iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 4h

Not the most important question, but why are they mocking Trump’s combover? This seems like an Onion gag spoofing AI memes.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 4h

Really instructive to see JD Vance bob his head approvingly after FTC Chair Ferguson boasts of the EEOC's mission to "protect white American men from discrimination."

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

At last we see why Putin hand-picked Witkoff as the US negotiator, why Witkoff visited Moscow over and over again and ignored Ukraine, why Trump shielded Witkoff despite his bumbling incompetence: closing a corrupt oil deal was the plan from the beginning. www.wsj.com/world/putin-...

wsj.com

How Putin Got His Preferred U.S. Envoy: Come Alone, No CIA

The Kremlin fueled the rise of Trump’s friend Steve Witkoff with a prisoner release, sidelining career diplomats.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This oil deal is an incredible windfall for Putin. At one stroke, he gets the US to crush the oil sanctions regime and become an equity partner in Lukoil. Ukrainian drones that hit Russian refineries will be attacking business partners of the US government, untenable for any alliance.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I have a low opinion of Tucker Carlson, but I did not imagine that he (or anyone) would argue that England should have surrendered to Hitler. Rees-Mogg is properly shocked and forceful in response. And yes I know he’s a jerk, but this interview clarifies the gap between jerk and monster.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Things going great for GOP in midterms...

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

That would be fantastic for the people of Georgia, and terrible for Vladimir Putin.

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Reposted by Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 30/09/2026

I for one think it’s bad that the president can just say crazy stuff all day every day and 99% of it doesn’t make the news because we’ve normalized having an insane president

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Reposted by Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

When they get back in power, Democrats need to go all-in on higher education. We need a campaign of reinvestment in public universities across the country that makes the Morrill Land-Grant Act look like nothing by comparison *and* a GI Bill of Rights-style program of tuition grants.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Any protest is unlawful? Given NI’s history, I’m sure nothing can possibly go wrong with such a policy.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Honestly Claire Obscur defeated me and now I hate parries.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Can the next President simply reissue the decennial Census survey with 2020 questions restored?

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

College accreditation overseer NACIQI paralyzed halfway into a Trump admin takeover. Designated enemy is ABA, but the admin remains one vote short of removing their role in accrediting law schools.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

No, it's because you're a Democrat. Republicans on the Internet only read polls that make them feel like they OD'd on crack.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A thoughtful article which illuminates why the current round of Witkoff/Kushner visits will yield no significant results. But its purely descriptive focus and defeatist tone provide no guidance for policymakers seeking a path forward in the Ukrainian conflict.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The reporting I read suggested that the suit is incredibly expensive, and only California had the money (or the willingness to marshal funding) to support the suit.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Having played pickleball for the first time today, I am ready to explain what it feels like: Like you're playing tennis with a ping pong paddle or maybe playing ping pong on a tennis court. A pickleball field sounds like a troop of monkeys throwing golf balls against the wall forever.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

On Monday 9/14, ex-Fetterman staffers launched an anonymous Threads account promising dirt on their former boss. A handful of article reposts followed...then nothing. This morning the account was gone, deactivated in the night. Was it always a troll, or did somebody feel the heat?

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

But the evaporation of the Patriot licensing deal, the messages sent by Kushner/Witkoff, the decision to blame Ukraine for high diesel prices send a clear message: Trump’s relationship w/Ukraine is grounded in transaction (as w/other countries), but his commitment to Russia floats above it.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There was a point at which I also believed that Trump’s view of Ukraine & Zelensky rested on his perception of power. Trump famously taunted Z for not having the cards, then displayed respect when the bombing campaign put the Russian state on its back heel.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

“Greasing the wheels of negotiation” is not the goal. It’s actually the reverse: the purpose of peace negotiations was always to lead to dealmaking. That’s why Putin shrewdly chose a real estate developer, Steve Witkoff, as America’s chief negotiator.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Wait, I was with you all the way, nodding along, until you got to non-attitudes. What is that? I read all your emails and I’m still stumped.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

She would also likely be threatened with losing her child, which has happened to other parents.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Important win against Trump-era corruption in crypto industry.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

If you make it to the end, Patel makes the reasonable point that people shouldn't be disqualified from law enforcement just because they were sexually trafficked earlier in their lives. But the FBI can address that directly in regulations - it's not necessary to delete particular activities.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Flagging. Call today! You can dial 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senator.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

President Trump, who could not be bothered to attend the 9/11 service in Manhattan today, has just proclaimed that 9/11 will henceforth be known as "Patriot Day" - a bracing reminder of Samuel Johnson's dictum that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

whitehouse.gov

Patriot Day 2026, The 25th Anniversary of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION A quarter of a century has passed since the terrible day of September Every child deserves a safe and nurturing home where they can lear...

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

In comments, people are rolling their eyes at this question. But the Norman conquest was traumatic. The new ruling class imposed continental systems on their unwilling subjects. Whether it mattered in the long sweep of British history, though, seems like an impossible question to answer.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Kind of a weird take, in that the article notes that Dems really own the issue. DOGE has virtually no salience in Dem circles, and the more relevant actors are analysts like Jen Pahlka and Ezra Klein who argue that Dems must focus more on implementation and customer experience.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

OK, serious question. Does the mistrial even matter? I understand it means the prosecution can retry the case. But they'd have to be deluded to think a second trial would yield a conviction after this.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I was the health policy analyst at the Office of Public Advocate during 9/11. We were hearing serious concerns about air quality, so I reached out around 9/25 or so to a top official at NYC DOH. There was nothing to worry about, she assured me. They had conducted tests and air quality was fine.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Paul Schrader watched “Hollywood Shuffle” and thought the takeaway was “actors who care about moral degradation are such a drag.”

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Reposted by Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Very good point here: A lot of university leaders will think, "the Trump administration just wants us to make some vague statements - we can live with that." They are not counting on the DOJ using those statements as the basis for legal investigations. Which this DOJ will be willing to do.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I dunno, if your opponents want to make the election about you, that might prompt some strategic thinking about your most effective role.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

It's a fascinating exercise in game theory. The odds that the IRS death star scenario will actually take place seem incredibly remote. But if there's even the slightest chance that your university could be vaporized, maybe preemptive compliance is the best path. Or so board members will think.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I want to mock Thune, but I suspect he lives in the real world, and that is a precious legacy of the pre-Trump era. Of course he lacks any kind of backbone. How else could he do this job? But Thune sees roughly the same world I do.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Another excuse for cutting off congressional mandated formula funding to blue states.

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Tom ‘Beardo’ Hilliard @tomh4.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Look forward to Chuck Schumer joining DSA and running on ACAB and abolishing the Senate.

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