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Wes

@wescontreras.com
1.5K followers 156 following 3.3K posts

Psychology, politics, philosophy, technology, larp, psychedelics, ADHD. Portland, OR.

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Reposted by Wes
Sam @samd.bsky.social · 16h
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
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 23h
This is a fantastic thread on raising boys with consent culture.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 23h
I was lucky enough to stay home for almost a year after my younger boy was born, and wow, it was such a gift. If we valued kids, we'd give that gift to everyone.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 23h
People have been too successful at blocking data centers, so they're putting them on federal land, and my guess is they try to exempt them from state regulation while they're at it.
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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
America.gov launched today--a DOGE initiative to use AI to deliver public services. Child lying facedown on a frozen lake as the image accompanying the question: "How can I invest in my child's future" is just incredible. Way to go AI
Image of a child lying facedown on a froze lake.  above is the portal where you ask AI questions about government services.  the question matching this image is:  "How can I invest in my child's future?"
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 23h
Oof. This one hurts.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Check this out! Today, Democratic leaders in the Senate are holding a shadow hearing about the Trump admin's mass delegalization campaign. @immcouncil.org's Policy Director @naynagupta.bsky.social is on the ground in DC preparing to livetweet the hearing. Follower her thread for more. 👇
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nick @unionnick.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
On the *same day* the Cornell Seven drugged and raped Jane Doe, Cornell banned four students (including the President of Cornell JVP) from campus for three years for nonviolent, pro-Palestine protests. The same Cornell officials let the rapists off with apology essays.
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feeb @magicmooshka.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
it’s come to my attention that my tumblr post has been crossposted to bluesky, so I’m posting it on my account here #AntiAI #GenAI
recently my friend's comics professor told her that it's acceptable to use gen AI for script-writing but not for art, since a machine can't generate meaningful artistic work. meanwhile, my sister's screenwriting professor said that they can use gen AI for concept art and visualization, but that it won't be able to generate a script that's any good. and at my job, it seems like each department says that AI can be useful in every field except the one that they know best.

It's only ever the jobs we're unfamiliar with that we assume can be replaced with automation. The more attuned we are with certain processes, crafts, and occupations, the more we realize that gen AI will never be able to provide a suitable replacement. The case for its existence relies on our ignorance of the work and skill required to do everything we don't.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 29/09/2026
Great model for an ad! Seems like the next president could win just by playing Trump clips all day long.
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kenofseattle @kenofseattle.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Seattle
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 28/09/2026
ICE IS ABOUT TO MAKE YOUR GROCERY BILL EVEN WORSE Cattle groups in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas say ICE raids are creating a “massive chilling effect” on legal, documented workers, disrupting meatpacking and delaying the processing of thousands of cattle. They’re reporting millions in losses.
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"the more we dug into Rubin’s claims and data, the more we realized that the assessments should not be kept confidential. The claims were too extreme, the institutions behind it were too prominent, and...media attention to the...project and to sociology’s supposed 'politicization' was too immense"
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Firing Line with Margaret Hoover @firinglineshow.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
What should the next president do with Trump’s White House ballroom? “Knock it down” says @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu. She argues the ballroom is about more than architecture: “It’s Trump seeking to remake the institution itself.”
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
these are public forums. it's easy to forget this but we should all remember.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 26/09/2026
Make higher education free and we'd save so much money on prisons.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 26/09/2026
Enjoy a moment of cuteness.
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DrLostCauses @acpacek.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
If you needed another reason to leave Facebook, this is a pretty damn good one.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 26/09/2026
This is what media consolidation means.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 25/09/2026
Disappointed that Colossal Cave Adventure isn't on the list, and I had the same problem finding MOO2, but this was a lovely nostalgic moment. I also feel old now.
A grid of computer game covers for Moria, Galaga, Centipede, Bard's Tale, Ultima, Civilization, Masters of Orion, Total Annihilation, and Diablo II.
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Mannie T'Chawi … (the “T” is silent) @mannietchawi.com · 23/09/2026
This story is a great example of when @prisonculture.bsky.social speaks on picking something to focus on, organize around it, and keep at it! You don’t have to do it all, but what you do, could make all the difference.
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Frances Larina @franceslarina.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"Gov Gavin Newsom over the weekend vetoed legislation aimed at protecting providers of gender-affirming care from being extradited to face charges for doing so by another state." He was "worried about constraints on the governor's power to approve extraditions". www.ebar.com/story/170505...
ebar.com
Newsom vetoes bill aimed at protecting providers of transgender care
Governor Gavin Newsom used his veto pen over the weekend to ax legislation aimed at protecting providers of gender-affirming care from being extradited to face charges for doing so by another state.
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Nomi Claire Lazar @nomiclairelazar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Bluesky as a university dormitory: you wander the halls overhearing snippets of ridiculous conversations, some folks are studying, some watching sports, tankies are tanking, foodies are fooding. People up past their bedtimes. Sometimes, you overhear a truly great joke. Everyone is procrastinating.
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Six is ravenous and profane. @thesix.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
For such a silly (but fun enough) film I find myself stuck on this quite a lot.
An exchange in which Black suffragette  Edith Grayston (Susan Wokoma)and white man Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) discus call to action and complacency derived from privilege. The movie is Enola Holmes (2020).

“You haven't any hope of understanding any of this. You do know that? Because you don't know what it is to be without power.”
“Politics doesn't interest you. Why?”
“Because it's fatally boring.”
“Because you have no interest in changing a world that suits you so well.”
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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 11/09/2026
DOGE is still running the show: The Bureau of Land Management gave its state directors *3 days* to list public lands that could be turned over to Big Tech to build AI hyperscalers, after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum met with Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy
washingtonsun.com
Inside Trump’s Aggressive Push to Build Data Centers on Public Lands
The Interior secretary is quietly meeting with AI hyperscalers while seeking to accommodate them on his department’s land.
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The Mouthy Renegade Writer @mouthyrenegade.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Our health care system in America is disgusting. A clear indication that our government doesn't give a fuck if we live or die.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 17/09/2026
A meme in its natural habitat. /chef's kiss
A man wearing a jacket depicting Homer Simpson disappearing into the hedge of the green fleece.
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Mike Fragassi @refrag.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The fact that this isn't treated as an objectively valid reason for immediate impeachment, by the press, by Democratic party leadership, is enraging
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 17/09/2026
23% of the electricity for 0.2% of the jobs. Oregon just passed a law to bump the rate they pay for electricity by almost 30%. My rates at home are still higher.
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Dem leaders: Impeachment is a waste of time that doesn't accomplish anything! GOP leaders: We must seal the House and flee the city to avoid the consequences of this looming impeachment vote
newrepublic.com
House Cancels Votes to Avoid Embarrassment Over Hegseth Impeachment
Republicans are sending members of Congress home early to avoid a vote on the impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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Matt Barnum @mattbarnum.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
So many people think that the students who can't pay back their loans are going to like Vassar or Oberlin or even Harvard. In reality they're going to schools like Legends Barber College or Construction Training Center. www.npr.org/2026/09/16/n...
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Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 16/09/2026
Chuds: Ackshully, it's not fascism... Peter Thiel guru Curtis Yarvin:
Curtis Yarvin standing in from of "L'Ultimo Fascismo" sign and tweeting "fascismo" means "you can just do things."
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
wow. with this announcement, all of ed sheeran's openers for this tour have pulled out:
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denise🌈 @overrrrrrr.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
someone i know found this in their pre-genAI textbook. you can't read this normally any more
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Molly White @molly.wiki · 14/09/2026
The crypto industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying for the Clarity Act, which they pitch as “clear rules of the road”. In reality, it’s industry capture, deregulation, and legitimization of the most brazen self-dealing in presidential history. Senators must vote no.
The bill’s proponents describe the Clarity Act as providing “clear rules of the road” for digital assets, painting Democrats who oppose to a bill as inexplicably standing in the way of clear guardrails for crypto. “A no vote tomorrow kills the toughest ethics reform this country has ever put on the books, kills consumer protections for every American holding digital assets, and hands the future of this industry to our foreign competitors,” threatened Senator Lummis on Twitter.11

But regulations were previously, if belatedly, being enforced in the crypto sector by the SEC, which applied laws that cover a broad range of financial assets that fit the definition of an investment contract. Courts repeatedly upheld this application to the crypto sector — much to the chagrin of deep-pocketed crypto firms like Coinbase, Ripple, and Gemini, who responded with hundreds of millions in lobbying and saw their cases dropped under Trump [Quid pro quo]. Facing what they viewed as an existential threat from an SEC demanding they play by the same rules as other industries, the crypto sector spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying for the Clarity Act and electing lawmakers who would let them write their own rules. The result is not “clear rules of the road”, it’s industry-drafted deregulation with a loophole-ridden ethics section bolted on only after Republicans realized that even the pro-crypto Democrats installed with the help of $130 million in industry spending wouldn’t sign off on a bill placing no limits on Trump’s historic grift.Democrats considering a vote for cloture should understand what they’re endorsing: a bill that grandfathers in the crypto ventures that netted Trump $1.4 billion as investors were ruined, and leaves enforcement to Trump loyalists who have already dismantled crypto oversight and enabled some of the president’s worst abuses.

The crypto industry spent $130 million in 2024 installing lawmakers who would let them write their own rules. They’ve poured hundreds of millions more into lobbying for the Clarity Act and installing even more pro-crypto members of Congress in the midterms.Republicans are trying to disguise this industry capture and deregulation as consumer protection, painting Democrats who oppose the bill as anti-innovation obstructionists. Democrats should not give them the bipartisan cover they seek.

A vote for cloture tomorrow by any Senator — Democrat or Republican — is a vote to legitimize the most brazen self-dealing in presidential history and pave the road for yet more future abuses.
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Evan Sutton @evansutton.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
To the candidates: Elon's betting literally hundreds of millions he can beat you with a horribly bigoted anti-trans message. How about instead of agreeing with him, you do the right thing and the smart thing and take a bat to the world's richest man and his corruption?
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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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mike taddow @miketaddow.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
kudos to macklemore here for —right off the bat— the perspective and acknowledgment of who the real victims are
I'm not sure how to start this. So I'm going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.

But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.

The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don't lose sight of that.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Flock is very serious surveillance technology that cops take very seriously: 404media.co/cops-search-...
404media.co
Cops Search Thousands of Flock Cameras for Reasons of ‘LMAO,’ ‘IDK,’ ‘Hehe,’ and ‘asdfg’
The EFF found cops writing “idiot,” “WEIRD KID,” "blah," "leave me alone," and button mashing in Flock's 'reason' box.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 14/09/2026
Horrifying conditions, and this is what made it into the report. How much more happened without being able to prove it?
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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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Chuck Tingle @chucktingle.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
its wild we are so ground down by cultural expectations that its seen as tacky to love yourself. if i was just to post 'I LOVE MYSELF I AM INCREDIBLE' i promise some folks would think 'get a load of this self obsessed buckaroo, what a jerk'. fortunately i dont care and I LOVE MYSELF I AM INCREDIBLE
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This is how it’s done.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 13/09/2026
I experienced it as challenging the frame itself as silly and unserious.
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NO GODS, NO MASTERS, BISEXUAL DISASTERS 🇵🇸 🇺🇦🔞 @travisteatime.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Also, just in general, the only acceptable reason to even go on FOX News is so you get to say "This is stupid. You're stupid. Goddamn, you're a drooling moron, why am I even talking to you?" to the interviewer while live on camera, so, kudos to El-Sayed for doing exactly that.
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Wes @wescontreras.com · 13/09/2026
THIS IS THE WAY.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A recurrent theme in this excellent story about China’s progress is that people there regard Trump as essential to their success, including his ability to drive scientific talent from the US www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
In Beijing, a think tank at Renmin University recently published an assessment titled
"Thank Trump," which wryly hailed his efforts to hasten the "twilight of an empire," by undermining America's alliances, civil service, scientific institutions, and democratic credibility. In the past two years, the international approval rating of the U.S. has dropped nearly forty points, according to a worldwide survey by the Alliance of Democracies; in multiple polls, China now rates higher than the U.S.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 13/09/2026
Auditors observed election mail at 14 processing facilities and 73 delivery units and found significant flaws in the handling of ballots. In some locations, management wasn’t familiar with ballot processing requirements.
propublica.org
U.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit Finds
An inspector general’s audit found a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterm...
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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
in the immediate wake of 9/11, people talked about carpet bombing muslim countries with the same casualness as talking about a nominal tax hike.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Equatorial Guinea is a dictatorship run by the same man since 1978, with his children running large portions of the state now. We paid this dictatorship millions of dollars to let us deport random people there. Our money was used for this inhumanity.
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