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Westernlens

@westernlens.bsky.social
313 followers 152 following 968 posts

Another Landscape Photographer out west ( 2005 )

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Reposted by Westernlens
cira-csu.bsky.social @cira-csu.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Nighttime satellite imagery visibly reveals the power outages across Kaua'i after it was struck by Hurricane Lowell earlier this week.
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Ian @ianlivingston.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
To be fair bureau is a hard word to spell
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Dakota Smith @weatherdak.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Holy smokes Hurricane Lowell's eye is incredible.
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Dakota Smith @weatherdak.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
What a remarkable view. A hurricane trio in the Pacific. Lowell, Karina and Marie.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/07/2026
The Trump administration filed 32 appeals to the Supreme Court’s emergency docket in 2025 alone, one analysis found. The Obama and George W. Bush administrations filed just eight petitions in 16 years, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
propublica.org
A Troubling Milestone: Most Supreme Court Rulings Are Secretive Votes With Little Justification
ProPublica conducted a new analysis that shows the court is deciding more consequential rulings than ever before in largely unsigned orders with little to no explanation.
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John M. @jem8998b.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
In the 30s SCOTUS saw a wave of fascism around the world and OK'd limits on the president. The current SCOTUS saw a wave of fascism around the world and said cool unless the chamber of commerce objects.
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Humphrey's Executor is dead and the president can fire anyone in the executive branch at will but NOT Federal Reserve governors is really a parody of the difference between the money power and everything else in America
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Westernlens @westernlens.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
It’s wild how many drivers plow through this stuff not appreciating that it’s salt water.
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Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️ @spahn711.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Fantastic lightning display across the entire horizon.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
WATCH: “WE WILL NOT GO BACK… today is the day we see if multiracial democracy dies in Tennessee and across the South.” Powerful — ryan camp followed Rep. @brotherjones.bsky.social the day Republicans stripped Memphis of representation. 🎥 www.instagram.com/reel/DYITOzA...
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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 18/04/2026
The agency’s leadership distanced itself from the controversial proposal even though staff helped research public-land sales, shares Public Domain.
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Interior Department crafted talking points for public lands sell-off agenda - High Country News
The agency’s leadership distanced itself from the controversial proposal even though staff helped research public-land sales.
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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
A worker died at an Amazon warehouse in Oregon last week. For more than an hour, workers were instructed to continue working as the man lay dead. One worker wanted to help, but a manager told them to “Just turn around and not look. Let’s get back to work," according to @thewesternedge.bsky.social.
thewesternedge.media
‘Everyone is Replaceable’: Death Rattles Oregon Amazon Facility
A worker died at Amazon’s Troutdale warehouse last week. Employees were told to look away.
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Hey media-- Pam Bondi is not a victim -- she willingly carried out Trump's political agenda to prosecute his political enemies and undermine free and fair elections. Todd Blache is not shouldering a "burden" or "walking a tightrope." He is a willing accomplice. Language matters.
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Dakota Smith @weatherdak.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
A zoomed-in view that's just remarkable.
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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
My 8-point article re: the “Save America Act”, which wld nationalize voter purges via a centralized computer system overhauled by DOGE in collaboration w/ SSA whose databases have allegedly been compromised by DOGE. The bill also makes it hard to prove you’re a citizen if the system flags you.
jennycohn1.medium.com
I read the Trump-backed “Save America Act” so you don’t have to. Here is my 8-point summary.
Most of the media apparently *hasn’t* read the Act because, if they had, they would sound the alarm about Point 1, below
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Westernlens @westernlens.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Irony dies a thousand deaths
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Westernlens @westernlens.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
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Lincoln Square @lincolnsquare.media · 19/02/2026
What you need to know to stay safe out there on social media. Read the latest from Frank Figliuzzi for Lincoln Square: open.substack.com/pub/lincolns...
open.substack.com
Hate ICE? Social Media Companies Will Snitch on You.
What you need to know to stay safe out there.
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Westernlens @westernlens.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Blue-sky still not as good as Twitter was in this regard. Daniel was the only person in my feed talking about this - if your feed is full of info about this event let me know. I am still not following enough of the right people.
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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 18/02/2026
We were saddened to hear of the passing of Betty Reid Soskin, who taught about the Black experience during WWII at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, CA. At 104, she was the oldest ranger serving at the NPS.
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Unique Westerners inspire HCN - High Country News
Thank-yous, farewells and forthcoming welcomes to the people who keep the organization going.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
From @wired.com: “Federal records reveal ICE is secretly expanding into 150+ facilities across nearly every state — many near schools, medical offices, and places of worship… DHS asked the General Services Administration to hide lease listings and bypass normal procedures…”🤔
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Westernlens @westernlens.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Spoiler: all but a few D’s and I’s take the money.
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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
“‘What Oligarchy Looks Like’: AI Giants Pledge to Pump $100 Million Into 2026 Midterms *** The goal of the PAC is to elect a Congress that will prohibit individual states from passing their own AI regulations.” 2/11/26 … 1/ www.commondreams.org/news/ai-supe...
commondreams.org
‘What Oligarchy Looks Like’: AI Giants Pledge to Pump $100 Million Into 2026 Midterms | Common Dreams
Silicon Valley elites plan to spend big in 2026 to influence Congress for AI-friendly legislation. Leading the Future PAC pledges $100 million.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
futurism.com
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Republicans’ new tax law decreased Amazon's taxes 87%, while the corporate giant's profits grew. The company’s U.S. taxes went $9 billion $1.2 billion. Amazon is also in the process of cutting 30,000 jobs.
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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
"And all of this is happening not after the great shocks of a depression or a world war, not at a time when the country was reeling from earth-shattering events...The rise of Trump came at a time of relative peace and prosperity. We have no excuse for having succumbed to the degree we already have."
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 03/02/2026
Exclusive: Homeland Security has used what’s known as an administrative subpoena, a legal tool that federal agencies can issue without an order from a judge or grand jury. Under President Trump, DHS has weaponized the tool to strangle free speech.
washingtonpost.com
Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon
Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has weaponized administrative subpoenas to attack free speech, according to privacy and civil rights groups.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
This entire answer from Mike Johnson — the speaker of the House and a lawyer — must be seen. It is fundamentally wrong on both points: as to administrative warrants (which need not be signed by immigration judges) and as to judicial warrants (which are not "new" for authorizing home entry).
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Media Matters for America @mmfa.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Tom Homan in August: ICE agents “need a judicial warrant for a search” ⬇️
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
It is one thing to seize old ballots; it is quite another to imagine federal agents seizing ballots from county offices on election night or the day after. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/dojs...
democracydocket.com
DOJ’s legal machinery to subvert the 2026 election is already in place
It is one thing to seize old ballots; it is quite another to imagine federal agents seizing ballots from county offices on election night or the day after.
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 01/02/2026
“The Gilded Age saw an eruption of scandal and corruption that accompanied and even enabled the transformation of the American economy alongside explosive changes in technology,” Walter Russell Mead argues. “Trump’s Washington looks like the Gilded Age on steroids.”
bit.ly
The Rise of the Tech Hamiltonians
The political coalition that has formed under Trump’s banner has the potential to reshape American politics.
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 30/01/2026
The harping about 2020 was never about the past. It was and is about the future: using a lie about a "stolen election" to actually steal elections.
lnk.thebulwark.com
Trump Is Still Obsessed with Stealing Elections
The FBI’s seizure of Georgia ballots is as much about future elections as past ones.
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Joel Berry, Managing Editor of the Babylon Bee, wrote this AM that: “If we lose heart every time a feral Communist commits suicide by cop, our country isn’t gonna make it *** I’m so beyond letting my Christian compassion get weaponized by Leftist death-worshippers…” (His “Christian compassion”) 1/
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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
I will never forgive the legacy media for failing to pick up where Heidi left off. Perhaps they were intimidated or fooled by what this network did to Heidi. Except what they did was the tell, ie, she was onto something big. Now some of the people in the same network are targeting Don Lemon.
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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
"There are more of us than there are of them" is generally true under any government, but it is especially true in a country where the vast majority of police are state/local beyond federal commandeering, and federal agencies are built for elite specialization, not mass manpower occupying streets.
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Westernlens @westernlens.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
A critical mass of our “essential workers” in many industries, but especially healthcare, are immigrants.
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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
This is what secret police do and repressive regimes.
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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
“We have a nice little database.” Two weeks ago I wrote about the risk of Trump using his NSPM-7 memo to treat citizens exercising their rights like terrorists. Now it’s a reality. joycevance.substack.com/p/the-week-a...
joycevance.substack.com
The Week Ahead
January 11, 2026
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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Opsec culture in activism legitimately needs to die
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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Immediate punishment for speaking out against the regime.
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CREW @citizensforethics.org · 21/01/2026
16 years ago, the Citizens United ruling set the stage for billionaires to take over our government. Now, under the Trump admin, corruption and self-enrichment are at an all-time high—leaving everyday Americans with less of a say in politics compared to the rich and powerful.
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Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 18/01/2026
The pardons came about after the daughter of one of the defendants gave $2.5 million to MAGA Inc. on Dec. 31, 2024, and another $1 million donation in late July... www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
nbcnews.com
Trump pardon of former Puerto Rico governor failed to include a relevant criminal case
The White House said an additional document pardoning Wanda Vázquez Garced will be signed out of an abundance of caution.
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bluestatedon.bsky.social @bluestatedon.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
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Cannonball Adderall @echoloop.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
This was always their real flag
Gadsden Flag but the snake is being crushed by a boot. 

The text on the flag read ONE DAY I'LL OWN THIS BOOT
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Who Funds the Right @whofundstheright.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
We have recently added ICE collaboration to our database tracking support for the right wing thanks to great work by 404 Media and the Nation. Will add this one as a source also. whofundstheright.org
whofundstheright.org
Who Funds the Right
Your data source for information on which American companies donated to the right, sponsor right wing news, rolled back diversity, and have right wing ownership.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
New: meet ELITE, the Palantir app ICE is using to find neighborhoods to raid. Map interface; officers search for immigrants; click person to bring up individual dossier. This is clearest link between what Palantir is building and ICE's activities on the ground yet www.404media.co/elite-the-pa...
404media.co
‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid
Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activit...
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 14/01/2026
“Parliament had turned over its constitutional authority to Hitler and thereby committed suicide, though its body lingered on in an embalmed state.” Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (p. 331)
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
ICE’s hiring process is even worse than expected (hiring ppl who don’t even finish the paperwork, future-dating untaken med clearances, etc.). Which seems like something Dem candidates should jump on NOW. Like: “We will claw back bonuses of anyone who should’ve failed their background check.”
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/01/2026
Yes, immigration agents not only took Arnoldo's phone, the 10th grader had to use Find My Phone to locate it — in a vending machine for used electronics, close to an ICE detention center. Read the full story here: www.propublica.org/article/vide...
"Arnoldo had filmed much of the incident, but agents had taken his phone. He used Find My to locate the phone — at a vending machine for used electronics miles away, close to an ICE detention center. The footage, which ProPublica has reviewed, backed the family’s account of the chase."
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