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Tom Sgouros

@tsgouros.bsky.social
532 followers 469 following 1.2K posts

Policy nerd, data science, researcher, former Treasury official, Rhode Islander. sgouros.com

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Reposted by Tom Sgouros
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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Sam G. Howard @samghoward.riliberator.com · 03/10/2026
See, it’s possible to use “big tent” and have it include the left.
Asked by NBC 10 about concern over democratic socialists from some Democrats, Foulkes said, "I think we have to be a big tent party."
"I absolutely think that he and I will have a really good relationship," she said of Morales, if they both win.
"I think it's really easy to get hung up on these differences, but he and I really had a great conversation. And I want to be a governor who is supporting Providence and him because I want Providence to succeed. When it succeeds, the whole state does," Foulkes said.And asked by NBC 10 if she would endorse Morales, Foulkes replied, "Yes. I'm a Democrat and he is, too."
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Lawyers, Guns and Money @lawgunsmoney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
John Roberts learns the reputational consequences of buying high on Trump
lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com
John Roberts learns the reputational consequences of buying high on Trump - Lawyers, Guns & Money
For many years, John Roberts’s life at his Maine retreat was a trip to the Planet Cornball [gift link]: John, who has spent over 20 summers on Hupper Island, a refuge about 90 miles northeast of Portland with no cars and barely two dozen homes. John, who swaps favors with neighbors and endures jokes about […]
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Huh. Not much difference between Republican governance and a literal plague.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've been covering the death penalty in depth for a dozen years now, and few nights have been as disturbing and dispiriting as tonight. This was a moral, ethical, and legal failure on several different fronts from many different actors. It wasn't *just* SCOTUS, though they sure were a key part.
lawdork.com
After SCOTUS allowed Tennessee execution to go ahead, Tennessee botched the execution
SCOTUS, over the liberals’ dissent, cleared the way for Tennessee to kill Christa Pike. The alarming order from DC was followed by even more disturbing developments in Tennessee.
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Jill Lawrence @jilldlawrence.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A good case from @dickpolman.bsky.social that this man’s selfish short-sightedness set us on path to where we are today. Excruciating insights on the wreckage of a legacy. dickpolman.substack.com/p/ralph-nade...
dickpolman.substack.com
Ralph Nader is still a pariah. He deserves to be.
Tilting the ‘00 race to Bush was his original sin. We’re still suffering the consequences.
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💠𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒛𝒊𝒆𝑷𝒊𝒆💠 @schultziepie.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Exactly correct! #BelieveTheWomen #Pinks
ileana.justine
"Why do men think they can get away with it?" Because you can sexually assault a girl in high school and still become a Supreme Court Justice. Because you can drug and rape a woman in a hotel room, pay her off after she goes to the hospital and reports it to the police, and still become Secretary of Defense. Because you can grope your family's nanny and still become Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because you can rape a woman in a dressing room and still become President.
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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A man replied to this saying in earnest that women need to get organized and fight for our rights and men will follow. We did that. We do that. We mobilized the largest single day protest in global history on every continent and yet I have fewer rights than my mom did at my age.
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Mari Cohn @maricohn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Russia kills their leaders, steals their land, abducts their children, erases their history and culture, and forces them all to be loyal to their oppressor.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The techbros don't want you to see this trailer. Pass it on.
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
And he’s still there, because he does what republicans want done.
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JW Mason @jwmason.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
No. I am completely serious. Complaints about things like cancel culture are entirely complaints about people lower in the hierarchy expressing opinions about those above them.
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Thee NYC angry black latina mom! ♉️🇩🇴🗽 🐝💛 @urbanmodernism.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The court was on the ballot !
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Young Democrats Are Putting the Party Back in Politics. It’s Working. (Gift Article)
Fun, free events communicate a larger goal: that everyday people should be able to afford a joyful life.
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Caræsten 🇵🇸 @cara.city · 24/09/2026
guys please stop falling for this, this is not “rogue AI” it’s “environments with lax cybersecurity controls”
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hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
INSURANCE HOW DOES IT WORK
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Governor of Utah, vetoing a bill against trans girls in sports: "Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something."
Finally, there is one more important reason for this veto. I must admit, I am not an expert on transgenderism. I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion. I also try to get proximate and I am learning so much from our transgender community. They are great kids who face enormous struggles. Here are the numbers that have most impacted my decision: 75,000, 4, 1, 86 and 56.

75,000 high school kids participating in high school sports in Utah.
4 transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah.
1 transgender student playing girls sports.
86% of trans youth reporting suicidality.
56% of trans youth having attempted suicide.
Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live. And all the research shows that even a little acceptance and connection can reduce suicidality significantly. For that reason, as much as any other, I have taken this action in the hope that we can continue to work together and find a better way. If a veto override occurs, I hope we can work to find ways to show these four kids that we love them and they have a place in our state.
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CtlAltDel @ctlaltdel.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Property tax in RI gets *slightly* more progressive. pvdeye.org/taylor-swift...
pvdeye.org
“Taylor Swift Tax” Hits Providence: Over 350 Non-Owner Occupied Luxury Properties Get Billed to Fund Low-Income Housing
This spring, Rhode Island adopted a “Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax,” which became more commonly known as the “Taylor Swift Tax,” in reference to the pop star’s Watch Hill Estate. The tax on luxury p...
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Dr. Bourbonstein Ph. D @drbourbonstein.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The "how much do you like dogs" chart we all needed.
A graph of Noem and Kash
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badcatha.bsky.social @badcatha.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Doesn't matter until someone actually stops him. Laws are just pieces of paper if they aren't enforced.
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Philip Eil @phileil.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
There's a lotta bad shit going on out there. Much of it completely avoidable if this country had elected a different president.
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Gus’s Dad @zoes-dad.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I voted for 40 years for people who did not believe in marriage equality. But they were better than the alternative. So I pressured them and continue to vote for them. And over time it worked.
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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Okay, don’t go find and harass this guy, but: it’s kind of alarming to see this specific kind of madness spreading, about a vital race that is a coin-flip. Important to squelch this kind of thinking with extreme prejudice. Talarico must win.
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
We're being told that if we sacrifice the rights of some people, then the rest of us get to keep our rights. We all know that's some BS.
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Matt Bors @mattbors.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It was exactly ten years ago today, on my 33rd birthday, that I posted this comic online.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
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Zoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
You know, your life isn't the only one in danger here, right We've got a GOP that is all but openly trying to start a civil war and you want to punish Democrats for not being perfectly on your preferred message despite being the single most pro-trans major party in the entire world.
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Zoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I think every person who does the stupid "why should I give my votes to DEMOCRATS?" act despite acknowledging and knowing every bit how horrific MAGA is--centrist or liberal or leftist, cis or trans, man or woman or otherwise, anything at all--is choosing to act like a vicious, spoiled brat.
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Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 11/09/2026
Pretending the days after Sept. 11, 2001 were some kind of gauzy Hallmark special when we came together as a country is nauseating and ahistorical. The country went completely insane and has not recovered
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Some things are best when shared.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I resigned from ExxonMobil today. I spent the last three years doing fossil fuel extraction research at both BP and ExxonMobil. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing to maximize extraction while the window to act closes, and gambling with our lives. More below.
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is kind of astonishing to think about. I mean the attack really did change America much for the worse — including by giving us the reelection of President Bush after he scoffed at the warnings — but that was apparently not at all the way Bin Laden imagined it.
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"Somehow" = "uncritical reporters willing to repeat vile slanders"
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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It is absolutely nobody's business what someone receiving food stamps purchases with this benefit. In EVERY case, the more you try to "means test" and create "moral" justifications for denying things, the more you increase the cost of the program, and the more people you hurt for no good reason.
Food stamps no longer covering "junk food" might sound positive on paper to some, but let's consider what that actually means.

A food stamps recipient no longer being able to purchase ginger ale if they have an upset stomach.

A parent receiving food stamps not being able to afford a birthday cake for their child or cupcakes for a school party.

A physically disabled recipient no longer being able to buy frozen meals even though they cannot cook for themselves.
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@Boom-WhatsGoingOn.bsky.social @boom-whatsgoingon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Think about this, true and highly disturbing isn’t it…🗳️
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 31/08/2026
Normalise saying 'fascist propaganda' instead of 'culture wars'
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Samuel Alito is corrupt, accepting gifts from people with business before the court, and holding stocks directly impacted by cases he rules on. Those financial conflicts of interest and refusal to accept basic judicial ethics, on their own, warrant impeachment and removal. If the US had standards.
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J. D. @jdetc.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Mutual aid is great but requires more effort on everyone's end than, say, a church food pantry, which in turn requires more effort on everyone's end than a food stamp program. Gutting something like USAID is either sociopathic or economically disastrous but was presented as cutting waste/abuse.
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J. D. @jdetc.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
As a general rule that applies not only to charitable giving but to many areas is that reducing transaction costs is by default good. A flaw of libertarianism is the assumption that government adds transaction costs when it's actually a powerful reducer of them when used correctly.
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William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The thing is you have to be a party hack right now if you care about good things because basically nothing matters more than republicans losing and democrats winning, but lots of people want to not be party hacks more than they want good things.
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
This would be a fabulous idea. Let's have a Democratic newspaper.
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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 28/08/2026
Not sure why this gets lost in basically every conversation about energy affordability, but the bills we pay depend on both prices and usage. Energy efficiency, from appliance standards to building codes, is the most effective energy affordability policy in US history and there's not a close 2nd.
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Matt Seyfang @mseyfang.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Here's this person's view summed up:
A story about an uninspiring liferaft.
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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Y'all... the Band of the Coldstream Guards performed "9 to 5" in front of Buckingham Palace in honor of Dolly Parton.
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Things you (and KBJ) can see a mile away: rulings like this give a Speaker or VP an excuse to refuse to seat an elected rep or senator who was elected in a state where mail voting is widely used, like OR, WA, CO. It's a meager excuse, but when has that stopped Johnson or Vance? What happens then?
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Sue AnderBois @sueanderbois.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
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Dawn Euer @dawneuer.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Securing funding and making sure it was allocated to the Birthing Center was a top priority this year. Our access to healthcare shouldn't rely on Hospitals' good graces, it should be protected.
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Marc 🍁 @marc55.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
American: "Hey thanks for standing up to Trump" Canadian: "Sure. No problem. Maybe you should try it." #cdnpoli
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Tom Sgouros @tsgouros.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is against the law passed in Congress to fund the agency. Will never stop being infuriating, even though it seems just like any other day lately.
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