Ken Acks
@costbenefitkmaacks.bsky.social
Supporting Rational Evaluation over Preconception by Facilitating Comprehensive Quantification of Costs and Benefits www.costbenefitgroup.com envirovaluation.org. Adjunct Prof NYU Schack Institute for Real Estate
Reposted by Ken Acks
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
“Uptick In Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.
interc.pt
February 9, 2026 at 6:19 PM
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
Reposted by Ken Acks
Really interesting thread on French nuclear power.
France has ended up in a strange position after using some €250bn of tax-payer money to build a fleet of nuclear power stations. Wind and solar power is merrily entering the French power market at prices nuclear production can't match, resulting in huge surpluses of power.
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Électricité : un rapport confidentiel d’EDF anticipe une explosion des coûts et des risques
« Le Point » s’est procuré le rapport interne d’EDF sur les conséquences de la modulation de son parc nucléaire pour faire place aux renouvelables. Un document explosif, alors que le gouvernement s’ap...
www.lepoint.fr
February 8, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Really interesting thread on French nuclear power.
Reposted by Ken Acks
Lots that is grotesque here, but I think the key thing to notice is the zero-sum worldview: if we take in a 5yo immigrant, this somehow displaces or harms at 5yo American kid. There's a finite pool of "American" to distribute.
A zero-sum worldview is the molten core of reactionary thinking.
A zero-sum worldview is the molten core of reactionary thinking.
Gonzales on Liam Ramos and his family: "They're not gonna qualify for asylum. So what do you do with all the people that go through the process and do not qualify for asylum? You deport them. I understand that 5-year-old and it breaks my heart. I also think, what about that 5-year-old US citizen?"
February 8, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Lots that is grotesque here, but I think the key thing to notice is the zero-sum worldview: if we take in a 5yo immigrant, this somehow displaces or harms at 5yo American kid. There's a finite pool of "American" to distribute.
A zero-sum worldview is the molten core of reactionary thinking.
A zero-sum worldview is the molten core of reactionary thinking.
Reposted by Ken Acks
I really hate this fucking guy.
The Real Reason Jeff Bezos Killed the Washington Post
The billionaire wanted the Post to die, because a vigorous, well-resourced newspaper does not help his bottom line.
slate.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:34 PM
I really hate this fucking guy.
Reposted by Ken Acks
The tech guys all desperately need new electricity, Trump is thwarting the fastest source of new electricity, and the tech guys ... just keep kissing his ass anyway.
A Trump ‘Blockade’ Is Stalling Hundreds of Wind and Solar Projects Nationwide
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:47 PM
The tech guys all desperately need new electricity, Trump is thwarting the fastest source of new electricity, and the tech guys ... just keep kissing his ass anyway.
Reposted by Ken Acks
Whoa! Longtime conservative columnist, professional Dem hater, and spittle-flecked Obama/Biden critic Andrew McCarthy has a new piece in National Review ... absolutely taking Trump to task for corruption. Openly acknowledging it's far worse than anything Biden was even accused of.
The Sordid Story of Trump, the Trump–Witkoff Family Business, and the UAE | National Review
Even if crypto makes your head hurt, you’re going to be hearing a lot about this in the months to come.
www.nationalreview.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Whoa! Longtime conservative columnist, professional Dem hater, and spittle-flecked Obama/Biden critic Andrew McCarthy has a new piece in National Review ... absolutely taking Trump to task for corruption. Openly acknowledging it's far worse than anything Biden was even accused of.
Reposted by Ken Acks
The dull-minded fucks who are running things these days are not normal. They're not a majority. They're fucking weirdos & freaks, scared of their own shadows. Humans are creative, cooperative, & curious, they like novelty & diversity, they like movement & evolution & *life*. Fuck this death cult.
February 9, 2026 at 7:08 AM
The dull-minded fucks who are running things these days are not normal. They're not a majority. They're fucking weirdos & freaks, scared of their own shadows. Humans are creative, cooperative, & curious, they like novelty & diversity, they like movement & evolution & *life*. Fuck this death cult.
Reposted by Ken Acks
To be trapped in that narrow world, to be served pickup trucks and WalMarts and high school football and cheap beer basically remixed in slightly different combinations over & over & over again ... my god I would claw my face off.
Chris Cagle - Wal-Mart Parking Lot
YouTube video by ChrisCagleVEVO
www.youtube.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:04 AM
To be trapped in that narrow world, to be served pickup trucks and WalMarts and high school football and cheap beer basically remixed in slightly different combinations over & over & over again ... my god I would claw my face off.
Reposted by Ken Acks
Reactionaries can't create good art because the fear-based us-v-them, inside-v-outside binary overrides everything else so their only aesthetic criteria is "is this familiar, does this show me things I know, repeat things I've heard. Is this Us." Reactionary art is just a parade of Familiar Things.
February 9, 2026 at 6:59 AM
Reactionaries can't create good art because the fear-based us-v-them, inside-v-outside binary overrides everything else so their only aesthetic criteria is "is this familiar, does this show me things I know, repeat things I've heard. Is this Us." Reactionary art is just a parade of Familiar Things.
Reposted by Ken Acks
I remember thinking this specifically about the show Atlanta. It's just so unapologetically black, makes little attempt to hold the hands of viewers outside southern black culture, thick with inside references & jokes, almost defiantly insular, and so good because of it! I like things not For Me.
February 9, 2026 at 6:54 AM
I remember thinking this specifically about the show Atlanta. It's just so unapologetically black, makes little attempt to hold the hands of viewers outside southern black culture, thick with inside references & jokes, almost defiantly insular, and so good because of it! I like things not For Me.
Reposted by Ken Acks
Watched the halftime show. I guess where I fundamentally depart from MAGA is that, when I see something like this, celebrating a culture that's not quite mine, with some references I don't get, something that's not For Me ... I *like* it. I like seeing inside other worlds. Why wouldn't you?
February 9, 2026 at 6:49 AM
Watched the halftime show. I guess where I fundamentally depart from MAGA is that, when I see something like this, celebrating a culture that's not quite mine, with some references I don't get, something that's not For Me ... I *like* it. I like seeing inside other worlds. Why wouldn't you?
Reposted by Ken Acks
Doocy: "The new face of RealFood .gov is Mike Tyson. How did you settle on someone who was most famous for eating Evander Holyfield's ear?"
RFK Jr.: "Brett Ratner who helped produce the ad had a lifelong friendship with him."
RFK Jr.: "Brett Ratner who helped produce the ad had a lifelong friendship with him."
February 8, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Doocy: "The new face of RealFood .gov is Mike Tyson. How did you settle on someone who was most famous for eating Evander Holyfield's ear?"
RFK Jr.: "Brett Ratner who helped produce the ad had a lifelong friendship with him."
RFK Jr.: "Brett Ratner who helped produce the ad had a lifelong friendship with him."
Reposted by Ken Acks
If the kidnapper(s) of Nancy Guthrie have indeed asked to have their ransom paid in crypto, that will be the most spectacular confirmation so far that criminality is the only compelling use case for crypto’s existence.
February 8, 2026 at 6:27 PM
If the kidnapper(s) of Nancy Guthrie have indeed asked to have their ransom paid in crypto, that will be the most spectacular confirmation so far that criminality is the only compelling use case for crypto’s existence.
Reposted by Ken Acks
The dull teeth-gnashing about Bad Bunny should be considered in the context of how the right responded to the rise of AOC. She was criticized for having lived in the suburbs and being called Sandy by her friends. How dare she “act White”! How dare he not!
February 9, 2026 at 3:40 PM
The dull teeth-gnashing about Bad Bunny should be considered in the context of how the right responded to the rise of AOC. She was criticized for having lived in the suburbs and being called Sandy by her friends. How dare she “act White”! How dare he not!
Reposted by Ken Acks
My colleague got into Trump's sprawling family detention camp, which is full of toddlers, kids, & teens.
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
February 9, 2026 at 3:35 PM
My colleague got into Trump's sprawling family detention camp, which is full of toddlers, kids, & teens.
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
- Kids have cut themselves or talked about suicide
-There's worms & mold in food
-300 kids have been held for 30+ days, far longer court settlement allows
www.propublica.org/article/life...
Reposted by Ken Acks
Kerryman who is married, living and working legally in the United States for >20 years has been incarcerated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) since September 2025.
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irish man with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:36 AM
Kerryman who is married, living and working legally in the United States for >20 years has been incarcerated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) since September 2025.
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Reposted by Ken Acks
Bad Bunny’s closing messages during his Super Bowl performance:
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love”
“Together, we are America”
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love”
“Together, we are America”
February 9, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Bad Bunny’s closing messages during his Super Bowl performance:
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love”
“Together, we are America”
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love”
“Together, we are America”
Reposted by Ken Acks
I hope this clears up any confusion.
February 8, 2026 at 12:52 PM
I hope this clears up any confusion.
Reposted by Ken Acks
Trump’s Stifling of Dissent Reaches a New Level www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | Trump’s Stifling of Dissent Reaches a New Level (Gift Article)
Measuring America’s slide toward democratic erosion.
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Trump’s Stifling of Dissent Reaches a New Level www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Why Trump’s Attack on Refugees Could Hurt Grandma www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-atta...
Why Trump’s Attack on Refugees Could Hurt Grandma
It’s immigrants from ‘shithole’ countries who care for our elderly, and nobody’s lining up to take their place.
www.thebulwark.com
February 8, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Why Trump’s Attack on Refugees Could Hurt Grandma www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-atta...
Opinion: How Trump has pocketed $1,408,500,000 in the first year of his second term messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/render
Opinion: How Trump has pocketed $1,408,500,000 in the first year of his second term
messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Opinion: How Trump has pocketed $1,408,500,000 in the first year of his second term messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/render
Reposted by Ken Acks
The gutting of the Washington Post was not inevitable. Billionaires did it, on purpose.
The opinion section -- Bezos's megaphone for right-wing, billionaire-friendly agitprop -- is doing just fine.
The opinion section -- Bezos's megaphone for right-wing, billionaire-friendly agitprop -- is doing just fine.
Jeff Bezos Gutted the Newsroom. He Kept the Megaphone.
Bezos didn’t abandon the Washington Post. He just decided which part of it he wanted.
www.readtpa.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:40 PM
The gutting of the Washington Post was not inevitable. Billionaires did it, on purpose.
The opinion section -- Bezos's megaphone for right-wing, billionaire-friendly agitprop -- is doing just fine.
The opinion section -- Bezos's megaphone for right-wing, billionaire-friendly agitprop -- is doing just fine.
Reposted by Ken Acks
This seems like the correct conclusion.
From Epstein to Bezos, the Ruling Class Is Rotten to the Core
Let this week be yet another reminder that plutocrats are a threat to democracy, not its saviors.
www.thenation.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:58 PM
This seems like the correct conclusion.
Reposted by Ken Acks
This is excellent & draws out something the rest of the media is ignoring: among other things, the Epstein files have made it super, super clear that the entire "anti-woke" cultural hysteria was engineered by powerful men averse to accountability.
I wrote about the Epstein files (gift link) www.theverge.com/tech/874721/...
How the men in the Epstein files defeated #MeToo
The emails show the “anti-woke” crusaders are afraid of accountability.
www.theverge.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:46 PM
This is excellent & draws out something the rest of the media is ignoring: among other things, the Epstein files have made it super, super clear that the entire "anti-woke" cultural hysteria was engineered by powerful men averse to accountability.
Reposted by Ken Acks
A new RMI report does the math & finds that consumers save money by buying used EVs.
Tired of Gasoline Prices? Here's a Surprising Way to Save Money - RMI
Used EVs offer the secret to affordable driving – generally cheaper to buy than gas cars and can cut ongoing car expenses 40-65 percent
rmi.org
February 7, 2026 at 8:14 PM
A new RMI report does the math & finds that consumers save money by buying used EVs.