judgment after he appointed a new supervisor with no political experience who resigned after a week on the job. This could be seen as a second political misstep for the mayor..." Lurie is burdened with The Rich Man's Curse of 'trusting his instincts'.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This has become a not-infrequent event in the last 20 years, and PG&E must own it. I don't envy them the job of maintaining the aging SF infrastructure. But it is THEIR job. As the article states: "It just looks like this is unfortunately another fire caused by electrical malfunction.” *another*

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Somehow not everyone is aware of fact alluded to below. So one more time: John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett were all on GWBush 2000 'Florida Recount' team. (Which made GWB first prez in 112 yrs to 'win' after losing popular vote. Now they 'impartially' rule on our future.)

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Mike Fragassi @refrag.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Gavin Newsom is simply a piece of shit, no 2 ways around it I don't have to assertively declare "I won't vote for him for President" because he is simply not going to survive the Democrat primaries

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Christa Pike was tortured yesterday by the state of TN in every single USians name and the fact is that this is a country that is mostly OK with this. This says everything about all of us. We are all implicated in this barbaric practice. It's sickening.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This is all fine & unsurprising. But the last sentence really made me guffaw. Maybe it's just me, but... "Users of various services — like the parks, libraries and Muni — were more likely to rate the services higher than non-users, the survey found, a consistent finding in past surveys as well."

missionlocal.org

Survey says: San Franciscans feel city government improved, but streets still poor

The 2026 San Francisco city survey results are out, and ratings for most city services are on the mend.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This is really quite good. Every educator concerned about the impact of AI tools on their students (and themselves) should read through Groll's statement, and think about his approach and what from it they might work with to make it their own.

banished.substack.com

Don’t Let AI Colonize Your Mind!

If you want to start a conversation with your students about AI, have them read this AI policy statement from Carleton philosophy professor Daniel Groll

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The death sentence is inhumane, barbaric, and morally insupportable. Just behind it in each of those categories is for-profit prisons, and the industry to support their growth and sustenance. As long as we rely on these two tools, our society is morally culpable.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I think I may enter to win Fat Bear Week. Feeling quite chonky today.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If you are wondering just how wild the housing market is about to get here in the SF Bay Area, well...THIS is how wild. 1200 sq ft bungalows with no garage going for double the asking price. I'm so screwed (again). Cheers to rental and rent control living, I guess.

A small 1920s bungalow 2 bedroom 1 bath 1,202 square feet, was listed for sale at $925,000 and sold at $1,720,00. Almost double the listed price. The house is in a dense urban zone of Oakland, on a busy boulevard, and a few blocks (within siren distance) of a large hospital.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I had absolutely no idea that Lenny and Squiggy had gotten jobs as senate staffers. Wild.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

They didn't test my computer-free, wifi-free, screen-free car with a dashboard controlled exclusively by knobs, switches, and dials. Things were better before. [leaves room, grumbling in Old Man]

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Thinking on some of the euphemisms the last 25 years of bad governance have given us. And how many of them sprouted in the too-fertile soil of the so-called War on Terror Extraordinary Rendition Collateral Damage Alternative Facts Kinetic Action Immigration Reform Homeland Security the list is long.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Well it seems this week that "Kristen (Ava) McGuiness" and "Miranda Jewess" are both suddenly exceedingly interested in offering me advice on my poetry chapbook from 2018, and while the bot names are getting more, umm, *creative*, the content of these author-scamming emails really really isn't.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

this is depressingly on the money (sorry) regarding the dynamics of SF politics. Personally, I feel that opposition to the mayor's slate of actions is both vital & correct if only due to who & what (and how much) his support derives. Friction is good. Foils make better ends. And means matter.

missionlocal.org

San Francisco's wealthiest have unprecedented control of city politics

Our city fathers (if you like them) or oligarchs (if you don’t) have never been richer, more brazen or faced weaker opposition

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This morning, walking in GG Park, passed by spiderman getting out of a Honda hatchback, with a guitar in a gig bag slung over his back. he looked at us, and finished pulling on his mask, and headed out to the green. SF is still such an amusing place, you just have to look a bit harder now.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

“I like the idea that we could bring back an America where it’s embarrassing for wealthy people to say, ‘Even though I could afford this, and it will improve public services in our state, I’d rather fight it.’” Indeed. I'll take "sane American futures" for $200, Ken.

nytimes.com

Washington Taxed Its Millionaires. Now the Rich Want It Repealed. (Gift Article)

Washington State voters will get a chance to accept or reject the 9.9 percent income tax on millionaires approved by the Legislature, which broke the state’s taboo against levying income taxes.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

RABBIT: damn you, Dog! Work the bellows, work them like you've never done before! [maniacal laughing]

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The Phantom Tollbooth Quotes @phantomtollbot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The Mathemagician nodded knowingly and stroked his chin several times. "You'll find," he remarked gently, "that the only thing you can do easily is be wrong, and that's hardly worth the effort."

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Kylie Eleison @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Student journalists are consistently some of the bravest and least morally compromised in the profession and it’s a real problem that the pipeline to professional journalism self-selects for the opposite of those traits maybe more than ever before

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

...And what do you call your act? 'The Aristocrats!' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_...

an image of Trump and his cabinet in the oval office.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

A can of this, a bag of ketchup-flavored potato chips, and then who needs poutine? Our civilization has clearly lost the thread.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is a pretty good article on AI (for a change). It addresses many - though certainly not all - of the critical areas of need for both the government and the general public to be focusing on. And it focuses on the technology and its creators / corporate owners, rather than SV's moral corruption.

nytimes.com

Opinion | Dear Congress: Here’s What to Ask A.I. Leaders (Gift Article)

This is what Congress needs to do to reign in frontier A.I. development.

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The Onion @theonion.com · 24/09/2026

Dog Can’t Believe Guy She Hooked Up With 10 Years Ago Now Head Of FBI theonion.com/dog-cant-believe-guy-s…

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Mare Pan @paarsec.com · 24/09/2026

literally this

Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on.
Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work. Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it.

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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

👇

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

watch it bounce back under democratic leadership in 2029.

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Tomás Murray @tomasjmurray.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Today is John Coltrane’s 100th birthday.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

there's a certain similarity (at least in terms of their triumphal language and absolutist framing) between the maga / Trump cult and the SV / AI / rationalist / Effective Altruism cult. No wonder their people converge in so many ways.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

listening to bits & bobs of need from the UN general assembly in NYC, and man, it's hard to maintain an even keep and a healthy blood pressure. I dream of US politicians and diplomats who are more than venal spin doctors for a corrupt regime with bad intent.

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I acknowledge being a cishet old, but I think words may have drastically changed meaning in the last decade. Can someone help me with what “identifies as a gender-expansive lesbian and uses he/him pronouns” means? I used to think "lesbian" was a categorical and relatively gender specific term…

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sascha benjamin cohen @saschaben.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Since today is dump on Gavin Newsom discourse day, I would just like to say that I've been dumping on & disparaging Gavin since his early Plumpjack days; I was being annoyed by him as a supervisor in 1997, as a mayoral candidate in 2003. And as mayor, Lt. Gov, and now. I'm a friggin trend setter.

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