Francis Byrd
@byrdspeaks.bsky.social
Corporate Governance expert, lifelong New Yorker, dog lover, member of Riders Alliance and proud dad.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
We are still, I assure you, New York Fucking City.
600 ICE agents were supposed to be deployed to Canal Street. Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered instead.
Quick summary by me:
Quick summary by me:
November 29, 2025 at 7:50 PM
We are still, I assure you, New York Fucking City.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
😘 🫙
I think everyone should stop what they're doing and pick up a copy of @tananarivedue.bsky.social's The Reformatory.
It's brilliant, beautiful, and important. It should be required reading for all US high schoolers. Jim Crow South + magical realism/paranormal horror and magic. I couldn't put it down
It's brilliant, beautiful, and important. It should be required reading for all US high schoolers. Jim Crow South + magical realism/paranormal horror and magic. I couldn't put it down
November 29, 2025 at 8:06 PM
😘 🫙
Reposted by Francis Byrd
On Monday afternoon, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani told Hell Gate that the NYPD infiltrating and spying on courtwatch groups would not be acceptable under his administration.
Mayor-Elect Mamdani Says NYPD Spying on ICE Courtwatch Group Under Commissioner Tisch Is 'Deeply Troubling'
Mamdani said he will be speaking with Tisch, whom he is retaining in his administration, about the investigation.
hellgatenyc.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:16 PM
On Monday afternoon, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani told Hell Gate that the NYPD infiltrating and spying on courtwatch groups would not be acceptable under his administration.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
oh damn
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
November 29, 2025 at 8:21 PM
oh damn
What else is new?
November 29, 2025 at 10:07 PM
What else is new?
Reposted by Francis Byrd
These are not people who make this kind of statement lightly.
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
November 29, 2025 at 8:19 PM
These are not people who make this kind of statement lightly.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
If American companies cannot supply a cheap weapon that consistently works in Ukraine, then the entire idea of mixing high and low capability weapons in the Pacific is dead on arrival. If you can't deal with Russian EW then you definitely aren't going to like Chinese EW.
November 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
If American companies cannot supply a cheap weapon that consistently works in Ukraine, then the entire idea of mixing high and low capability weapons in the Pacific is dead on arrival. If you can't deal with Russian EW then you definitely aren't going to like Chinese EW.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Look, every single “deal” reached by a university with the Trump administration is a moral stain that will be seen with deep embarrassment once we’re through this. But for Northwestern to do this now, when the administration is visibly weakened, is even more shameful and inexcusable.
November 29, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Look, every single “deal” reached by a university with the Trump administration is a moral stain that will be seen with deep embarrassment once we’re through this. But for Northwestern to do this now, when the administration is visibly weakened, is even more shameful and inexcusable.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
not to belabor the point but any idea that the DHS goons make up a force as casually violent and numerous as the SA/Brownshirts really does have to contend with the fact that they are routinely stymied by a bunch of unarmed community members, even operating in force
New Yorkers BLOCK ICE from leaving their parking garage ahead of a flopped mass raid attempt on Canal Street
November 29, 2025 at 8:28 PM
not to belabor the point but any idea that the DHS goons make up a force as casually violent and numerous as the SA/Brownshirts really does have to contend with the fact that they are routinely stymied by a bunch of unarmed community members, even operating in force
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Breaking News: Protesters blocked federal agents gathering in Lower Manhattan, leading to scuffles with the police and several arrests.
Several Arrested as Protesters Block Federal Agents in Manhattan Garage
The confrontation appeared to foil a possible ICE raid nearby, underscoring the numerous challenges the federal government faces in trying to stage raids in a dense city like New York.
nyti.ms
November 29, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Breaking News: Protesters blocked federal agents gathering in Lower Manhattan, leading to scuffles with the police and several arrests.
Of course they are, their belief is the those people with the best genes will survive and prosper - and all others will sicken, suffer and die.
I can't read this as anything other than a direct assault on the vaccine industry. Full stop. They are laying the groundwork to prevent all vaccine R&D. Not directly, but by requiring study designs for approval that are scientifically unnecessary and financially inviable.
Here's Prasad's full email, if you'd like to read it for yourself: www.washingtonpost.com/documents/30...
And I jotted down a few thoughts on my substack, including how the strategy of "asking more evidence" — which on the surface, sure, everyone wants more data — can lead to red tape.
And I jotted down a few thoughts on my substack, including how the strategy of "asking more evidence" — which on the surface, sure, everyone wants more data — can lead to red tape.
November 29, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Of course they are, their belief is the those people with the best genes will survive and prosper - and all others will sicken, suffer and die.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr. helped Sofi secure an H-2A visa, promising a job on a Georgia blueberry farm.
When she arrived, she was not sent out to work in the fields like the others.
She was forced to live at his house and sign a marriage license.
By @maxblau.bsky.social
When she arrived, she was not sent out to work in the fields like the others.
She was forced to live at his house and sign a marriage license.
By @maxblau.bsky.social
A Farmworkers Visa Promised Her a Better Life. It Was a Trap.
Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it ...
projects.propublica.org
November 29, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr. helped Sofi secure an H-2A visa, promising a job on a Georgia blueberry farm.
When she arrived, she was not sent out to work in the fields like the others.
She was forced to live at his house and sign a marriage license.
By @maxblau.bsky.social
When she arrived, she was not sent out to work in the fields like the others.
She was forced to live at his house and sign a marriage license.
By @maxblau.bsky.social
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Another look at the future of the IBX from amNY, this time exploring the neighborhood of the proposed Utica Ave stop!
IBX Stop by Stop: MTA’s planned light rail is a short ride to a shopper’s paradise in south Brooklyn
The MTA's planned IBX light rail is positioned to have many stops in Brooklyn and Queens, including stops in Middle Village, Flatbush and Canarsie.
www.amny.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Another look at the future of the IBX from amNY, this time exploring the neighborhood of the proposed Utica Ave stop!
Reposted by Francis Byrd
one reason "great power competition" is a bad description of the emerging order is that an interlinked global kleptocracy does not care about national interests or rivalries
Extraordinary WSJ reporting today that unveils the extent to which Trump, Witkoff, Kushner and US business executives are salivating over business deals with Russia while Putin’s forces kidnap Ukranian children and bomb civilians in their apartments.
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
November 29, 2025 at 2:42 PM
one reason "great power competition" is a bad description of the emerging order is that an interlinked global kleptocracy does not care about national interests or rivalries
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Thanks to the @nypost.com for letting me check an item off my bucket list (“be the target of a meaty hit piece by a world-class NYC tabloid”) and for highlighting @transalt.org proposals for better walking, biking, & transit!
More nice ideas here:
transalt.org/road-to-affo...
More nice ideas here:
transalt.org/road-to-affo...
November 29, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Thanks to the @nypost.com for letting me check an item off my bucket list (“be the target of a meaty hit piece by a world-class NYC tabloid”) and for highlighting @transalt.org proposals for better walking, biking, & transit!
More nice ideas here:
transalt.org/road-to-affo...
More nice ideas here:
transalt.org/road-to-affo...
Well, yeah!
husband and i are trying to come up with a person we’d like to be trapped in a room with *less* than elon musk and are actually kind of struggling
i feel like the only people who would be demonstrably worse are stephen miller and alex jones?
i feel like the only people who would be demonstrably worse are stephen miller and alex jones?
November 29, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Well, yeah!
Reposted by Francis Byrd
NYPD Clears a Path for Federal Agents on Canal Street With Violent Arrests and Pepper Spray
An immigration crackdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Canal Street, but was abandoned after demonstrators and vendors caught wind of it.
An immigration crackdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Canal Street, but was abandoned after demonstrators and vendors caught wind of it.
NYPD Clears a Path for Federal Agents on Canal Street With Violent Arrests and Pepper Spray
An immigration crackdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Canal Street, but was abandoned after demonstrators and vendors caught wind of it.
hellgatenyc.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:54 PM
NYPD Clears a Path for Federal Agents on Canal Street With Violent Arrests and Pepper Spray
An immigration crackdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Canal Street, but was abandoned after demonstrators and vendors caught wind of it.
An immigration crackdown was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Canal Street, but was abandoned after demonstrators and vendors caught wind of it.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Federal immigration enforcement officials called off a planned raid on Canal Street today shortly before it was slated to begin.
New Yorkers who heard about the raid showed up at the garage where the feds had gathered, and as federal agents tried to leave, the NYPD cleared the way for them.
New Yorkers who heard about the raid showed up at the garage where the feds had gathered, and as federal agents tried to leave, the NYPD cleared the way for them.
November 29, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Federal immigration enforcement officials called off a planned raid on Canal Street today shortly before it was slated to begin.
New Yorkers who heard about the raid showed up at the garage where the feds had gathered, and as federal agents tried to leave, the NYPD cleared the way for them.
New Yorkers who heard about the raid showed up at the garage where the feds had gathered, and as federal agents tried to leave, the NYPD cleared the way for them.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
this guy is betting on a future with accountability for today’s crimes, so we should too
Dimon on why JPMorgan Chase is not funding WH Ballroom:
We have an issue, which is anything we do, since we do a lot of contracts with governments here and around the world, we have to be very careful how anything is perceived, and also how the next DOJ is going to deal with it.
We have an issue, which is anything we do, since we do a lot of contracts with governments here and around the world, we have to be very careful how anything is perceived, and also how the next DOJ is going to deal with it.
November 29, 2025 at 7:56 PM
this guy is betting on a future with accountability for today’s crimes, so we should too
Reposted by Francis Byrd
“.. Three years into the generative-ai wave, demand for the technology looks surprisingly flimsy.
“.. the employment-weighted share of Americans using ai at work has fallen by a percentage point, and now sits at 11% ..”
@economist.com
www.economist.com/finance-and-...
“.. the employment-weighted share of Americans using ai at work has fallen by a percentage point, and now sits at 11% ..”
@economist.com
www.economist.com/finance-and-...
November 29, 2025 at 9:35 PM
“.. Three years into the generative-ai wave, demand for the technology looks surprisingly flimsy.
“.. the employment-weighted share of Americans using ai at work has fallen by a percentage point, and now sits at 11% ..”
@economist.com
www.economist.com/finance-and-...
“.. the employment-weighted share of Americans using ai at work has fallen by a percentage point, and now sits at 11% ..”
@economist.com
www.economist.com/finance-and-...
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Remember, too, that Hegseth would have been rejected if a single additional Republican senator — or, JD Vance — had joined Sen. Collins, McConnell, and Murkowski in voting no with the Democrats. See: www.senate.gov/legislative/...
November 29, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Remember, too, that Hegseth would have been rejected if a single additional Republican senator — or, JD Vance — had joined Sen. Collins, McConnell, and Murkowski in voting no with the Democrats. See: www.senate.gov/legislative/...
Reposted by Francis Byrd
The South ultimately won the Civil War. I believe it will be nearly impossible to elect a Democrat in 2028 due to subversion of the democratic process.
November 29, 2025 at 7:14 PM
The South ultimately won the Civil War. I believe it will be nearly impossible to elect a Democrat in 2028 due to subversion of the democratic process.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
I think that somewhere along the way something in Stephen Miller got fundamentally damaged. This is neither an excuse nor a mitigating factor; the dude is genuinely fucking evil and he and everything he stands for should be fought against and stopped. But he is something beyond mere sociopathy.
Since Stephen Miller is in the midst of another of his Aryans-only trantrums, we should note that his family are 20th century immigrants from the shtetl of Antopol (Антопаль) then in the Hrodna gubernia of Russia. Applying his immigration rules, they would all have perished in the Holocaust.
Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I’m His Uncle.
If my nephew’s ideas on immigration had been in force a century ago, our family would have been wiped out.
www.politico.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I think that somewhere along the way something in Stephen Miller got fundamentally damaged. This is neither an excuse nor a mitigating factor; the dude is genuinely fucking evil and he and everything he stands for should be fought against and stopped. But he is something beyond mere sociopathy.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
Got a close relative who keeps saying only Cuomo can stand up to Trump. I don't think he early-voted! I'll just give him a li'l call tonight.
Trump and Musk, literally the two worst people in the country, just endorsed Cuomo.
Just waiting for Stephen Miller to chime in.
Just waiting for Stephen Miller to chime in.
November 4, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Got a close relative who keeps saying only Cuomo can stand up to Trump. I don't think he early-voted! I'll just give him a li'l call tonight.
Reposted by Francis Byrd
An anti-CRT movement targeted an accomplished educator — driving her out of two Georgia school districts.
The mission began inside a golf community clubhouse on a Sunday afternoon, where parents were coached on how to land a Fox News appearance.
(Published June 2022)
By @nicolefcarr.bsky.social
The mission began inside a golf community clubhouse on a Sunday afternoon, where parents were coached on how to land a Fox News appearance.
(Published June 2022)
By @nicolefcarr.bsky.social
White Parents Rallied to Chase a Black Educator Out of Town. Then, They Followed Her to the Next One.
Cecelia Lewis was asked to apply for a Georgia school district’s first-ever administrator job devoted to diversity, equity and inclusion. A group of parents — coached by local and national anti-CRT gr...
www.propublica.org
November 4, 2025 at 1:00 AM
An anti-CRT movement targeted an accomplished educator — driving her out of two Georgia school districts.
The mission began inside a golf community clubhouse on a Sunday afternoon, where parents were coached on how to land a Fox News appearance.
(Published June 2022)
By @nicolefcarr.bsky.social
The mission began inside a golf community clubhouse on a Sunday afternoon, where parents were coached on how to land a Fox News appearance.
(Published June 2022)
By @nicolefcarr.bsky.social