Sign in

Jason Sproul

@synposium.com
1.6K followers 1.8K following 1.7K posts

Systems engineer, servant-leader, Belknap County (NH) Dems and Laconia Dems Vice-Chair. My opinions only. One tool isn't enough to build a house. We need "freedom from" as well as "freedom to". I block on vibes because personal space is good.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Patrick Wyman @patrickwyman.bsky.social · 11h
Working on a piece for Defector about Warhammer 40k, something I've wanted to write for about five years, and my research revealed that Games Workshop contributes more to the UK's total economic output than the entire fishing industry.
843188749
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Musicology Duck @musicologyduck.bsky.social · 10h
so incredibly massively fucking tired of this
Three National guard soldiers walking through a metro station
31628187
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 9h
When you turn your military around and flee from an advancing adversary equipped with weapons you're unable to defend against, that's retreating. I'm not sure we've seen anything like this in the modern era.
nytimes.com
Potential Iranian Drone Attack Led to Exit of U.S. Aircraft from British Air Base (Gift Article)
According to U.S. and British officials, 12 B-1 Air Force bombers from R.A.F. Fairford air base were withdrawn because of the risk of a drone attack ordered by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps...
6523118
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 9h
A good article, but the GOP committing to defense of democracy won't happen. We must create disincentives for lawlessness and collaboration with fascists, and that means punishment. Either we impose consequences or we allow the GOP to keep making things worse as it has continually done since Nixon.
528258
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 8h
BREAKING: For the first time in 10 months, the U.S. admitted a refugee who is not a white South African. In September, the U.S. admitted 3,386 white South Africans and two Afghans (in D.C.) In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 16,287 white South Africans, five Afghans, and nobody else.
rpc.state.gov
11600246
Reposted by Jason Sproul
mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 6h
all the "RESPECT THE TROOPS HONOR THE TROOPS STAND FOR THEM AND SUPPORT THE TROOPS" stuff the media pushed since 9/11 was a joke. A laugh to them. Every time it collided with whatever it was that Republicans want to do, the troops lose. Trump goes to soldiers' graves and laughs at them!
7472121
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Joey Esposito @joeyesposito.bsky.social · 14h
"it's been an honor to decimate this institution and make a shitload of money i don't deserve"
3513118
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Arienne Childrey @ari4ohio.bsky.social · 14h
Today, I resigned as Vice Chair of the ODP Pride Caucus. The state party expects us to be a sales team, censoring our voices when we beg candidates not to trade on trans lives. I am still a Democrat, but I will not value party approval over true, defiant advocacy. Full text below. 👇
Part 1 of an open letter of resignation by Arienne Childrey, stepping down as Vice Chair and member of the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Pride Caucus. She states that party leadership treats the caucus as a recruitment and sales team rather than a representative body. She cites an incident where the ODP censored and denied permission for the caucus to post a letter by two trans leaders addressing harmful comments made by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton. The State Party Chair reportedly called the letter an "unwelcome distraction," which Childrey notes demonstrates how little party leadership values the voices and dignity of LGBTQ+ Democrats.
Since that decision, every Caucus plan, every potential post, and every path forward has been filtered through a lens of strict compliance and ODP approval. That may very well be the party's rule, but following those rules right now is a dereliction of our duty to the LGBTQ+ community.

For me, any rule that silences advocacy for the trans community during this time is an unjust rule, and I see no obligation to follow it. In alignment with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail:

“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

We are living in incredibly dangerous times for the trans community. We are in an era where the GOP has so thoroughly weaponized trans lives that even some formerly self-professing allies within our own party have fallen prey to the rhetoric. Looking at the national trend towards Democratic anti-trans triangulation, as well as our own internal conversations, it is clear to me that this shift is much more than a simple coincidence.

We have to speak up—loudly, strongly, and unapologetically—or I fear what our 2028 choices may look like. The ODP would like everyone to believe they are a "big tent" party. However, their successful efforts to silence even the Pride Caucus—even in cases where we are simply begging our candidates not to trade on our lives for perceived electoral advantage—has proven otherwise. The tent hasn't gotten any bigger; it has simply shifted, leaving many trans individuals, progressives, and allies out in the rain.

I will continue to advocate, organize, and fight for our community with everything I have. But I can no longer compromise my own moral principles by remaining part of a caucus that appears more interested in party approval than in true, defiant advocacy.

Sincerely,
Arienne Childrey
341180261
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Mikhail Gorbaechev @mikhailgorbaechev.bsky.social · 13h
I think this is reasonably likely and also is basically an unimpeachable caucus belli for packing the Court.
1464894
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Southey Blanton @southey4senate.bsky.social · 11h
I’m running for state senate here in NC. People keep showing me polls and I refuse to acknowledge them. I’d rather knock doors and show up everywhere and then just see what happens on November 3rd.
1452
Reposted by Jason Sproul
ben chambers 🏴 @benjaminchambers.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
the proximate cause for the rise of fascism is the collapse of the center-right as a cordon sanitaire liberalism hasnt failed, conservatism as a senior partner in democracy has
212831
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 05/10/2026
This is re: Brazil. Post below is “Hard to do anything when Facebook, X, and Instagram host all political discourse.” Yes. Media ownership matters. If we are going to fix US democracy we have to take on the challenge of prying media and platforms out of the claws of billionaires.
16525
Reposted by Jason Sproul
mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
One thing that Trumpism has made clear over and over again is that the global far right understands itself to be in a ideological alliance the helps itself across borders, and the center and left largely do not.
12609125
Reposted by Jason Sproul
mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
There is a reassuring fantasy among those who have critiques of unfettered left-wing governance that right agrees with these critiques and will temper the left when in power. But the contemporary right isnt that, it's an apocalyptic doomsday cult that lives in an alternate reality.
3639131
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The world does not consent (but Sam Altman does not believe consent is required). But the world would consent to many bad things happening to Sam Altman and OpenAI.
29580126
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Scoiattolo @scarnecchia.net · 05/10/2026
It seems pretty pathetic to try to intimidate a spam labeling service that has maybe 10K users max to drum up quotes for a substack.
M
Michael Shellenberger
michaelshellenberger@gmail.com
Oct 3

I am the publisher of Public, which reaches 2 million people across all platforms, and I am writing about next week's #Disinfo2026 conference in Vilnius.
The programme lists you as a speaker in "Trust and safety through decentralised platforms" on October 8. The description reads: "This panel explores the operational realities of deploying automated defense tools across decentralised spaces."
The conference's sponsors page lists the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Global Affairs Canada as "main supporters," and the European External Action Service under "with the support of."
The same programme includes a session titled "USA as a FIMI threat: acknowledge, adapt, push back," whose description asks "how did the United States become a FIMI threat for Europe?" It also includes a workshop run by Ghost Shift in which participants
"draw on an operational toolkit (coveringFirst, what do you intend the session to achieve, and what actions will you ask governments, regulators or platforms to take?
Second, is any government, or any organization that receives government money, paying a fee or expenses for your appearance? Which governments, if any, fund your work or your organization's?
Third, have you, or any organization you work with, asked a platform or a regulator to remove, label, demonetize or restrict online content or accounts? If so, which content, and when?
Fourth, do you regard the US government as a source of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) in Europe? Have you had any contact with the State Department or another US agency about your work or this conference?
Fifth, do you, or any organization you work with, operate or advise on online accounts or personas that do not disclose who runs them?
I would be glad to talk by phone at 415-710-1042.
Please reply by 5 pm Eastern on Monday, October 5.
Michael
Michael Shellenberger, C.B.R. Chair of Politics,_ Censorship, and Free Speech at the University of Austin :: Public. News :: Civilization
Works :: P.O. E
0-1042
Led
email: michaelshellenberger@proton.me
48915
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Micah @rincewind.run · 05/10/2026
social media will be the death of us all
141607122
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Micah @rincewind.run · 05/10/2026
the brazil thing is so depressing because they did the right thing, man they did what we couldn’t, they actually prosecuted their coup and threw bolsonaro’s ass in jail and generally showed the united states what a functional state looks like and now they are gonna elect his dipshit son? really?
784399644
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Think about the core tenets of American conservatism: a government serving 300 million people and leading the world should be “small” and that we should orient all policy around servicing the rich so that they throw us gruel. It’s fucking stupid and we should say so.
16894219
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Just a reminder that these Haitian immigrants in Springfield -- who came here legally, did everything they were asked to do and more -- became a target of federal crackdowns because the white nationalist vice president shamelessly spread racist lies about them.
rollingstone.com
J.D. Vance Defends False Claims Against Haitians: 'If I Have to Create Stories… That's What I'm Going to Do'
J.D. Vance defended his debunked claims that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
10041781455
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Micah @rincewind.run · 04/10/2026
comedians suffer one (1) consequence and turn into the whiniest men alive
342452296
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The problem has never really been that conservative voters are reluctant to criticize Trump. The problem is a relentless right-wing media apparatus that tells them Democrats are worse.
16940138
Reposted by Jason Sproul
rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Because it's buried at the bottom of the article and CNN is presenting it in a misleading way: before people worry, the "unknown" part is how the worker was exposed, the pathogen is good old fashioned Y. pestis which we understand extremely well and can treat just fine if caught early
5687206
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
More Democrats need to be telling the online casino owners behind Polymarket to shut the fuck up
453767732
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
www.sacurrent.com/news/politic...
sacurrent.com
Karl Rove says Republican Party is being taken over by 'Nazis'
The Bush-era GOP political operative also said Republicans would be winning the battle for Texas' U.S. Senate seat if John Cornyn was the nominee.
76508142
Reposted by Jason Sproul
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 03/10/2026
I'm not good at math, is $800 million a lot?
electrek.co
FedEx believes $300M electric truck spend will save them $800M in diesel
In a record-setting commercial truck deal, international shipping giant FedEx has placed an order for 2,000 all-electric box trucks from...
871726342
Reposted by Jason Sproul
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 03/10/2026
You can't get anyone in political media to say it plainly, but GOP strategy for several decades now has been built around the fact that its core goals/policies are *wildly unpopular*. Everything depends on a) polluting the information environment, b) cementing unfair structural advantages, & c) $$$.
341606442
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Today, 8 years ago, my friend, Saudi Journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered.
238101843242
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Bret Carmichael @bretcarmichael.us · 02/10/2026
First, we cut funding to your schools. Then, we stop you from funding your schools yourselves. Then, your schools fall apart. Then, we blame you for your schools falling apart. Then, we dismantle public education like we wanted to do in the first place. #NHPolitics
NH House majority leader Osborne promoting a “Yes” vote on Question 2.
132
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
They're holding up a major escalation in Iran and a crackdown on abortion until after the midterms to limit political damage. To the extent that the last two years have been a right-wing smash-and-grab operation, the next two will be worse.
20262552883
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Brigid Alverson @brigidalverson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I think it is crucial for the health of the Democratic party that the entire consultant class from previous administrations, including and especially Clinton, be told to go home and stop bothering people. They are wrong about everything and have been holding the party back for decades.
151327227
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Things Gavin Newsom has vetoed this week: -A ban on secretly recording people with smart glasses -A ban on ICE agents working for the state government -A ban on websites selling your data -A bill giving native tribes more say over water rights -A bill protecting transgender healthcare providers
294112644093
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Boo!-per Lund @cooperlund.online · 02/10/2026
I have had many progressive Jewish friends tell me that they feel significantly less safe in the past few years, and I don’t think that seeing their allies being dismissive about that is going to make them feel *more* safe
434842
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Dr Hannah M. Rowland @hannahmrowland.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hope your day was better than Darwin’s, on this day 165 years ago
I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody &everything.

Charles Darwin
Letter to Charles Lyell
1st October 1861
202100062456
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Starfire’s Deranged Neocon Foreign Policy Podcast @irhottakes.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I don’t trust the mainstream media, but I feel like the primary alternate model, getting the news from the posts of a 14 year-old Romanian schizophrenic shitposter named “G00n3R the Swamp Pervert,” is not necessarily a superior alternative.
311527209
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I'd rather have an economy that makes 1,000 millionaires than 1 billionaire.
22686892214
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Sharon 🪳🌹 @sharonk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
in conclusion, x is a land of contrasts
817112
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"For America to right itself, we need changes on the scale of Reconstruction and the New Deal. And I worry that’s not going to happen if Democrats and the broader anti-Trump left are taking their cues about what’s necessary and politically possible from the Times." newrepublic.com/article/2160...
newrepublic.com
The Left Must Fight The New York Times’ Monopoly Too
The paper’s editorial vision is out of step with the robust liberalism needed today.
411670440
Reposted by Jason Sproul
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/10/2026
i think cox should spend less time weeping about polarization and more time working to convince his co-partisans not to abandon pluralism and liberal democracy
1593962508
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Wagatwe Wanjuki @wagatwe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
yet the lack of training wasn't the issue here, so why are we bringing it up.
Van Houten told NPR member station WSKG in an interview that Doe's statement was taken by "an experienced investigator" trained in sexual abuse investigations "over an extended period of time." Cornell University Police did not respond to questions about details of the length, time and place of the interview or other details of the manner of questioning before publication.
935783
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Who could have ever guessed that a guy with a Deus Vult tattoo who wrote a book entitled American Crusade in 2020 would do such a thing?
624137
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 01/10/2026
The death penalty is a moral abomination. State-sanctioned barbarism pushed by incompetent morons and sanctioned by the Supreme Court. Absolute ghoul shit. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
The lone woman on Tennessee's death row was still alive after she was administered two lethal injections, her lawyer said in a motion seeking to halt her execution Wednesday night, a stunning development after the Supreme Court had stepped in to allow the state to put her to death.
At 8:26 p.m. local time, witnesses said
"executioners had injected both syringes of lethal injection chemicals and Pike is still alive and snoring," her lawyers said in a federal court filing.
They said Pike "has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat," and that curtains to the death chamber "have gone down twice."
11746901166
Reposted by Jason Sproul
🎃 Imani Gandy Corn 🎃 @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 30/09/2026
I literally said to Portia this morning, there's gonna be a shield law lawsuit soon. I didn't think it would be TODAY. Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama have filed a bill of complaint with the U.S. Supreme Court against New York, Massachusetts, and California. Hold on to your butts.
ag.state.la.us
19544160
Reposted by Jason Sproul
"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I, uh, I can't help but notice you left out the slaver's rebellion or the Nazis on the list of people to go fight. Funny, that.
652287372
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Chuck Grassley also did not share the texts with Democratic senators before the hearing, breaking protocol.
21335201075
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
These ads go in the same category as brazen, easily disproven lies after ICE killings. It’s not about persuasion. It’s a display of power. They could have passed them off as PAC-funded. They added “paid for by the U.S. government” because they want us to know they can break the law with impunity.
351629478
Reposted by Jason Sproul
FLAVOR FLAV ⏰ @flavorflav.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Know their names: Scott Kretzschmar, Scott Norris, Diego Sarabia, Gillio Lopes, Winston Lee, Johnathan Newell and Matthew Ingalls #Cornell7 But also, everyone in the group chat, the administrators, university, and DA. SHAME.
Cornell 7Disgusting chat
17056241978
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Arizona Right Watch @azrww.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The person claiming to have doxed Jane Doe in the Cornell rape case is Aidan Thompson, a groyper nazi who runs "AF Post" which he took over from Ali Alexander (who also once faced sexual assault allegations of his own). Thompson described himself as a "rape expert" in his videos leading up to this.
4338155
Reposted by Jason Sproul
Sam @samd.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
should be instructive for democrats that Magyar is living up to his promise to prosecute Orban officials for corruption and is continuing to poll extremely highly
231635450