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William Dobbins

@wcdobbins.bsky.social
412 followers 1.2K following 693 posts
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Reposted by William Dobbins
Nafnlaus 🇮🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦 @nafnlaus.bsky.social · 15h
Working on concept art for an edutainment electoral system game (you design your electoral system, run it through a full campaign, and then citizens (who strategic vote and have varied stances on hot-button issues) vote; your goal is to get the highest majoritarian and utilitarian satisfaction.
Random citizen of Ballot Island: Grog, an unfrozen caveman, trying to understand this modern world.Random citizen of Ballot Island: Hugh Mann, an alien masquerading as human, with secretive plans toward humanity.Random citizen of Ballot Island: Barnaby Snagline, a chronically ineffective fisherman.Random citizen of Ballot Island: Vance Veneer, a shady landlord.
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Michael Druker 🇨🇦 @mdruker.app · 06/10/2026
47% of the seats with 28% of the vote 15% of the seats with 21% of the vote 0% of the seats with 13% of the vote Seriously what the hell kinda way to elect a government is this (numbers are preliminary)
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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
And the fact that some of these ads originally ran AS CAMPAIGN ADS in 2024 kinds of seals the deal.
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I'm running for office on a platform of job guarantees and climate nihilism. If you need a job you're going to be paid a fair wage to go out and sequence the genomes of species we're about to loose.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 05/10/2026
"The most important fact they establish is that the traditional narrative of Marbury v. Madison—the decision that supposedly established judicial supremacy in the United States, as taught in high schools across the country—is an invented tradition." prospect.org/2026/10/05/o...
prospect.org
The Supreme Court’s Power Is Based on the Lie of Its Supremacy - The American Prospect
The Constitution does not establish a judicial dictatorship.
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John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Most political independents in the US lean toward one party, but it might be more accurate to say that they lean *away from* the other party, as this new @pewresearch.org chart shows. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Bar chart showing why political independents in the United States lean toward one part or the other. By far the top cited reason is the perceived harm of the other party's policies. The chart is based on a May 2026 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults.
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Colin @colin-fraser.net · 12/09/2026
The Bostrom story has this weird dichotomy where “intelligence” operates over this incredibly rich and nuanced space such that the AI can predict and optimize over the full open universe, but “final goals” are specified in these blunt Midas-like terms like “maximize paperclips”.
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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I prefer the incremental solution that can be implemented through bare-majority legislation (240 Supreme Court justices) to Third Way's radical plan, which requires fully amending the Constitution (term limits)
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mattie lubchansky @mattielubchansky.com · 29/09/2026
awoke this morning with a Vision
that diagram showing  the SUV blind spot in the front but it's lowly worm driving his little applemobile
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Aubrey Gilleran @aubreygilleran.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
When a Billboard chart-topper used to break records, you didn't have to write articles in "Rolling Stone" scolding people for not having heard it. Because it truly was inescapable. Media just doesn't work that way anymore.
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
After years of studying this issue from a distance, the gay agenda seems to be to make the boyfriend of the birthday girl uncomfortable at the bar.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
The biggest challenge for the US political system is reforming itself so that it can work with regular alternation in party control without either party trying to murder the other party's voters with secret police outside the law or, more generally, ignoring our Constitution.
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Robert Black @hurricanexyz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Yeah. The thing is that the backlash to Trump is probably going to be the best chance we get for a while to fix some of the stuff that needs fixing but has immense inertia protecting it
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
13/ By the end of 2024, FBI agents had enough evidence to pursue a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers of both political parties. They asked their supervisors to approve a new investigation. Then Trump returned to the White House.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵
Martin Kao, CEO of defense contractor Navatek, poses next to Sen. Susan Collins for a photo. Collins is holding a model of a boat in her hands. Behind them is a large sign with the Navatek logo.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 21/09/2026
this is a bit of an obsession of mine especially here in charlottesville. the cost of commercial real estate is prohibitive if you want to experiment and the city seems categorically opposed to small lots and small units that could allow people to start businesses without a huge capital investment
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Scout Finch @oldedemocrat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I have trouble keeping up with the AI issues. What's the significance of this map?
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 16/09/2026
All the September dynamical ENSO models (including SINTEX) are now in, and they give a 100% chance of a record event this year using the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) metric:
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Using a French derived word no less.
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Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The girlboss economy
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
every time carbon removal gets posted about there's a certain "we have trees at home" genre of response. which I get, on some level, because the forces of fossil capital are indeed that comically evil and dishonest. but: 1) actual scientists also research these things 2) they thought of that
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M. Velez @thunderstick.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"A giant dirigible balloon with a nuclear engine and almost 2,000 people on board – that’s how the USSR saw the future of airships."
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Science Magazine @science.org · 04/09/2026
Butterfly populations across the U.S. are in alarming decline, a 2025 Science study found. ⁠ The authors note that butterflies have the potential for rapid recovery under favorable conditions, showing the importance of proactive conservation strategies.⁠ scim.ag/46vegsb #NationalWildlifeDay
Rapid butterfly declines across the United States during the 21st century
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Dan Gearino @dangearino.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I dug into 1H2026 electricity generation data, and found something truly incredible. Look at Texas and California, which are both adding gobs of solar and storage, but very at opposite ends on this list of net change in generation: insideclimatenews.org/news/0309202... #energysky
A list of net change in electricity generation from the first half of 2025 to the first half of 2026. The top five, in order, were TX, WA, TN, OH and NM. At the very bottom was California, with had a net decrease.
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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
Map showing Lower Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
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Micah @rincewind.run · 02/09/2026
I expect that republicans will get wiped out in november and that 2028 won't go much better for them I also expect that voters will be more than happy to give the arsonists another chance in 2030
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Eva Holland @evaholland.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"The USFS said the climbers told them they had used an artificial intelligence platform, YouTube videos and AllTrails to plan the trip. They said they relied on AI to decide what food to bring and how much food and water they would need." 🙃
krcrtv.com
Three Mount Shasta climbers rescued after relying on AI to plan climb
Three novice climbers were rescued from Mount Shasta on Sunday after becoming lost, running low on supplies and spending an unplanned night in Mud Creek Canyon,
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Rob Shearer @r.v.cx · 31/08/2026
A lot of people seem to think Putin should have just bought Ukraine from Big Tech, who draw the borders.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Just a little data wrinkle. But was just looking at some polling data and noticed down in the cross tabs that people are slightly more eager to have a nuclear power plant in their small rural town than an AI data center.
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jswaneylaw @jswaneylaw.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
For every positive court ruling there’s some Trump appointee waiting in the wings to drop some bullshit in contravention of the clearest laws imaginable. Truly banana republic shit.
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Matt Zeitlin @zeitlin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
It's very very hot in Texas. But the grid is fine. Electricity prices are manageable. What happened? 🔋🔋🔋🔋BATTERIES!!! 🔋🔋🔋 heatmap.news/energy/texas...
heatmap.news
The Texas Grid Has Had a Boring Summer Thanks to Batteries
Temperatures are high, but electricity drama is low.
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Her's was truly an amazing story! Sometimes we don't truly appreciate something until it's taken away from us.
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 25/08/2026
Venkata Vasamsetty is a special education teacher who entered the U.S. legally in 1999 and obtained her green card in 2013. She is detained by ICE and faces deportation for "violating residency conditions" because she caught COVID during a trip to India and couldn't return within a six-month period
ajc.com
‘Nightmare doesn’t end’: Indian grandmother faces deportation despite green card
Venkata Vasamsetty’s case shows how immigrants with years of lawful status can become subject to detention and deportation.
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Joe Ickowski @joeick.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The biggest lesson from Ukrainians skeet shooting the damn things out of the back of a prop plane is that drone defense isn't really a technology problem, it's a mass problem. If I'm worried about FPV drones, on balance I'd probably take a WW2 AAA battalion over a Patriot battery
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
There's no steering wheel, but it's important to have slightly stilted conversation with the back of someone's head about the different places they've lived, how old their kids are, and their frankly unhinged food recommendations.
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Lauri Myllyvirta @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The falling trend in China's coal-fired power generation isn't limited to July: coal power has now been falling for eight weeks straigth, from mid-June to mid-August. The second week of August saw a sharp 12% drop year-on-year.
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
It's all this and one older guy using the computers to search and print off a lot of something. He's not rushed. He's not harried. In fact, we're all actively avoiding finding out more about what's he working on.
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Kevin Bird @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Imagining a marginalized person to get mad on behalf of (for myself)
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I wonder who at WNYC / Radiolab is insisting the hosts narration of looking for parking spots makes into radiolab these days. It's an NPR podcast, we're all listening as we're looking for a parking spot.
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I'm calling it, protein enriched coffee is the highwatermark of the protein in everything trend.
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William Dobbins @wcdobbins.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I was willing to believe all these numbers until I got to the alleged vulture death toll, and now I'm skeptical of everything.
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Danny Cherry Jr (twitter/Insta/tiktok: @Deecherrywriter) @deecherrywriter.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I think I may be raising a racist toddler. My biracial child won’t stop pointing at random white men above the age of 60 and shouting “pawpaw!” excitedly.
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Birb_at_Arms @birblib.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I want to see more fantasy worlds where wizards start to find their jobs threatened by advances in firearms. A battery of cannons is expensive and clunky, but it can do as much damage or more as any spell in the D&D player manual. Benefit of not being gatekept by a small cabal of magic users too.
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Matthew Downhour @matthewdownhour.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Would somebody actually do that? Compromise their stated beliefs for viewership and subscribers?? Who???
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CavsKermit @cavskermit.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I don't think these folks are stupid anymore. I think they imagined a system even more corrupt than the one Trump is currently presiding over.
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John Smillie @johnsmillie42.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Any time you see a picture of wind turbine blades piled up for disposal, remember - even if none of it gets recycled (which it increasingly can) - it's about a 95% reduction in solid waste from coal ash (just the ash! not the CO2 or mine waste or additional CO2 and methane from mining and transport)
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Never forget, a 13-year study found that protected bike-lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for all road users. ALL ROAD USERS. What about painted bike-lanes? No safety improvement at all. For sharrows, it’s actually safer to NOT have them. Via @usa.streetsblog.org @nyc.streetsblog.org
usa.streetsblog.org
Separated Bike Lanes Means Safer Streets, Study Says — Streetsblog USA
Cities that build protected lanes for cyclists end up with safer roads for people on bikes and people in cars and on foot, a new study of 12 large metropolises revealed Wednesday.
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Decorative Jord @jnatc.im · 12/01/2026
Immense skill issue to not have found this immediately obvious in 2016
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