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Rochester.Ray

@umbrumray.bsky.social
394 followers 355 following 3.2K posts

Progressive Gun Owner. History Lover. Some guy on the internet. Aspiring somebody. Founding member of the Flower City Firearms Association.

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Reposted by Rochester.Ray
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 01/10/2026
Some good news.
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Phoenix Calida @phoenixcalida.latinsky.app · 19/09/2026
Damn
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Amy Hoy @amyhoy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
“move fast and break things” was always about breaking people
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Petter Häggholm @haggholm.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I personally don't care whether people have weird sex parties, but if the Venn diagram of your sex partners and coworkers is a circle, I don't think you have a healthy work environment OR personal life.
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The response in Israel to Naza is beyond unhinged. Mobs have shown up at the house of co-director Rachel Szor's family. All over social media the directors are being branded traitors and "not Jews". There is a frenzy of incitement to violence against them online www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Netanyahu seeks to strip citizenship from Israelis as threats to NAZA film directors intensify
Israeli prime minister to pursue new laws as directors of Guardian-produced film face threats from far-right officials and activists
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Nome @nome.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You do not need to explain, to Queer or Black or Disabled people in America, that you can't always have a perfect thing. That is not news to us. You are not providing new information. It is the height of arrogance to assume that's not already part of our understanding of the world.
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KathyLaz @kathylaz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
New docs in AI copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’ www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/09/17/n...
sun-sentinel.com
New docs in AI copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’
It appeared in a newly unredacted filing in the landmark copyright infringement legal battle.
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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Same people who seem to think it’s bad for China to beat us at AI are perfectly fine with China beating us at high speed rail, solar energy, wind energy, shall we go on
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Rachel Barnhart @rachbarnhart.com · 17/09/2026
I have asked the president of the legislature to submit this as a Matter of Importance, allowing it to be considered at our next committee meetings. We cannot allow Primecare, the jail medical provider, to be renewed for another year come January. 1/
Honorable Legislators:
This resolution would amend the County’s contract authorization with PrimeCare Medical of New York, Inc., the provider of medical care at the Monroe County Jail.
It is prompted by the findings of the New York State Commission of Correction concerning the October 2023 death of Brian Harmon at the jail. The Commission found serious deficiencies in the medical assessment and treatment Mr. Harmon received and concluded that his death would have been prevented had he been properly assessed and timely transferred to a hospital.
Most importantly for this Legislature, the Commission specifically directed the Monroe County Legislature, as the appointing authority for the delivery of jail health services, to review its findings and “conduct an inquiry into the fitness” of PrimeCare as the designated provider.
The Commission sent its report to President Román in December 2025. The report was not provided to members of the Legislature. As a result, the review directed by the Commission never commenced, and PrimeCare was authorized for an additional one-year renewal in January 2026.
We cannot undo that renewal. But we can ensure that another one does not occur before the Legislature carries out the responsibility the Commission specifically assigned to us.
The existing contract authorization provides for a fifth year with PrimeCare beginning January 14, 2027. This proposed amendment would remove that final one-year renewal and instead require any continuation of the contract after January 13, 2027 to be authorized by the Legislature on a month-to-month basis.

This resolution does not terminate PrimeCare’s contract or interrupt medical services at the jail. PrimeCare would continue operating under its currently authorized contract through January 13, 2027. The month-to-month provision provides continuity of care while preserving the Legislature’s ability to determine how to proceed after examining the Commission’s findings, the corrective actions taken since Mr. Harmon’s death, and PrimeCare’s fitness to continue providing care.
The Commission’s directive was addressed to this Legislature. We should not allow another full-year renewal to occur before we have done the work the state specifically directed us to do.
This resolution would have no impact on the Monroe County budget.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17/09/2026
here's footage of Mamdani alongside city workers filling the 200,000th NYC pothole since the start of his term This is part of his push to spotlight city workers and inform New Yorkers that all the fixes they ask for "should be directed to the real heroes, City Workers, who can be reached via 311"
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 17/09/2026
Do NOT vote for anti-transgender Democrats. www.erininthemorning.com/p/the-guide-...
erininthemorning.com
The Guide To Anti-Trans Democrats In The 2026 Elections, By State
These are the Democrats that LGBTQ+ people may wish to avoid this election cycle.
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Lenora Rose @lenorarose.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Julia Serano just pointed out, either trans people are an important enough group that candidates shouldn't risk alienating them, or, if they're unimportant and okay to alienate, then you must think they can't change the outcome of the election. So you can't blame them for losing. Can't be both.
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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“ICE agents were caught on video pulling one teen from the car and punching him repeatedly in the face while he lay on the ground. The other teen, Luis Ochoa, said he informed the ICE agents he was a citizen but was told, ‘I don’t give a damn.… Your parents can’t help you now.’”
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Levi Anthony Luckenbach @lluck002.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“The Gentleman’s time has expired.” Fuck this procedural BS that the fascists use to skirt accountability again and again. Stand up and raise Hell!
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is (a) easy (b) the principled position and (c) also the pure strategy play. Nobody switches their vote R->D because a Dem dipped their toe in the cesspool of transphobia. But it can contribute towards sporadic lean-D voters not bothering to vote, and no amount of lecturing will prevent that.
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Transphobes Can't Read @lordaslan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
gn
Trans lives matter more than Harry Potter
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Corinne Green @ket.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
mcbride wants to trade trans rights for a leadership position this is fucking insane but it's not like we didn't warn you
September 14, 2026

Dear Colleague,

I write today, humbly, to ask for your support and your vote for me to be one of the next Co-Chairs of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. I am in awe of our caucus and want to contribute what I can to make sure we hit the ground running with a unified message in the 120th Congress.

Since before I was sworn in, I have been grounded by and grateful for the genuine support members of this caucus show for one another. I have been moved by the mentorship, the friendship, and the simple sense of community I have witnessed through the highs and lows of serving in this chamber. We have all been through a great deal this term, and what I have taken from it is that our collective strength is precisely what will win us the majority and allow us to pass an agenda that makes life more affordable for the people we represent.

As we defend and deliver for our constituents in an increasingly complex media environment, our diverse caucus will need an exceptional communications and messaging operation. Before I was elected to office, communications was my profession. I directed national media engagement for the Human Rights Campaign during a period when the equality movement was arguably at its most effective. At that time, we were winning fights by earning public support through effective persuasion. We didn't shame those who disagreed with us. We welcomed them into a conversation about where we agreed and found common ground to build upon.

Since joining this caucus, I have worked to facilitate conversations on issues where we haven't all agreed, and where members in very different districts needed substantively different messages to effectively communicate with their constituents. I never asked a colleague to use a message that didn't fit their district, while also standing firm in our shared principles and what we were trying to accomplish together. That experience reinforced something critical: a big-tent party can hold both…Three things I would focus on as a DPCC Co-Chair:

Tailored messaging guidance. I would expand the DPCC's tailored messaging program so that guidance reflects the district you represent. We can be entirely consistent in our values while giving members materially different tools. And, in doing so, we should provide you with the research and data that informs our recommendations.

Competing in every medium. I would build out real new media and podcast support for members who are strong in longer-form conversation. Not only staff training, but practical nuts and bolts: identifying shows and livestreams that reach the demographics you need, explaining how a podcast pitch differs from a pitch to a print reporter, and helping land individual bookings.

Making district work national. You host remarkable events at home, and home turf is where members are most authentic. Far more national reporters, podcasters, and creators would embed with you for a day, or for a single event, than most of us expect. I would like to make that a routine service rather than a lucky break.

I would be grateful for your support, and I'd welcome the chance to hear what you need from the DPCC, whether or not you're able to support me. Please reach out to me directly, or to my Chief of Staff, Roddy Flynn, at 302-897-7199.

With gratitude,

Sarah McBride Member of Congress
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Blue Heron Farm @blueheronfarm.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I finally sat down and wrote an email to the Talarico campaign. Doing nothing felt untenable. I encourage other decent Texans to communicate their disappointment. If this can help you get started, feel free to use anything that works for you
To

info@JamesTalarico.com

Disappointment

I hope I am just one of many communications you receive expressing extreme disappointment with the campaign's position regarding transgender children.

Just as it is unacceptable for the government to insert itself between women and their doctors, it is equally unacceptable for the government to insert itself between children and their doctors and parents. Supporting a bill to ban gender related surgery in children ignores the fact that this is not government's place.And coming out for exceptions to transgender children participating in sports is equally unforgivable. There are no safety issues with transgender children playing that aren't also there with cisgender children. Same with fairness issues. Accepting the premise that transgender children aren't just regular children is ceding ground to the fascists who wish to remove all trans 0 people from daily life. I am so deeply disappointed in Mr Talarico and the entire campaign for allowing this framing to stand unchallenged and for the stand he has taken against the transgender community.

You may still get my vote in November, but you will not get my labor in the very hard ground game that needs to be fought. I simply can't fight for a candidate that won't fight for all of us.

Sincerely,

Lisa Seger Waller, TX
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15/09/2026
“trump will destroy everything he cannot own in perpetuity” is one reason i am filled with dread over 2028
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 14/09/2026
Some Dems are running away from trans people. Abdul El-Sayed, Dem Senate Candidate in Michigan, is running towards them. When asked, he fully and unequivocally support trans youth care as a matter between parents, patients, and doctors. Subscribe to support our journalism.
erininthemorning.com
"The Decision Ought To Be Between A Patient And Their Doctor," Says Michigan Senate Candidate El-Sayed On Trans Care
Even conservatives “agree that the decision about healthcare ought to be between a person and their provider,” El-Sayed said.
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The Liberal BoJack @thelibbojack.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The fact Donald Trump told his supporters Thursday night to “Cheat like hell” in 2026 election BUT that isn’t the headline nationwide shows you again how corporate media is complicit.
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Nash @radiodeadair.com · 15/09/2026
Have you noticed that suddenly no one is talking about Mamdani at the 9/11 memorial anymore? We were hearing about that shit FOR MONTHS and now as one everybody whining about it shut the fuck up.
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Rochester.Ray @umbrumray.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I like to imagine they wrote the whole thing up went to make the presentation and an intern was like "WAIT".
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Amanda Litman @amandalitman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Fun @runforsomething.net fact: 68% of our endorsed candidates won their primaries this year.
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Phil Williams @philinvestigates.com · 14/09/2026
Hellava story!!!
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Stop stop stop treating this $5k check thing like it’s real. It’s just…not.
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News10NBC @news10nbc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The local Muslim community is doing its part to combat Islamophobia a quarter of a century after 9/11.
whec.com
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Rochester holds 9/11 blood drive to fight Islamophobia
The local Muslim community is doing its part to combat Islamophobia a quarter of a century after 9/11.
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SWOP Behind Bars @swopbehindbars.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Again, I gently encourage more women to stand with sex workers. Many SWs are women who have been targeted, surveilled, stalked, abused by the criminal justice system. All things that are rapidly happening to more and more women as AI abuse increases, flock cameras are abused, ICE budgets increase.
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Rachel Barnhart @rachbarnhart.com · 09/09/2026
Stores in Monroe County will be required to post signs if they are collecting your biometric data. The law passed unanimously. I explained my vote 👇
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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
MAHA has been in power for two years. They have decimated basic science, gutted food safety surveillance and kicked millions of people off food stamps. *That* is their ideology, not their polite platitudes about corporate control of the food supply.
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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
There's no evidence that we can neutralize MAHA with a better health care system. Western Europe has universal access and lower costs — and still has huge anti-vaxx and “medical freedom” movements. MAHA is driven by right-wing misinformation, not legitimate grievances with US healthcare.
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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
“A lot of them don’t believe that their fight is partisan, and it’s not.” Yes it is. MAHA is overwhelmingly a right-wing movement with right-wing goals. The reason they make “progressive” arguments is to trick mainstream figures into working with them — exactly as AOC seems to be doing.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Mike Davis held influential roles in a previous Republican Senate and the current Republican administration, but again, he's clearly not as important as some unaffiliated Twitch streamer, so no one in the mainstream media is going to demand any Republican denounce his gutter racism.
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Phil Williams @philinvestigates.com · 05/09/2026
Have you listened to the fantastic new Bloomberg podcast “Our Town”? It is the story of what is happening in Gainesboro, TN. You will definitely want to watch my interview with the two podcasters. Subscribe NOW to get the full video when it's released.
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
A tornado hit Detroit's East Side last night so we came out to assess the damage and check in on the community. To support residents who need water, food, and batteries to get through the next few days, go to: afterthestormmi.org
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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe. Age verification makes everyone less safe.
techdirt.com
Hackers Had A Live Feed Of Every ID This Verification Company Scanned. For Over A Year.
From the very beginning of this recent obsession with identifying everyone online (yes, they like to call it "age" verification, but it always ends up as identity verification), we've been pointing out that it was a huge privacy nightmare waiting to happen. Or maybe it wasn't waiting. Maybe it was already happening. This week a...
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Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I do wonder what the discourse would be if the Dems' biggest super PAC spender was holding debates on his social media site about whether Jewish people count as white
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 02/09/2026
Everywhere he went, Ed Markey's biggest applause line was about protecting trans people. The Massholes yearn for trans liberation.
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Tim Murphy @timothypmurphy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"standing" is my favorite fake legal thing. come on, you just made that up, I read the news
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Tim Murphy @timothypmurphy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
DSA should claim Mike Rogers is a member so people can cover his views
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 29/08/2026
I think maybe Democrats should be trashing this guy and not a twitch streamer
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Rachel Barnhart @rachbarnhart.com · 27/08/2026
People can put out statements about Trump renaming Lake Ontario faster than they can a gruesome death at the Monroe County Jail.
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Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I interviewed Maine's new Democratic senate candidate. He's pretty cool
prospect.org
Troy Jackson Is Looking Forward - The American Prospect
Maine’s U.S. Senate candidate poses the strongest challenge to Susan Collins of her career.
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Stephanie Carvin @stephaniecarvin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Wake up, babe. The Prime Minister just dropped “hydronym”.
The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”.

The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.

We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. 

Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.
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Strictly 4 My Navigators @lizzslockeroom.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Where are the journalists? We need answers..... we need facts....
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I Travel Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 25/08/2026
The largest and oldest Black studies departments in the country have been closed, but a bunch of people decided the eugenics guy was the crucible for academic freedom.
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is the crux of it. You do not argue that this should be permitted unless you think there's *something* valuable in it. These people don't advocate for hiring young earth creationists into a paleo departments! They don't argue for the hiring of alchemists into chemistry labs!
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Phoenix Calida @phoenixcalida.latinsky.app · 24/08/2026
This fucking dumb ass Why would you even say this let alone think it will work
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