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straythoughts.bsky.social

@straythoughts.bsky.social
305 followers 668 following 63 posts

Bioinformatics, history, photography, cats

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Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 10h
In 2018, Annalinda Martinez and her daughters became homeless. She went to Georgia's child welfare agency looking for help finding housing. Instead, the state took her children. Then DFCS began charging her for their foster care. Those bills eventually left her $13,000 in debt.
wabe.org
Georgia removed her kids because she was homeless. The state is charging her $13,000 for foster care
Georgia is among several states that have moved away from charging parents for their kids' time in foster care. But parents who already owe money for past cases are still on the hook.
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Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 11h
The craziest compound-impurity story I’ve ever heard:
science.org
Now That's An Impurity Story
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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 12h
New: We obtained witness videos and surveillance footage showing ICE parking their cars, arresting an observer, and transferring detainees in parking lots across 4 of Chicago's police districts. Local officials have tried banning ICE from city property. But incidents in the lots keep stacking up:
unraveledpress.com
In plain sight: a year of ICE using Chicago police parking lots for its operations
Videos and witness testimony show immigration agents continue using Chicago police station parking lots despite a ban on their access to city property. Records obtained from the Civilian Office of Pol...
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Dr Katie Twomey @k2mey.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026
This is quite cool. My university is the first organisation in the world to force Microsoft to allow us to turn off copilot summaries in Word 365, after a backlash against it from staff (including, very vocally, me). That cannot have been easy for our heroic IT people so hats very much off to them!
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Rhys White @rhystwhite.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
When genomic surveillance stops at the bacterial lineage, what do we miss? Spanning within-host vanB E. faecium, to a drug-susceptible K. variicola NICU outbreak, & MRSA AK3. See what resolving mobile DNA can add to investigations doi.org/10.1071/MA26... 🖥️🧬💻 #AcademicSky #MicroSky #IDSky 🧪🧫🦠
doi.org
Mobile DNA as epidemiological engines: lessons from New Zealand
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest global public health threats of the 21st Century, yet it often spreads in ways that routine surveillan
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huck mason @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
rip annie dillard
One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.
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Sherri Mabe @starlitwaltz.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
“There was no such thing as emptiness in the world. Even in the sky there were no vacant places. Everywhere there was life, visible and invisible, and every object possessed something that would be good for us to have also—even to the very stones.” Luther Standing Bear #classicmono #infrared
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The fact that this was *previously used as a campaign ad during the presidential campaign* removes any real defense as to its purpose. Its not a public service announcement. Its a campaign ad that has become state propaganda.
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Damian Ward @damianward.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
A selection of images from Albert Renger-Patzsch, who died 60 years ago today. Albert Renger-Patzsch (22 June 1897 – 27 September1966) #photography
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straythoughts.bsky.social @straythoughts.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
#photography #bnw #classicmono #nature_photography
Black and white photograph of a backlit leaf in profile, jagged edges and fine veins visible, cascading downward from right to left.
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Landis Blair @landisblair.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Headless. #CemeterySaturday Resthaven Cemetery, O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL
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TPM @talkingpointsmemo.com · 25/09/2026
Federal Judge Blasts ‘Inhumane and Unconstitutional’ Conditions in NYC ICE Detention
talkingpointsmemo.com
Federal Judge Blasts ‘Inhumane and Unconstitutional’ Conditions in NYC ICE Detention
A federal judge decried the “cruelty” detainees experienced inside Manhattan’s infamous ICE...
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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Every taxpayer, no matter your party, should be outraged by this. Your money is being used to fund campaign ads for Trump. It’s totally completely illegally. He’s stealing your money for his campaign. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/u...
nytimes.com
‘Love Me’ Ad Promotes Trump With Public Money Ahead of the Midterms
A disclaimer says the ad was paid for by the U.S. government, which could violate federal law.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In dissent, Jackson harshly criticizes the per curiam, unsigned majority's treatment of irreparable harm.
Next, in balancing the equities, the majority only looks at
one side of the scale—the judicial equivalent of expecting a
seesaw with weight applied on only one side to work
properly. In the per curiam’s view, the sole harm here is
that the District Court’s order “inhibits the Federal Govern-
ment’s efforts to assist state and local agencies in the proper
administration of the midterm elections.” Ante, at 6. As a
threshold matter, this overvalues the harm to the Govern-
ment, since States cannot use SAVE to systematically
strike people from the voter rolls within 90 days of an elec-
tion in any event. See 52 U. S. C. §20507(c)(2)(A); see also
No. 26–5243 (CADC, Sept. 4, 2026), App. 131a. It is hard
to see how the Government is harmed pending the comple-
tion of the court proceedings below when SAVE’s applica-
tion to the upcoming elections will already be limited.
Even more concerning is the majority’s omission of any
consideration of the harms that might occur if the modified
SAVE system is allowed to continue operating. See Califor-
nia, 609 U. S., at ___ (JACKSON, J., dissenting) (slip op., at
10). The District Court highlighted such harms, noting the
risk that States might cancel the voter registrations of at
least some recently naturalized citizens or force such per-
sons to provide proof of citizenship before voting.
835 F. Supp. 3d, at 108–109. That court also found that
those harms have already materialized in Texas, where one
of Respondents’ members “had her voter registration re-
voked without her knowledge,” and two more “had to pro-
vide proof of citizenship to maintain registered voter sta-
tus.” Id., at 113. But the per curiam’s purported balancing
fails to address, much less account for, the demonstrated
harms of issuing a stay. See Orr, 607 U. S., at ___
(JACKSON, J., dissenting) (slip op., at 3).
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I think it’s a fair presumption that when a white manager calls a black employee the n-word it’s a sign of some racial animus. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #elonlife
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Stephen Boisvert 🇨🇦 🟦⭐⭐⭐⭐🟦 @srboisvert.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Black-throated Blue Warbler. One of my favorites to photograph because they are such a challenge to get the exposure correct. Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Chicago. 9.24.2026 #Birds #Warblers #FallMigration
Black-throated Blue Warbler in flight
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 24/09/2026
There's what DHS said...and then there's reality ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
Screenshot of the first three paragraphs of the linked Balls and Strikes article, reading as follows:

On the morning of Sunday, September 20, police officers in the Chicago suburb of Evanston responded to a 911 call about a confrontation in the street. When the officers arrived, they found a man on the ground who reported injuries to his head, neck, and teeth. Soon, the officers learned that the injured man was a U.S. citizen, and his assailants were federal immigration agents.

The Department of Homeland Security put out a statement on Tuesday claiming that the beaten man “resembled the target” of an immigration enforcement operation, and that he was “not cooperative” with agents’ investigation. “Once the individual finally identified himself,” said DHS, immigration officers “left the scene without further incident.” 

A video of the incident shows that immigration officers pinned the man to the ground while he repeatedly yelled, “I’m a fucking U.S. citizen,” and while concerned witnesses asked why the agents were “fucking him up.” Eventually, the agents drove off without rendering medical aid. People tried to comfort the man, who remained motionless on the ground.
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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
There's a lot to say about this, and other folks are saying most of it. I just want to focus on one thing: the claim about the relationship between universities and "the real world."
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Jenn Dowd @drjenndowd.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
1/ Has life expectancy fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic? In a new pre-print, we find that 31 of 34 high-income countries had still not returned to their expected life expectancy trajectories five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6... #demography
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Tamsin Lewis @passamezzo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A marginal musician for #YomKippur: A trumpeting creature on the first part of the Kol Nidre. From the Tripartite #Mahzor, #14thCentury. #Bodleian ms Michael 19 #marginaliamonday #manuscriptmonday #earlymusic #medievalmusic #trumpet #kolnidre
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
My mom had polio when she was five. She was living on a US military base in Japan (1947). Four kids on the base died. She was the only survivor.
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I wrote up this story about my mom's survival from polio and its connections to world history, family lore, & current events: katestarbird.substack.com/p/a-family-t... We need to keep telling our stories of the world before vaccines — to prevent ourselves from having to live in a world after them.
katestarbird.substack.com
A Family Tree, Nearly Broken by Polio
As MAHA leaders call the polio vaccine a "fraud," an old family photo tells the story of the world before vaccines — and warns of the risk of forgetting.
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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
1) Every damn things he's built without Congressional authorization gets demolished on the first day. 2) Christ, he's like a 7-year old. "Oh yeah? Well MY arch is going to be a FORTRESS with GUNS and DRONES and LASERS, you'll be able to CONTROL THE WHOLE CITY from there."
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Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 19/09/2026
It has been a year this month since the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz began. What it left behind can be measured in the number of neighborhood patrollers who are still making their daily rounds. It can be measured in places still coming back to life.
chicagotribune.com
A city on guard: What the raids left behind after Operation Midway Blitz
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#CDC reports today that as of 9/17, the US has recorded 3,471 confirmed measles cases in 2026, up 50% from the figure recorded in all of 2025. CDC is still not acknowledging the 4 measles-related deaths Pennsylvania has reported. Important note: confirmed cases are a fraction of the true total.
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straythoughts.bsky.social @straythoughts.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#sqrlpix #squirrelpix #photography
A photo of a squirrel on a branch, seen through the surrounding leaves, gnawing on some kind of nut.
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NYC Plover Project @nycploverproject.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Your voice is needed! 📣 Contact your member of Congress and both U.S. Senators to speak up for species & against this rule change! Ask your friends and family to do the same! We will never give up the fight to defend imperiled species, and the Endangered Species Act itself!
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NEW: DHS's Inspector General releases a scathing report about the Everglades detention camp known as "Alligator Alcatraz." The OIG finds that the now-closed camp, violated multiple ICE standards. The OIG also confirms detainees were punished with placement in a metal cage in the Florida heat.🧵
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Staff also reported that time spent in the small metal enclosures is closely monitored, and
detainees are not locked in, even though we observed locking mechanisms on the enclosures.
Figures 11 and 12. Small Metal Enclosures; Observed January 21, 2026

Underneath is a picture of a metal cage that is 4 feet 3 inches wide by 4 feet 3 inches long, and 7 feet 9 inches high. The cage itself is placed on a tiny spot of fake turf, and then surrounded by another chainlink fence with razor wire on top. The cage is covered by a roof, but it's entirely exposed to the outside otherwise, meaning mosquitos and no air conditioning.
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Laurence H. Tribe @tribelaw.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“If the USPS were to implement its new Rule now, the effects on the 2026 election would be catastrophic. Many voters would be disenfranchised altogether, and many others would be denied their state-law right to vote by mail.” www.justsecurity.org/156963/usps-...
justsecurity.org
What’s Conspicuously Missing from the Government’s Supreme Court Reply Brief in the Mail Ballots Case
Marty Lederman on the Solicitor General's reply brief in the USPS mail-in ballot case before the Supreme Court.
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/09/2026
This is going to do so much damage.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
'the Waymo effect is what happens when a technology removes the friction of dealing with another human being, and we experience that removal as pure gain – because the costs of the friction were always visible to us, while its benefits were not.'
wonkhe.com
The Waymo effect: how AI is quietly making research less collaborative
Daniel Hook argues that frictionless technologies are teaching us to prefer our own company – and that research leaders should be worried Daniel Hook argues that frictionless technologies are teaching us to prefer our own company – and that research leaders should be worried
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Erik Loomis @erikloomis.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This Day in Labor History: September 10, 1897. Luzerne County sheriff deputies slaughtered 19 unarmed coal miners striking outside of Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Let's talk the Lattimer Massacre and the cold-blooded murder of innocent immigrant workers from eastern Europe!
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Andrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 09/09/2026
You know who actually did show up at Ground Zero? Canadian emergency rescue crews.
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Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A Labor Day reminder: having a job is no longer enough to protect millions of Americans from homelessness. For many workers, the greatest threat isn't losing their job. It's that their job will never pay enough, never provide enough hours, never offer enough stability to keep them housed.
nytimes.com
Opinion | America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness (Gift Article)
The working homeless are casualties of our prosperity.
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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Obvious point: The Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are far better Americans than Donald Trump and JD Vance and Stephen Miller.
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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 05/09/2026
“She built a remarkable career rooted in jazz, blues, gospel, folk and the many traditions that shape our state’s musical identity,” Jackson Mayor John Horhn said. “Her work had rare depth of character and a profound understanding of how music moves people, tells stories and connects generations.”
mississippifreepress.org
Person of the Day | Cassandra Wilson: Jackson-Born Jazz Artist and Grammy Winner Dies at 70
Jackson-born jazz and folk singer Cassandra Wilson, whose long career included two Grammy Award wins, died in her Hinds County home Tuesday, Sept. 1.
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Andy Adams @flakphoto.news · 04/09/2026
Do yourself a favor and leave your phone in the other room. Pick up a book and read it uninterrupted for a long time. Pay attention and notice how good it feels not to be constantly interrupted by digital notifications. It's a miracle that we used to live like this. We don't know what we're missing.
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Mike Konczal @mtkonczal.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
BLS this morning, with revised 2Q data: "The labor share, which is the percentage of output that accrues to workers in the form of compensation, was 52.8 percent in the second quarter of 2026, the lowest level in the series, which begins in the first quarter of 1947."
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Adam Parkhomenko @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The iconic weeping willow trees outside the Kennedy Center have been cut down by Trump.
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W. P. Mueller @wpmueller.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
www.climate.us
climate.us
Climate.us Home
independent, nonprofit, and immune to politics
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Dani Rodrik @drodrik.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Fascinating! She Popularized Economics. Then She Was Erased From History. Why? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/b...
nytimes.com
“The Invisible Hand of Maria Edgeworth”: An Economist, Erased
Maria Edgeworth sneaked economic theory into her best-selling novels. Two centuries later, a new book finally gives her the credit she deserves.
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David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
So, let me get this straight, the US illegally attacks a country, kidnaps its president, threatens its government with massive military force, gets them to hand over to US control a huge portion of their national assets, hails the billions it has already brought in and promises billions more...
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Ben Pascoe @benizao.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
🧫 In 1886, Theodor Escherich was studying bacteria from children with diarrhoea. Among the organisms he saw were strange, curved bacteria. He could see them under the microscope. But he couldn't grow them. It would take almost a century before we understood quite how important they were. 🧵
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
We are a broken nation. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians were living and working legally, paying taxes, and contributing. Haiti remains wholly unsafe. But Trump hates Haitians, and the White House wanted videos of Black people in chains, so they stripped them of status and turned on the cameras.
Homeland Security 7
@DHSgov
X.com
Haiti TPS has been TERMINATED.
Those with terminated TPS are in our nation Illegally. They have two options: LEAVE IMMEDIATELY or be DEPORTED.
DHS.GOV/CBРНОМЕ

Underneath is a screenshot of a video showing two Haitian men in chains being led to the aircraft. I didn’t post the video, but it’s vile.
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Sherri Mabe @starlitwaltz.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park #classicmono #infrared #blueskyphotography #eastcoastkin
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Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
At this point, if Trump ordered troops to deploy to Fifth Avenue with specific orders to shoot Trump’s political opponents on sight, a federal court would issue an injunction, but SCOTUS would overturn it, 6-3 “per curiam,” on the ground that nobody got shot yet, let’s wait and see.
nytimes.com
Supreme Court Allows Trump to Pursue Mail Voting Limits, for Now
The administration asked the court to clear the way for President Trump’s order that creates “state citizenship lists” and directs the Postal Service to decide who gets a mail-in ballot.
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Kate Riga @kateriga.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Jackson candid about SCOTUS' purcell abuse based on the identity of the plaintiff. Says majority decided only that the plaintiffs in the executive order mail-in ballot case - a bunch of blue states - have to wait some undetermined amount of time to challenge the order, even as elections begin
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
What Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social does is a huge public service: www.stevevladeck.com/p/246-making...
stevevladeck.com
246. Making Sense of the Mail-in Ballots Ruling
The Supreme Court’s grant of a stay in one of the mail-in ballot cases is deeply wrong, but it’s also not the main event over whether Trump’s patently unlawful executive order can take effect.
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Doug Lindner @douglindner.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
1. Expand the Court 2. Vote 3. If you can vote early in person, do that. 4. If you use a mail ballot, try to return it via drop box rather than USPS. Drop boxes are run by your local election office, not the feds. 5. If you put your ballot in the mail, send it as early as possible.
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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Every time I update this graph it still makes my jaw drop
US and UK real gdp per capita. they basically moved in lockstep until 2007Q4
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