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Wesley

@wessaidwords.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.3K following 2.2K posts

State and local tax policy for #CAleg JD candidate at McGeorge School of Law Ask me about my cats All opinions my own 🏳️‍🌈

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Reposted by Wesley
Nilo @nilo.bsky.social · 5h
Great stat
"Since the 1980s, pass-through businesses have been responsible for more than half of the additional share of income claimed by the top 0.1 percent."
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Wesley @wessaidwords.bsky.social · 4h
Lol
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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 10h
It may seem like small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but I'd argue that "trunk or treat" represents American society's greatest failure.
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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 02/10/2026
This summer, ICE arrests of people with no convictions or pending charges more than doubled. Arrests of people with charges or convictions rose under 20%. DHS says it targets the worst of the worst. The data say otherwise. austinkocher.substack.com/p/ices-summe...
austinkocher.substack.com
ICE’s Summer Enforcement Surge Driven by People with No Criminal History
The latest data from Deportation Data Project shows that ICE has never arrested so many people — and never so many people without any criminal history.
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Alex @purplechrain.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
“The Trump administration is airing campaign-style television ads using money Congress approved for border security upgrades, efforts to combat drug trafficking and memorials for officers killed in the line of duty, according to federal spending records.”
washingtonpost.com
Campaign-style Trump ads use money meant for border security, memorials
The White House Office of Management and Budget added $20 million to the pot for commemorative events a day before DHS awarded an advertising contract of the same amount.
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Rob Wesley @eastwes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Uber continually trying to invent the bus. All the streaming services essentially trying to invent cable tv. AI companies cycling back around and inventing Clippy almost exactly 30 years after Clippy rolled out.
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Guy Bundestrivago @convolutedname.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's so funny that they think they can buy the Pope the same way they think they bought the current president
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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
They're holding up a major escalation in Iran and a crackdown on abortion until after the midterms to limit political damage. To the extent that the last two years have been a right-wing smash-and-grab operation, the next two will be worse.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
According to the International Energy Agency, total global investment in solar energy (including both rooftop solar and utility-scale projects) was less than half of this figure, despite our dire ecological situation
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Daryl Fairweather ⛅ @fairweatherphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Google searches for "who should I vote for" up 102% from 4 years ago. What happens when AI helps answer that question for uninformed voters?
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
IEA: "Approvals for new GAS-fired power plants rose to a 25-year high last year Until 2023, most gas-fired power plant approvals were in gas-importing countries, but the US now dominates orders, driven by data centre demand" www.iea.org/reports/worl...
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The warning the company eventually sent was to a general public inbox. Stone notes OpenAI has roughly 75 staff in Australia and a lobbying firm on retainer. "OpenAI could find the right people when it wanted something. It should have made the same effort when the news was bad."
techpolicy.press
When AI Agents Break In, Governments Shouldn't Be Stuck With the Cleanup
OpenAI tasked its agent with answering a question about public spending. It has left us with a much bigger question about public power, writes Daniel Stone.
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The timeline: The agent got in June 18. OpenAI says it noticed Aug. 11, 54 days later. It told Australia Sept. 10. That's 84 days, "almost three months, from the first access to the warning being raised," per @danielstone.bsky.social.
techpolicy.press
When AI Agents Break In, Governments Shouldn't Be Stuck With the Cleanup
OpenAI tasked its agent with answering a question about public spending. It has left us with a much bigger question about public power, writes Daniel Stone.
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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 01/10/2026
People are going to clown on this but we need to remember that planning for local context is important: a city with Los Angeles, California’s semi-arid Mediterranean climate only gets sunshine ~300 days a year; so it’s important to make sure you can never ever find shade in the middle of the day.
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Buffy Wicks @buffywicks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I am ecstatic that @governor.ca.gov just signed AB 2222, historic legislation I authored w/ @asmchrisward.bsky.social that vaults CA to the forefront of protecting & rebuilding journalism in our communities. This is the capstone to vital work that began 5+ yrs ago, & our road has not been easy.
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Aaron Blackshear @aaronblackshear.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Our insistence on “every treat I want, right now” is so destructive. Begging people to care about something besides themselves
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Wesley @wessaidwords.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
These behemoths replacing minivans is one of the worst things to happen in the automotive industry. It's gender all the way down www.caranddriver.com/news/a739311...
caranddriver.com
2028 Ram Ramcharger Is a Burly, Full-Size, V-8-Powered SUV Worth Waiting For
The Ramcharger will see Ram expand into a new segment, with the SUV sharing bones with the Jeep Grand Wagoneer but focusing on V-8s.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Four-byline alert: “.. Meta claimed that $4.1 billion of stock options exercised by Mr. Zuckerberg counted as a research expense ..” @nytimes.com $META www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/t...
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Kiefo Nilsson @kiefonilsson.com · 30/09/2026
This is a somewhat hot take but I agree with this article overall. We need to be having a more serious conversation about what micro mobility offers and how to build that up than just slamming it all as a menace or looking to restrict and ban it.
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
uh,
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James Talarico @jamestalarico.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I have one house.
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Wesley @wessaidwords.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
GOP Hill staff brain-drain in action: www.politico.com/news/magazin...
politico.com
GOP Staffers Say the Party Has a Groyper Problem
Party veterans are concerned that the pipeline of young Republican talent is veering off course — and into terminally online extremism.
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Ari Drennen @aridrennen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Good piece from Assigned: still no evidence anti-trans ads won 2024, and even Third Way now says repeating the attack's language is “disrespectful.” Sarah McBride deserves a lot of credit for getting Democrats and the groups around them to this point. assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
assignedmedia.org
Democrats Lose by Punching Down on Trans Issues, Strategists Say - Assigned Media
Insiders, including at centrist think tank Third Way, are cautioning Democratic candidates against echoing Republican talking points on trans rights.
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Alex Horowitz @alexhrwtz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Thanks, Ned. The extent of the child poverty reduction from allowing enough housing to push down real rents 20% approaches the 2021 temporary child tax credit expansion.
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"In the states examined in this analysis, a drop of approximately 20% in inflation-adjusted rents—as happened in Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis after those cities made reforms—could reduce poverty by 18% to 26% and child poverty by 21% to 38%." www.pew.org/en/research-...
pew.org
The Housing Shortage Is a Major Driver of Poverty
Housing costs are usually the largest item in a household’s budget and can determine a family’s financial stability.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 29/09/2026
weird who gets a response in 11 minutes and who gets one in 6-9 months!
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Center for International Environmental Law @ciel.org · 29/09/2026
👏 Finally! After mounting scrutiny of his fossil fuel stocks, Justice Alito recused from Suncor v. Boulder. Dozens of climate suits hinge on this case, some against oil companies in his portfolio. Accountability demands justice without conflicts—or perceived conflicts—of interest. bit.ly/4yWvcnM
bit.ly
Alito’s Recusal From Climate Case: Too Little, Too Late? - Inside Climate News
Justice Samuel Alito decided Monday to sit out one of the most consequential climate change cases to reach the Supreme Court, but legal experts expected continuing ramifications due to his ownership o...
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Urvi @theurv.com · 28/09/2026
There were more men in a single documented gang rape at one school than the number of competitive trans athletes nationally. But I’ve heard a lot more politicians being asked about protecting girls from one of these scenarios and not another… I’ll let you guess which is which.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
this guy doesn’t seem to know what insurance is
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Waschesalon Grammy Campaign Manager @reginageorgebush.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
is it good when the Supreme Court is legitimately forced to address an appellate court in the manner a court might address a vexatious litigant or a particularly obstinate pro se
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Mike Black @mikeblack114.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
this was done *in the house* *by the minority* *on a bill that had to become law*, which is basically playing legislator on legendary mode and house judiciary was far from the only committee doing this, in both chambers
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is... troubling. SCOTUS is allowing the Trump administration to use an error-ridden tool that relies on inaccurate data. This tool has already led to false allegations of non-citizen voting. Now, it could "accidentally" remove legal voters from the rolls, causing real disenfranchisement.
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James Goodwin @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Bush v. Gore on steriods
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Wesley @wessaidwords.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"The city plans to dedicate about $400,000 in housing funds from the state for the initial pool of funding, or enough funding for about six participants" Loans would have 3% interest but the interest is forgivable after ten years. Only six participants will get this subsidy!
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
To be clear, this appears to be DOJ literally addressing the actions of Justice Jackson. In another recent application out of the First Circuit — the USPS mail ballot rule applications (TRO and PI) — Jackson set briefing schedules there (26A297 and 26A305) without addressing the admin stay requests.
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Ben Raderstorf @raders.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is staggering. Even the strongest voter registration system will have occasional one-off errors — someone who checked a box accidentally or something. But no, DHS claimed there were thousands of noncitizens registered. The actual number was zero. ZERO.
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Matt Darling @besttrousers.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is: 1.) A very cool innovative program! 2.) A nice illustration of how means testing is often a product of administrative convenience/necessity and not ideology.
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Rachel Goodman @rachelegoodman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Congress made it illegal for government money to be spent on propaganda-- including partisan and self-aggrandizing materials like this astounding ad. Americans know authoritarian, leader-worshipping propaganda when they see it, and here it is, paid for with their tax dollars in defiance of the law.
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Stephen Nuñez @socio-steve.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Given today's news about the NY state lawsuit against Polymarket, I am reupping this piece (part of a series!) by my @rooseveltinstitute.org colleagues @bradlipton.bsky.social and @todusola.bsky.social rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/since-k...
rooseveltinstitute.org
Since Kalshi's Launch, Ordinary Users Have Lost Half a Billion Dollars
Prediction markets claim to outperform traditional gambling by matching users against each other instead of a house. However, most participants end up competing against professional traders, and evide...
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Wesley @wessaidwords.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is the future AI bros want
static.klipy.com
Wall-E and Humans on the Axiom
Alt: Wall-E and Humans on the Axiom
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 24/09/2026
We call this a concentration camp, your honor.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 24/09/2026
"No one on Bluesky thinks they’re interacting with a cross section of the population. But a lot of people on X do think that." talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/we-di...
talkingpointsmemo.com
We Didn’t Know Until This Day … Twitter Was the Echo Chamber All Along
Daniel Drezner says we are now in the Wile E. Coyote phase...
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Truly how does this person breathe
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Remember when they said (lied) that USAID was corrupt? $400 million was handed out to 30 countries, with no real oversight and with workarounds to bypass human rights safeguards typically given to U.S. foreign assistance payments. Immigration is just a giant trough of corruption right now.
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David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
to be clear, the admin is alleged to have deported AT LEAST 25,447 individuals TO COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT THEIR OWN with, evidently, ZERO PROTECTIONS. this is a scandal and crime of historic proportions.
forbiddenstories.org
The Deportation Project Map
Between 2025 and August 2026, the Trump administration deported over 25,000 people to countries other than their country of origin. Very few of these removals were publicly announced by the US. The De...
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Omri Marian @omrimarian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
When we start making the people in charge personally liable and throw them behind bars when stuff like this happens, it will stop. That's all the regulation we need.
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Kathryn Brightbill ✒️ @kebrightbill.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I've argued since long before covid that we'd be better off if the US became a masking culture where it's normal to throw on a mask if you're sick so you don't spread it to others, and this kind of mask maximalism is massively counterproductive because it sends the message that it's all or nothing.
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Kathryn Brightbill ✒️ @kebrightbill.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
For sure. They've bought into the antivaxer belief that something isn't a real vaccine and doesn't work unless it provides total sterilizing immunity, which is how you end up with Taylor Lorenz arguing masks are more important than getting an MMR.
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the beggars out of here getter @milesklee.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
malpractice story packaging in that the more pertinent details are: this guy is a bodybuilder promoter who killed his own son with a $100K divorce on wheels but is crowdfunding his funeral on a page that just says he was “accidentally struck by a moving vehicle” and they’re close to half that amount
latimes.com
Young boy killed after father backs Cybertruck into him, police say
A California man accidentally hit and killed his 6-year-old son while backing out of the family’s driveway near Temecula in a Tesla Cybertruck, according to police reports.
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Wesley @wessaidwords.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Saline County Sheriff's Office said that Lanham was skating west on East Country Club Road when an 82-year-old woman driving westbound struck him with her car. "She knew she struck something. She just wasn't sure what," Lieutenant Scott Trembley said. www.yahoo.com/news/us/arti...
yahoo.com
Man attempting to rollerblade across America killed in hit-and-run
Joachim Lanham spoke with his family the day of the fatal crash, telling them how much he loved cross-country roller skating
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