Alex P. Berg
@alexpberg.bsky.social
Writer of Mystery, SF/F, and other stuff. I'm anti-fascism, anti-AI, and pro-dog. Cute ones, especially. He/him. http://alexpberg.com
TLDR: Dems caved because they want to campaign on Republicans screwing folks on healthcare (and because they feared the elimination of the filibuster), which all sounds plausible.
Which means: primary these clowns and then vote for Democrats who might have spines.
Which means: primary these clowns and then vote for Democrats who might have spines.
The Real Reason Dems Caved on Shutdown Will Make You Want to Scream
Turns out, senators were only thinking of holding onto their own power.
newrepublic.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:39 AM
TLDR: Dems caved because they want to campaign on Republicans screwing folks on healthcare (and because they feared the elimination of the filibuster), which all sounds plausible.
Which means: primary these clowns and then vote for Democrats who might have spines.
Which means: primary these clowns and then vote for Democrats who might have spines.
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
I assumed that since Schumer asked for such a pathetically low number on the ACA extension (1 year) it would get whittled down to maybe four months and pinky promises.
But if this reporting is accurate, they're not even going to try for four months. They're just going to take the pinky promises.
But if this reporting is accurate, they're not even going to try for four months. They're just going to take the pinky promises.
BREAKING: Deal to end government shutdown in reach
Deal to end government shutdown in reach
At least 10 Senate Democrats are expected to support a key procedural motion.
www.axios.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I assumed that since Schumer asked for such a pathetically low number on the ACA extension (1 year) it would get whittled down to maybe four months and pinky promises.
But if this reporting is accurate, they're not even going to try for four months. They're just going to take the pinky promises.
But if this reporting is accurate, they're not even going to try for four months. They're just going to take the pinky promises.
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
"Among the top 10 declining roles, 3 are creative positions: computer graphic artists (-33%), photographers (-28%), and writers (-28%). Computer graphic artists includes roles such as technical artists, 3d artists, and VFX artists. Writers include copywriters, copy editors and technical writers."
What’s really going on with AI and jobs?
Record-breaking layoff reports, Amazon's mass firings, and a slump in entry level employment. Is AI behind it all?
www.bloodinthemachine.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:09 PM
"Among the top 10 declining roles, 3 are creative positions: computer graphic artists (-33%), photographers (-28%), and writers (-28%). Computer graphic artists includes roles such as technical artists, 3d artists, and VFX artists. Writers include copywriters, copy editors and technical writers."
After Democrats try to punch themselves in their own dick with a craven capitulation, Republicans snatch their wrists mid-air, insisting *they* are the only ones allowed to punch themselves in their own dicks.
Democrats make a new offer to end the shutdown, but Republicans aren't buying it
The offer, crafted by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and championed by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would also extend expiring health care subsidies for one year.
www.nbcnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:51 PM
After Democrats try to punch themselves in their own dick with a craven capitulation, Republicans snatch their wrists mid-air, insisting *they* are the only ones allowed to punch themselves in their own dicks.
We should have tax policy that makes this impossible. This man should have 1/1000th the wealth he has.
Something deeply fucked up when you can blindly break basic state functions and condemn millions to death and then people make you the richest man in the world instead of a pariah
November 8, 2025 at 2:18 AM
We should have tax policy that makes this impossible. This man should have 1/1000th the wealth he has.
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
the reason republicans lost yesterday is because theyre a bunch of weird freaks pushing policy that everyone hates
November 5, 2025 at 1:56 PM
the reason republicans lost yesterday is because theyre a bunch of weird freaks pushing policy that everyone hates
Instead of caving on the enhanced premium tax credits for the ACA, feels to me like it would be a perfect moment for Senate Democrats to dig in their heels and say, "Actually, I think it's time we enacted Medicare for All."
November 5, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Instead of caving on the enhanced premium tax credits for the ACA, feels to me like it would be a perfect moment for Senate Democrats to dig in their heels and say, "Actually, I think it's time we enacted Medicare for All."
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
The billionaires can buy the newspapers and buy social media and buy attack ads, but they can't buy their way out of how much we fucking hate all of them.
November 5, 2025 at 5:27 AM
The billionaires can buy the newspapers and buy social media and buy attack ads, but they can't buy their way out of how much we fucking hate all of them.
Wow, what a shock. I never would've guessed that granting faceless ghouls unlimited power could have negative consequences.
New: The FBI is quietly urging ICE agents to properly ID themselves in the field.
In a bulletin to law enforcement last month, it warned of criminals posing as ICE to rob, rape, kidnap—a problem it says now demands national coordination to confront.
By me & @carolinehaskins.bsky.social:
In a bulletin to law enforcement last month, it warned of criminals posing as ICE to rob, rape, kidnap—a problem it says now demands national coordination to confront.
By me & @carolinehaskins.bsky.social:
FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves
In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE’s image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Wow, what a shock. I never would've guessed that granting faceless ghouls unlimited power could have negative consequences.
We should remember Cheney as he lived, shooting his friends in the face with birdshot.
November 4, 2025 at 3:17 PM
We should remember Cheney as he lived, shooting his friends in the face with birdshot.
Don't threaten me with a good time.
Johnson: "If they had no filibuster, they would pack the SCOTUS. You'd go from 9 to 17 or however many liberals they could pack. You would make DC & Puerto Rico into states, which would give 4 additional Democrat senators & make us a permanent minority. You'd see massive restrictions of 2A rights"
November 3, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Don't threaten me with a good time.
A movie you've seen more than seven times with a gif.
November 3, 2025 at 3:26 PM
A movie you've seen more than seven times with a gif.
I mean, the building isn't GONE guys, it's just in a new form factor, specifically rubble.
Fox News' John Roberts, reacting to White House demolition: "It's telephoto compression. So it looks like there's less left than there really is. The entire colonnade of the East Wing, it looks like, is still in shape... it really wasn't much to look at. We'll see if it changes with Pres. Trump."
October 23, 2025 at 7:15 PM
I mean, the building isn't GONE guys, it's just in a new form factor, specifically rubble.
I don't like that these goons are violent dolts, but I don't mind if they're slow AF.
NBC News finds that:
-- ICE has shortened its training from 13 weeks to six.
-- Nearly half of recruits couldn’t pass an open-book written exam.
-- Recruits "are supposed to attest" they can pass the physical-fitness test, which requires them to run ... 6 mph.
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
-- ICE has shortened its training from 13 weeks to six.
-- Nearly half of recruits couldn’t pass an open-book written exam.
-- Recruits "are supposed to attest" they can pass the physical-fitness test, which requires them to run ... 6 mph.
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Some new ICE recruits have shown up to training without full vetting
The recruits have had criminal backgrounds or failed drug tests or were unable to meet physical or academic standards, raising concerns about the agency’s rush to hire immigration officers, sources to...
www.nbcnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I don't like that these goons are violent dolts, but I don't mind if they're slow AF.
Everything sucks now, but at least I get to enjoy this 7'6" phenom putting people in a blender, hitting stepback threes, and dunking from Bolivia with his go-go gadget arms. Go Spurs Go!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJX9...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJX9...
WEMBY 40-PIECE 👽 Wembanyama SPOILS Cooper Flagg's NBA debut 🎥 | NBA on ESPN
YouTube video by NBA on ESPN
www.youtube.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Everything sucks now, but at least I get to enjoy this 7'6" phenom putting people in a blender, hitting stepback threes, and dunking from Bolivia with his go-go gadget arms. Go Spurs Go!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJX9...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJX9...
This.
I keep seeing friends who aren't thrilled that Word is newly enshittified. At the risk of sounding like one of Those Guys, there is a magnificent, full featured, entirely free alternative called Libre Office that works on all platforms. I've used it exclusively for over a decade.
October 22, 2025 at 8:31 PM
This.
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
These costs are sucking chest wounds to the average American, and will be impossible to weather. This, alongside the AI bubble, the housing market bubble, the loss of jobs, encroaching inflation, and every other batshit thing Trump does, will lend itself to a cataclysmic cascading failure.
"A 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 may have to pay $31,000 for a health insurance plan in Kentucky...
$28,000 for a plan in Oregon...
$44,000 for a plan in Vermont..."
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
$28,000 for a plan in Oregon...
$44,000 for a plan in Vermont..."
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Health insurance sticker shock begins as shutdown battle over subsidies rages
Many states have shown rising premiums ahead of open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans. The government shutdown is driven by Democrats and Republicans being far apart on the issue of extended s...
www.washingtonpost.com
October 22, 2025 at 6:17 PM
These costs are sucking chest wounds to the average American, and will be impossible to weather. This, alongside the AI bubble, the housing market bubble, the loss of jobs, encroaching inflation, and every other batshit thing Trump does, will lend itself to a cataclysmic cascading failure.
Only two types of people have Nazi tattoos: Nazis and clueless morons. I wouldn't want either to represent me.
October 21, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Only two types of people have Nazi tattoos: Nazis and clueless morons. I wouldn't want either to represent me.
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
Republican rhetoric all week was clearly aiming to either depress turnout or inspire visible maga pushback. Neither happened and the press doesn’t seem particularly interested in exploring the implications of that.
October 19, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Republican rhetoric all week was clearly aiming to either depress turnout or inspire visible maga pushback. Neither happened and the press doesn’t seem particularly interested in exploring the implications of that.
Wouldn't it be great if our country's rich and powerful each had their own pair of balls instead of having to share a single diseased testicle amongst the lot of them? Then they could actually take a stand instead of preemptively capitulating at the slightest whisper of a threat.
Disney's ABC pulls 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' after FCC chair criticizes the host's Charlie Kirk comments
The network confirmed to NBC News it is "indefinitely" pulling the show.
www.nbcnews.com
September 18, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Wouldn't it be great if our country's rich and powerful each had their own pair of balls instead of having to share a single diseased testicle amongst the lot of them? Then they could actually take a stand instead of preemptively capitulating at the slightest whisper of a threat.
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
This text is buried in a larger bill. Don’t want Marco Rubio to be personally responsible for revoking people’s passports based on thought crimes? Call your reps about it!
New Bill Would Give Marco Rubio “Thought Police” Power to Revoke U.S. Passports
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already sought to punish immigrants for speech. New legislation might let him revoke passports from U.S. citizens.
theintercept.com
September 14, 2025 at 5:33 PM
This text is buried in a larger bill. Don’t want Marco Rubio to be personally responsible for revoking people’s passports based on thought crimes? Call your reps about it!
A portrait of what could’ve been if our country weren’t run by cowards.
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's Bolsonaro sentenced to more than 27 years in prison after Supreme Court panel convicts him of attempting coup.
September 11, 2025 at 11:24 PM
A portrait of what could’ve been if our country weren’t run by cowards.
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
September 8, 2025 at 4:43 PM
SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
Reposted by Alex P. Berg
The more this settles in, the more its danger and gravity becomes clear.
1. This was a crime, whether under domestic law enforcement, international law or war law.
2. By its very logic, there is nothing preventing them from doing the same within the US.
3. They are bragging about it.
1. This was a crime, whether under domestic law enforcement, international law or war law.
2. By its very logic, there is nothing preventing them from doing the same within the US.
3. They are bragging about it.
Shot:
"In his first term, [Trump] praised then-President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines for doing an 'unbelievable job on the drug problem' in the nation where Mr. Duterte’s government had sanctioned gunning down suspected drug dealers in the streets."
"In his first term, [Trump] praised then-President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines for doing an 'unbelievable job on the drug problem' in the nation where Mr. Duterte’s government had sanctioned gunning down suspected drug dealers in the streets."
Trump Claims the Power to Summarily Kill Suspected Drug Smugglers
www.nytimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 7:43 AM
The more this settles in, the more its danger and gravity becomes clear.
1. This was a crime, whether under domestic law enforcement, international law or war law.
2. By its very logic, there is nothing preventing them from doing the same within the US.
3. They are bragging about it.
1. This was a crime, whether under domestic law enforcement, international law or war law.
2. By its very logic, there is nothing preventing them from doing the same within the US.
3. They are bragging about it.
I assume we've already put the finishing touches on the toilet-cleaning robot, the garden-weeding robot, and the dinner-cooking robot, then.
Scientists built a badminton-playing robot with AI-powered skills
A lower-latency visual system might be needed to make the robot more competitive.
arstechnica.com
September 4, 2025 at 12:25 PM
I assume we've already put the finishing touches on the toilet-cleaning robot, the garden-weeding robot, and the dinner-cooking robot, then.