Courtenay Bird
@courtenaybird.bsky.social
NYC. Tech. History. Books. Dogs. Democracy.
M.S. Digital Media, Georgia Tech.
Yes I still post here: https://courtenaybird.tumblr.com/
M.S. Digital Media, Georgia Tech.
Yes I still post here: https://courtenaybird.tumblr.com/
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
Excellent thread by @rgoodlaw.bsky.social re Trump’s 6/7/25 EO federalizing the National Guard and authorizing domestic use of regular armed forces over Governor’s objection.
<Thread>
I figure I need to explain how extreme and irresponsible is the June 7 Memorandum federalizing the National Guard and authorizing regular armed forces.
Those saying anything in support of this action may not realize what they’ve gotten into.
(It will also escalate from here.)
Preview⤵️
I figure I need to explain how extreme and irresponsible is the June 7 Memorandum federalizing the National Guard and authorizing regular armed forces.
Those saying anything in support of this action may not realize what they’ve gotten into.
(It will also escalate from here.)
Preview⤵️
June 10, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Excellent thread by @rgoodlaw.bsky.social re Trump’s 6/7/25 EO federalizing the National Guard and authorizing domestic use of regular armed forces over Governor’s objection.
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
Elon Musk said he’d cut the federal budget by $2 trillion
Quickly lowered this to $1 trillion
Now he’s down to $150 billion
And even THAT appears to be an overestimate of $92 billion
So-after firing thousands of workers and destroying government services
This clown will cut $58 billion
Maybe
Quickly lowered this to $1 trillion
Now he’s down to $150 billion
And even THAT appears to be an overestimate of $92 billion
So-after firing thousands of workers and destroying government services
This clown will cut $58 billion
Maybe
April 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Elon Musk said he’d cut the federal budget by $2 trillion
Quickly lowered this to $1 trillion
Now he’s down to $150 billion
And even THAT appears to be an overestimate of $92 billion
So-after firing thousands of workers and destroying government services
This clown will cut $58 billion
Maybe
Quickly lowered this to $1 trillion
Now he’s down to $150 billion
And even THAT appears to be an overestimate of $92 billion
So-after firing thousands of workers and destroying government services
This clown will cut $58 billion
Maybe
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
“Because the key insight is this: The tech sector operates as a winner-take-all economy. But our political economy is based on perpetual competition.” @jvl.bsky.social
Winner Take All
Why the tech bros want authoritarian government.
www.thebulwark.com
February 24, 2025 at 7:03 PM
“Because the key insight is this: The tech sector operates as a winner-take-all economy. But our political economy is based on perpetual competition.” @jvl.bsky.social
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
So much wrong here including this unctuous toady’s inability to use the apostrophe s properly. See my deployment of “toady’s.”
February 25, 2025 at 12:01 AM
So much wrong here including this unctuous toady’s inability to use the apostrophe s properly. See my deployment of “toady’s.”
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
He and Musk have no idea what they are doing. Dangerous clowns
From @reuters.com: President Donald Trump's sweeping foreign aid freeze has stalled a United Nations program in Mexico aimed at stopping imported fentanyl chemicals from reaching the country's drug cartels, according to eight people familiar with the situation.
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
February 24, 2025 at 7:32 PM
He and Musk have no idea what they are doing. Dangerous clowns
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
Trump and Musk are for they/them. They're not for you.
February 25, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Trump and Musk are for they/them. They're not for you.
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
Wrote about how easy it is to claim you saved taxpayers billions when you just make shit up. But also how this is the Twitter Files all over again. The dumbest people don't know what they're looking at so it must be a conspiracy www.techdirt.com/2025/02/19/i...
It’s Easy To Save Billions In Taxpayer Funds When Everything Is Made Up
Here’s a neat trick for saving taxpayers billions of dollars: just make stuff up! I mean, sure, you could do all the hard work of actually finding government waste and fixing inefficient proc…
www.techdirt.com
February 20, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Wrote about how easy it is to claim you saved taxpayers billions when you just make shit up. But also how this is the Twitter Files all over again. The dumbest people don't know what they're looking at so it must be a conspiracy www.techdirt.com/2025/02/19/i...
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
Pritzker:
“It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the 5-alarm fire starts...every good person better be ready to man a post w/a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control"
“It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the 5-alarm fire starts...every good person better be ready to man a post w/a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control"
JB Pritzker in today's state of the state very explicitly compared what's happening with Trump to the rise of Nazis:
"We don’t have kings in America—and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions—but in deference to my obligations."
"We don’t have kings in America—and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions—but in deference to my obligations."
February 19, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Pritzker:
“It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the 5-alarm fire starts...every good person better be ready to man a post w/a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control"
“It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the 5-alarm fire starts...every good person better be ready to man a post w/a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control"
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance.
Democracy requires your courage.
Democracy requires your courage.
February 20, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance.
Democracy requires your courage.
Democracy requires your courage.
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
"America is not a software company. And letting a thin-skinned, Ketamine-fueled, video-game cheating, Nazi apologist billionaire take over the machinery of the United States is not something that anyone voted for."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Nobody voted for Elon Musk
A self-interested, erratic megalomaniac has seized control of the US government.
www.motherjones.com
February 12, 2025 at 1:02 AM
"America is not a software company. And letting a thin-skinned, Ketamine-fueled, video-game cheating, Nazi apologist billionaire take over the machinery of the United States is not something that anyone voted for."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
This reads like the opening paragraph of a novel so bleakly dystopian you'd put it down after five pages
February 12, 2025 at 7:40 AM
This reads like the opening paragraph of a novel so bleakly dystopian you'd put it down after five pages
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
As always: Follow the money. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/b...
Elon Musk’s Attacks on CFPB Remove Obstacle to Building ‘X Money’
Former officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Elon Musk’s payment-business aspirations were driving his efforts to hobble the agency.
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2025 at 6:01 PM
As always: Follow the money. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/b...
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
i know ppl here do not enjoy screenshots of X but this one is such a great encapsulation of what it's become
February 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
i know ppl here do not enjoy screenshots of X but this one is such a great encapsulation of what it's become
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
(3/X) And Elon is much more dangerous than Trump. He has a longer attention span and grander ambitions.
It is obvious that Elon wants to destroy all independent sources of information. He's already taking down governmental sources, like the CDC and NOAA. And...
It is obvious that Elon wants to destroy all independent sources of information. He's already taking down governmental sources, like the CDC and NOAA. And...
February 9, 2025 at 2:57 AM
(3/X) And Elon is much more dangerous than Trump. He has a longer attention span and grander ambitions.
It is obvious that Elon wants to destroy all independent sources of information. He's already taking down governmental sources, like the CDC and NOAA. And...
It is obvious that Elon wants to destroy all independent sources of information. He's already taking down governmental sources, like the CDC and NOAA. And...
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
(1/X) The media spent ten years ignoring Trump's obvious personality disorder. We were told "he's a pragmatist, a businessman".
Now they are doing the same thing with Elon Musk....
Now they are doing the same thing with Elon Musk....
February 9, 2025 at 2:57 AM
(1/X) The media spent ten years ignoring Trump's obvious personality disorder. We were told "he's a pragmatist, a businessman".
Now they are doing the same thing with Elon Musk....
Now they are doing the same thing with Elon Musk....
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
And there it is — next shoe dropping. Steal the bank, control the military and then silence the media
Trump megadonor Steve Wynn has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, which protects the media's ability to aggressively cover public officials. www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
February 7, 2025 at 5:41 PM
And there it is — next shoe dropping. Steal the bank, control the military and then silence the media
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
This morning, we reported that government IT officials considered DOGE’s efforts “the largest data breach and the largest IT security breach in our country’s history.”
Also this morning, the Treasury put Musk’s DOGE ally in charge of its payment systems: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Also this morning, the Treasury put Musk’s DOGE ally in charge of its payment systems: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
The Government’s Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified
Four IT professionals lay out just how destructive Elon Musk’s incursion into the U.S. government could be.
www.theatlantic.com
February 7, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This morning, we reported that government IT officials considered DOGE’s efforts “the largest data breach and the largest IT security breach in our country’s history.”
Also this morning, the Treasury put Musk’s DOGE ally in charge of its payment systems: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Also this morning, the Treasury put Musk’s DOGE ally in charge of its payment systems: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
This is a data heist what is blessed by Trump
New: We spoke to government IT employees/contractors about DOGE. Their warnings were dire. The people who maintain the systems that keep the country working are terrified. "This is the largest data breach and the largest IT security breach in our country’s history—at least that’s publicly known."
The Government’s Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified
Four IT professionals lay out just how destructive Elon Musk’s incursion into the U.S. government could be.
www.theatlantic.com
February 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM
This is a data heist what is blessed by Trump
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
“It’s pretty clear what Trump wants Musk to be: a vigilante operating inside the government. But Musk isn’t fighting supervillains. He’s running around breaking things. He’s using his vigilante powers to vandalize the Constitution and the federal government.”
www.thebulwark.com/p/elon-musk-...
www.thebulwark.com/p/elon-musk-...
Elon Musk and the League of Shadows
America gets government by vigilante.
www.thebulwark.com
February 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
“It’s pretty clear what Trump wants Musk to be: a vigilante operating inside the government. But Musk isn’t fighting supervillains. He’s running around breaking things. He’s using his vigilante powers to vandalize the Constitution and the federal government.”
www.thebulwark.com/p/elon-musk-...
www.thebulwark.com/p/elon-musk-...
"We're in a world of extra legality. So, we are beyond the law. He is operating in a completely lawless realm. He's outside of the rule of law."
-Pulitzer-prize winning historian @anneapplebaum.bsky.social to @thebulwark.bsky.social re: Elon Musk's power grab
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvNi...
-Pulitzer-prize winning historian @anneapplebaum.bsky.social to @thebulwark.bsky.social re: Elon Musk's power grab
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvNi...
Elon's Takeover Is in Full Swing & It's Terrifying (w/ Anne Applebaum) | Bulwark Podcast
YouTube video by The Bulwark
www.youtube.com
February 5, 2025 at 2:01 AM
"We're in a world of extra legality. So, we are beyond the law. He is operating in a completely lawless realm. He's outside of the rule of law."
-Pulitzer-prize winning historian @anneapplebaum.bsky.social to @thebulwark.bsky.social re: Elon Musk's power grab
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvNi...
-Pulitzer-prize winning historian @anneapplebaum.bsky.social to @thebulwark.bsky.social re: Elon Musk's power grab
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvNi...
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
What this long and detailed NYT piece calmly calls an “extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual” is in fact a blatantly unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s Article I powers and delegation of the President’s Article II duties.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/u...
Elon Musk’s Blitz Shakes U.S. Government as He Sweeps Through Agencies
The billionaire is creating major upheaval as his team sweeps through agencies, in what has been an extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual.
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2025 at 1:05 PM
What this long and detailed NYT piece calmly calls an “extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual” is in fact a blatantly unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s Article I powers and delegation of the President’s Article II duties.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/u...
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
Every day that large media outlets fail to put words like “illegal” and “unconstitutional” into their headlines is a day they are choosing to normalize a national crisis
Top headlines:
Guardian: Trump’s disregard for US constitution ‘a blitzkrieg on the law’,
NYT: Trump’s Tariffs Would Reverse Decades of Integration With Mexico
Washington Post: Trump’s fierce attacks on DEI reflect a longtime GOP focus
US media is not giving a sense of the scale of the threats
Guardian: Trump’s disregard for US constitution ‘a blitzkrieg on the law’,
NYT: Trump’s Tariffs Would Reverse Decades of Integration With Mexico
Washington Post: Trump’s fierce attacks on DEI reflect a longtime GOP focus
US media is not giving a sense of the scale of the threats
February 2, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Every day that large media outlets fail to put words like “illegal” and “unconstitutional” into their headlines is a day they are choosing to normalize a national crisis
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
For decades, America has been promoting checks and balances and the rule of law around the world. But now these principles are under assault in Washington, and nobody seems to know what to do.
February 3, 2025 at 11:50 AM
For decades, America has been promoting checks and balances and the rule of law around the world. But now these principles are under assault in Washington, and nobody seems to know what to do.
Reposted by Courtenay Bird
There are literally not enough journalists employed in the US to cover the bad shit that is happening right now. We are now going to experience the social consequences of a weakened news industry--which are the same as the benefits of a weakened news industry, to those who weakened it.
February 2, 2025 at 4:43 PM
There are literally not enough journalists employed in the US to cover the bad shit that is happening right now. We are now going to experience the social consequences of a weakened news industry--which are the same as the benefits of a weakened news industry, to those who weakened it.