iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Steve Bonek

This is a direct violation of Virginia law; and needless damage to vulnerable youth and families when litigation (that VA is party to) is actively in process. Arizona may have the legal grounds to do this but it is no less damaging. A deep betrayal of youth, families, and provider.

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Aleksandra Vaca @transiticsnews.com · 23h

Arizona and Virginia, both of which are governed by Democrats, are ending Medicaid coverage of care for trans youth, Transitics has learned. The bans, which go into effect on October 13th, mark the most significant Democratic capitulation to Trump's anti-trans demands yet. Cowards.

transiticsnews.com

Democrat-led Arizona, Virginia Quietly End Medicaid Coverage of Care for Trans Youth, Acquiescing to Trump Demands

The policy changes, which go into effect on October 13th, see Arizona and Virginia join Kansas as states where Democrats have needlessly opted to restrict Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care.

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ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Circus Performers, by Walt Kuhn, 1978, 📸 via @marisakabas.bsky.social

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Minnesota Aurora FC @mnaurorafc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Join the Aurora team as our new VP of Marketing and Community Relations. mnaurora.com/vice-preside...

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🌬Breeze @cool-summer-breeze.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This is the Stolen Neighbors Quilt. Each of the 11,000 squares represents a person taken by ICE in Minnesota.

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Erin Maye Quade @erinmayequade.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

If folks in the Democratic party cannot find it within themselves to be absolute staunch supporters of trans people's rights because trans people are people who have inherent worth, then they should at least do it because if we give up on trans people, then we're literally giving up on democracy.

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Adam Becker @adambecker.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

@aoc.bsky.social just put out a great statement on AI. Refreshing to see a major politician on the left nail this. "Silicon Valley billionaires want us to believe that Al robots will destroy humanity. But the biggest threat to humanity are the tech oligarchs themselves." 🎯

Charles,

Last weekend, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, one of the largest Al companies in the world, publicly asked his industry to slow down Al development.

Shortly after, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAl, followed suit. Then Elon Musk.

This all came days after an Anthropic researcher quit, citing his belief that this technology could wipe out humanity and that Al companies are "gambling with our lives."

For years, people have warned that generative Al could slip out of our direct control.

Those safety concerns must be taken seriously.

And this is why I have advocated for strict safety standards on how Al is built and deployed, public oversight over this technology, and using existing laws to hold these companies accountable when they cause harm.

But I want to draw your attention to another reality: Right now, the U.S. economy and our financial futures are riding on Silicon Valley's bet that Al will soon be immensely profitable and pay off. And that bet isn't looking good.

The formula for a profitable business isn't complicated: make more money than you spend. But the biggest Al companies aren't doing that. They are spending hundreds of billions per year on data centers, chips, and other costs while their ability to make revenues that exceed their already-immense sunk costs are unclear. Experts estimate that these Al companies will require another $600 billion of debt just to finance

themselves in 2026 alone. That is more than the entire budgets of the U.S. Departments of Justice, Transportation, & Education combined.
Meanwhile, despite almost every single one of these companies not turning a profit & having sunk billions of investor dollars in development of data centers & other infrastructure, Al companies are also on a spending spree of hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying & dark money in our elections.
It would be one thing if we were discussing a few private companies with a poor business model. But last year, virtually all stock market gains - 80% - rested entirely on just a handful of Al companies.
That tells us two things:
1. Nearly the entire U.S. economy outside the Al industry is relatively stagnating and faring poorly & the gains from these few companies are disguising it; &
2. Millions of people's retirements - including their pensions, 401ks, & investments - are potentially exposed to this risk.
That's why these Al companies' dubious financial positions matter to working people.
These companies argue that debt is necessary. They'll tell you that building transformative technologies requires upfront capital, & that massive borrowing today will pay off in generating unprecedented prosperity tomorrow.
But this is not the typical debt that startups take on while they build out a company. We are talking about billions going on trillions of dollars leveraged with no indication that these companies will be able to recoup these funds profitably. And they are increasingly looking to the government as their source of cash.
In an effort to hide their debt, tech companies have been relying on "circular financing" where tech giants like Google, Amazon, & Microsoft give billions to Al startups like OpenAl & Anthropic, only for those startups to hand that money right back to buy Al processing power.
In other words, these Al companies are luring in new investors by making it look like their financials are healthier than they really are.

What's even worse is that retirement & pension funds are key to supporting this illusion.
When the Al companies issue bonds to raise more money, your pension funds & retirement accounts are some of the biggest buyers. When Musk's Al business went public, it became part of index funds where millions of Americans invest our savings. Many Americans don't even know that their retirement investments are tied up in these companies at all.
From Big Tech's perspective, that's a feature, not a bug. By tying our futures to their reckless gambling, Al billionaires are trying to make themselves too big to fail. They think they can take such dangerous risks because we will bail them out if things go wrong.
Sound familiar? This scene is dangerously reminiscent of the rampant speculation, corruption, & broken incentives leading up to the 2008 financial crisis that plunged millions of working class Americans into financial chaos that we never fully recovered from.
It is no accident that these warnings from Altman & Amodei come months-if not weeks-before these companies were meant to go public.
When companies go public, they have to be more transparent about how they are doing financially. And after a waiting period, they typically have to let private investors-like their own employees-sell their shares.
The New York Times recently confirmed that OpenAl has postponed going public for this very reason. They are in no rush for the truth about their finances to come out.
But the moment these oligarchs began to seek our public tax dollars & public contracts while exposing their companies to public pension funds & investments, they opened themselves to public accountability & scrutiny.
Silicon Valley billionaires have rigged the game & are attempting to shift their financial risk to working people: If they're right about Al's potential, they reap the profits. If they're wrong & the bubble bursts, they are setting up the American people to pick up the tab.
Heads, they win; tails, we lose.

We can stop this, and we shouldn't play their game. Together we can address both the economic and safety threats of unrestricted Al development and prevent financial chaos and stabilize market risk.

We must make it clear now that should the Al bubble pop, Congress should not bail out Big Tech.

And across our federal agencies, we have the authorities and tools to hold Al companies and their leaders accountable for releasing dangerous, unvetted, and defective products. We must not wait.

Silicon Valley billionaires want us to believe that Al robots will destroy humanity.

But the biggest threat to humanity are the tech oligarchs themselves.

It's time we hold them accountable.

Thank you for reading.

In solidarity,

Alexandria

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Wes Burdine @wesburdine.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

She’s so good at this

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kottke.org @kottke.org · 17/09/2026

Video of Nirvana playing Smells Like Teen Spirit in a tiny club only 2 days after Nevermind came out. "There's a freight train bearing down on those boys and they don't even know it." [kottke.org]

kottke.org

Nirvana On the Cusp

This is a video of Nirvana playing Smells Like Teen Spirit in a small club just two days after Nevermind came out in 1991. There’s a freight train bearing down on those boys and they don’t even know it. (via

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Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz · 17/09/2026

she's here on @repmarcykaptur.bsky.social and she has no business still running, a functional state party would have cut her off years ago. she has been in office longer than a majority of her constituents have been alive. she sucks!

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Rep. Ilhan Omar @repilhan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

ICE has been tearing through our nation, devastating our neighborhoods, our cities, and our businesses. Our communities deserve accountability. My Make ICE Pay Act will redirect ICE's $140 billion budget to the communities they've hurt the most.

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Sam “The Great Pumpkin” Thielman @samthielman.com · 17/09/2026

they were very subtle about it, but if you looked closely you could see the signs

A bunch of creeps at the RNC holding up “Mass Deportation Now” signs

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Lisa Guerrero @lisaguerrero.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Not only did I meet Robert Kraft, I worked for him. His kid Jonathan asked me to “remove the black music” from my gameday playlist in ‘94 & I refused so they fired me. I was the cheerleader director at the time. I sued them for wrongful termination and won. So yes, I know that motherfucker.

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Karim Zidan @karimzidan.com · 15/09/2026

NFL owners, led by Robert Kraft, banded together to blackball Macklemore over a “Free Palestine’ chant. Meanwhile, raging antisemite and Hitler lover Kanye West is touring the same stadiums. This was never about antisemitism www.sportspolitika.news/p/macklemore...

sportspolitika.news

Macklemore, the NFL and the politics of a free Palestine

Led by Patriots owner & Israel supporter Robert Kraft, NFL owners reportedly banded together to blacklist the American rapper over a “Free Palestine’ chant.

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Ian Miles Schlong @tedcruznipples.com · 10/09/2026

Some of those that work forces Are the same that fuck horses

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Una Mullally @unamullally.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The Irish musicians, Beoga, who play alongside Ed Sheeran, have withdrawn from Sheeran’s tour. This is the statement they published on Instagram:

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Joyful Riders Club @joyfulridersclub.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

LFG! If you've been meaning to make one of these this summer but haven't yet, now's the time! Thanks to @panikadoc.bsky.social for the fantastic design.

Bonfire-themed flyer for “Bikes. Beats. Bonfire.” at the 2026 DJ Ride Finale on Saturday, October 3. Meet at 6 PM at Perennial Cycle, 3342 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN. Roll out at 6:30 PM toward Lilac Park for a bonfire, with dance stops along the way. Return to Perennial Cycle at 10 PM. Featuring DJs Dev, Elliott Payne, and Dave Eckblad. Friendly party pace; all wheels welcome. Hosted by Joyful Riders and Perennial Cycle.

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Peggy Flanagan @peggyflanagan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

When someone shows you who they are, believe them.

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ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 15/09/2026

minnesota: we’re the first in the nation to early vote, let’s show the rest of the country that this is another way we show up and stop the onslaught of violence against our neighbors. let’s get these fascists out of power. join people this friday, 10AM at the hennepin county government center.

THEY TAKE OUR NEIGHBORS, WE TAKE THEIR POWER.
Rally+Vote 10AM
Friday the 18th
Hennepin County
Government Center
I
Voted
Minnesota is the first state to early vote. Let's show up in record numbers make the fascists afraid.
We protect our neighbors.

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Ms. Rachel: "Ed Sheeran had an opportunity…Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows." "If more than 20,000 white children were killed…everyone would be shouting…Treating some children's lives as less worthy of outrage is racist. Silence during a genocide is not neutral."

Ms. Rachel post:
"Ed Sheeran had an opportunity show that we won't be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine. Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows. A genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak out against it.

"If more than 20,000 white children were killed in another part of the world, everyone would be shouting about it at their concerts. Treating some children's lives as less worthy of outrage is racist. Silence during a genocide is not neutral."

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Kevin Gannon (now a Moo Deng fan account) @thetattooedprof.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Macklemore's statement is honest, eloquent, and principled. I urge you to read it.

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Jason Chavez @jchavezmpls.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Trans Lives Matter. Trans people will always be here. While some politicians are capitulating, throwing trans neighbors under the bus, I want you to know you belong. 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍⚧️

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Sarah Spain ✨ @sarahspain.com · 12/09/2026

StiCk tO SpOrtS

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floating in lotus position @gallantdimwit.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Some photos of the memorial to Alex Pretti on 26th and Nicollet after it was vandalized two nights ago. The caretakers have done a great job cleaning and rebuilding it since this, but they would appreciate anyone stopping by with flowers, mementos, signs, candles, etc.

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Wes Burdine @wesburdine.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Man Fuck ICE. Skulking outside an angel city game. Soccer is political, homies.

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Nicole @nicolehneri.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The memorial site has been restored. Here, a caretaker tucks juniper branches between the flowers that encircle the spot where Pretti was killed.

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Dan Engelhart He/Him @engy5150.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Minneapolis my bike was stolen! Purple all city nature boy- single speed, black cranks and pedals, white saddle, purple grips, wide flat bars.

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taylr @taylordahlin.com · 11/09/2026

the prospect north loop data center in the old star tribune building is dead. legacy has terminated its purchase agreement for the site there’s been a lot of organizing by north loop residents against this, hope many take this as their entry to being civically active

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Emily St. James @emilystjams.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I used to frame this as: If we could pass a constitutional amendment guaranteeing trans people access to comprehensive gender-affirming healthcare, the bathroom of their choice, etc., in exchange for us giving up sports, do you think the people who don't want trans people in sports would go for it?

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Tim @timpranillo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

As a fellow zero unread email I get all the love for that. But it’s the “looking for work” thing I’m in 100% agreement with.

I've read and listened to a lot of people talk about how it's revolutionized their workflow, and they're training agents to make appointments and they're building these elaborate meal plans. And to me, that doesn't sound interesting.
That just sounds exhausting. We have this phrase in football called "looking for work," when a player on the field is looking for work-looking for someone to block, for example. And I just think about that whenever I hear those stories. It just sounds like you're looking for work.
Also, just fucking do it yourself. It's not that hard to make a fucking restaurant reservation

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

They don't call Mina the GOAT for nothing

Mina Kimes in WIRED on why Bluesky is great and Twitter sucks shit:

"Favorite social network: Bluesky
I post everywhere to try and get my work out there and get it seen and read. But I would say the one that I use the most is Bluesky. While it has its flaws, there's definitely the occasional sports ball person in my mentions. I’ve found the interactions on there are the most like interactions I have with people in the real world, which is a rarity on the social internet these days.

Least favorite social network: Twitter
Everyone says Twitter, right? Which is a bummer because it used to be really fun and essential for news. When breaking news was happening, it was a place you'd go to get on-the-ground impressions. You could meet friends, you could find new writers and comedians, and all of that feels lost just because Elon completely killed the vibe. And I say that because obviously he's done things far more serious in terms of poisoning the discourse, and the place is a cesspool for racism and misogyny and misinformation, but it's also just, like, a terrible fucking hang. Everyone either seems miserable or is determined to make other people miserable.

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🚨 BEWARE of VoteSafe.org 🚨 While it bills itself as a “safe” way to register to vote, it is actually a digital surveillance machine created by Elon Musk’s super PAC.

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Erin Maye Quade @erinmayequade.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This administration sent a lawfully present immigrant, who has broken absolutely zero laws, to GUANTANAMO BAY because he's Black. There's literally no other reason. I'm out of words. This entire administration is lawless and corrupt. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

mprnews.org

St. Paul man arrested in ICE surge sent to Guantanamo Bay

Adam Abdullah has no criminal record, but the government is holding him at a military prison set up for terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

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Dawn @502eire.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

ladies (gender neutral) will read this and say hell yeah fuck yeah

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Rose City Riveters @rosecityriveters.org · 07/09/2026

We want to express our thanks to the @ThornsFC.com staff and Providence Park security for swiftly handling the transphobic incident today. We won't tolerate hate in our house, and it's good to know that they are with us. It was handled quickly and professionally. #BAONPDX 1/2

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Steve Bonek @steve-bonek.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

As a recent transplant, John’s list is spot on. For the Guthrie, if schedules align, the tour is really good. If not, if you can make it to the Guthrie when it’s open, you can go out on the Endless Bridge and the Amber box for free, assuming no events, etc Enjoy your trip @runnerlady.bsky.social

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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 06/09/2026

i'm prepared to raise the alarm. this is now a certified Woke 2 Incident

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marymoriarty.bsky.social @marymoriarty.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Castro made an appearance in Texas Federal Court yesterday, posted bond, and will appear in Minnesota later this month. He will turn himself in or be arrested on our state warrant and our state prosecution will begin, despite the efforts of Governor Abbott. www.startribune.com/christian-ca...

startribune.com

ICE agent arrested on federal charges over shooting of Minneapolis immigrant

Christian Castro was taken into custody after a sealed federal indictment was filed against him, one week after he was released from a Texas jail.

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Patton Oswalt @pattonoswalt.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Apparently people are sharing this far and wide on social media, which I think is horrible. This could cripple ICE operations. PLEASE do not share this.

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Historical Marker Ahead @historicalmarker.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Not part of the bit but PrideFest is a go today in the small SW Indiana town of Loogootee. It’s been court fight to make it happen. The town leaders have lost every time. Meanwhile, Stonewall Democrat billboards are up in rural Owen County, Indiana, for six candidates, five of whom are LGBTQ+

Flyer for 4th annual Loogootee PrideFest in Loogootee, Indiana, September 5, 2026.

Six candidates for Owen County, Indiana, offices, who are endorsed by Stonewall Democrats. They’re standing on a rainbow flag within site of the county courthouse. Photo by Free Press Indiana. https://www.wishtv.com/news/election/lgbtq-political-candidates-appear-on-rural-owen-county-indiana-billboards/

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Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I’m sorry, I’m not going to sit here and get lectured about masculinity by Ben Sasse.

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Peggy Flanagan @peggyflanagan.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

How much longer will we need a "stiff upper lip," Michele Tafoya? Minnesotans shouldn't continue to pay the price for Donald Trump's illegal and unending war.

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Tommy Tomlinson @tommytomlinson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

So here's a quote from @pablo.show that applies to not only his Clippers investigation but the best of what journalism can be: www.nytimes.com/athletic/756...

"I think that we have the ability to do something that the rest of our culture is yearning for, which is make people who are too rich to care about anything resembling the public interest worry that maybe they need to tell us the truth."

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Minneapolis City SC @mplscitysc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

"Dr. Goals" goes pro 🩺 Check out Nathan Donovan's high-scoring journey to his first professional contract!

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Wes Burdine @wesburdine.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Speaker of the house, now running for governor, and you're like "yeah, that big issue that's like a Top Three issue, I'm not ready to have any ideas, but we should look at it." And she's the Serious statewide Republican.

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