Lynn Gazis-Sax
@empressnorton.bsky.social
DevOps Engineer, speculative fiction writer in my spare time, Quaker. I enjoy singing in several languages. Used to be in Katie Porter's district till I got redistricted to Young Kim's district. She/they.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Since the start of Trump’s second term, the number of children in ICE detention has increased sixfold.
In their letters, kids held at the Dilley center told us about missing their friends, being unable to go to school and feeling trapped.
In their letters, kids held at the Dilley center told us about missing their friends, being unable to go to school and feeling trapped.
“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility
Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...
www.propublica.org
February 14, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Since the start of Trump’s second term, the number of children in ICE detention has increased sixfold.
In their letters, kids held at the Dilley center told us about missing their friends, being unable to go to school and feeling trapped.
In their letters, kids held at the Dilley center told us about missing their friends, being unable to go to school and feeling trapped.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
WHAT????
‘Suicide is only one option': Social Security staff newly assigned to phone duties raise concerns over training
www.govexec.com/management/2...
www.govexec.com/management/2...
‘Suicide is only one option': Social Security staff newly assigned to phone duties raise concerns over training
Experts and SSA employees question wisdom of telling callers in crisis that suicide is an option.
www.govexec.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:30 AM
WHAT????
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
it's hard to process this level of cruelty to children
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 14, 2026 at 1:32 AM
it's hard to process this level of cruelty to children
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
This is a very good article describing the Trump administration’s attacks on the midterm elections. We should be concerned about what’s happening, and ready to call out the BS, but not resigned to defeat (of democracy), b/c the attacks aren’t going to work. We (all) aren’t going to let that happen.
His attacks on the midterms are real and dangerous… and aren’t going to work. Running down the case for an optimistic threat assessment @theunpopulist.net :
Worry, Don't Panic, Over Trump's Efforts to Subvert the Elections
America's system is quite foolproof but he can still try to delegitimize it
www.theunpopulist.net
February 14, 2026 at 1:34 AM
This is a very good article describing the Trump administration’s attacks on the midterm elections. We should be concerned about what’s happening, and ready to call out the BS, but not resigned to defeat (of democracy), b/c the attacks aren’t going to work. We (all) aren’t going to let that happen.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Oops we just finally coughed up some 'Twitter Files' bsky.app/profile/shee...
February 14, 2026 at 1:34 AM
Oops we just finally coughed up some 'Twitter Files' bsky.app/profile/shee...
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
So infuriating.
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
ChatGPT cuts in action
www.politico.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:36 AM
So infuriating.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Including mine on (checks notes) England's Financial Revolution.
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
ChatGPT cuts in action
www.politico.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:06 AM
Including mine on (checks notes) England's Financial Revolution.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Sometimes I think about all the medical breakthroughs that would become available to us if only someone figured out how to turn us into mice.
February 14, 2026 at 12:23 AM
Sometimes I think about all the medical breakthroughs that would become available to us if only someone figured out how to turn us into mice.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Yes, exactly. I am biased by my own personal experience, but I think this also explains a lot about how the elite media & that professional commentariat treated Joe Biden - the guy who went to Syracuse & Delaware instead of Harvard & Yale - during his presidency:
I guess we all see stuff through the lens of our personal experience. For me, the best analogy for understanding how the elite media treats Joe Biden is the thinly veiled disdain with which a large swathe of the rich prep school kids at Yale treated all of us who were small-town public school kids.
February 13, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Yes, exactly. I am biased by my own personal experience, but I think this also explains a lot about how the elite media & that professional commentariat treated Joe Biden - the guy who went to Syracuse & Delaware instead of Harvard & Yale - during his presidency:
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
related to the view among the professional commentariat that only students at ivys and boutique liberal arts colleges actually matter
This elitist view that only rich/Ivy/private school kids should study/have access the liberal arts is so deeply ingrained in so many highly educated Democrats’ views (including tons who majored in the lib arts themselves) that they don’t even realize they hold it, let alone how ugly & elitist it is
(3) But the Democrat view is also bad: while it's fine for people at Princeton and Harvard to study Latin and Sanskrit, public higher education is about job training and $ ROI. There is no room for the idea that curiosity-driven inquiry is a good that should be supported by the public.
February 13, 2026 at 8:03 PM
related to the view among the professional commentariat that only students at ivys and boutique liberal arts colleges actually matter
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Just noticing that the Fulton Co election records search warrant affidavit entirely omits the mental state (“willfully”) required to commit the 1st of the 2 crimes cited. The FBI agent makes it sound like a strict liability crime, which it's not. (Sorry if this has already been widely reported.)
February 13, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Just noticing that the Fulton Co election records search warrant affidavit entirely omits the mental state (“willfully”) required to commit the 1st of the 2 crimes cited. The FBI agent makes it sound like a strict liability crime, which it's not. (Sorry if this has already been widely reported.)
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
This piece attempts to offer a comprehensive look at what's wrong with the theory of persuasion that the Dem consultant class is broadly still in thrall to, and why the events of the last year call for a major reassessment. Please check it out:
“[V]oters who tune out politics are regularly buffeted by gale force deluges of information from all directions. Their convictions about public policy—and their views on what the parties stand for—are shallowly rooted at best.”
Yep. Mass persuasion ≠ one-on-one persuasion of intimates.
Yep. Mass persuasion ≠ one-on-one persuasion of intimates.
How the Democrats Can Play Offense on Immigration
Typically, Democrats run for the hills when immigration comes up. But as two blue-state governors are showing, the winning play is actually to confront ICE and MAGA xenophobia head on.
newrepublic.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:24 PM
This piece attempts to offer a comprehensive look at what's wrong with the theory of persuasion that the Dem consultant class is broadly still in thrall to, and why the events of the last year call for a major reassessment. Please check it out:
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Two dead Americans but sure, OK.
Leavitt: "Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota has been a resounding success"
February 13, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Two dead Americans but sure, OK.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Eric Schmidt: As we approach the 4th anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a brutal winter has taken hold. I recently visited the country as it faced the worst weather in five years, with temperatures plunging below -24C. Ukrainian soldiers spend up to 40 days in frontline positions
Ukraine’s no man’s land is the future of war
In drone vs drone combat, valuable personnel can be pulled back from the front
www.ft.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Eric Schmidt: As we approach the 4th anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a brutal winter has taken hold. I recently visited the country as it faced the worst weather in five years, with temperatures plunging below -24C. Ukrainian soldiers spend up to 40 days in frontline positions
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
On why we shouldn't move on too quickly from Trump's effort to imprison six members of Congress for making a video...
my new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
my new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
Donald Trump’s Disingenuous Promise to Champion Free Speech
It is Donald Trump’s systematic campaign to stamp out dissent and punish those who disagree with him that will be remembered as among the most singularly un-American aspects of his disruptive tenure.
www.newyorker.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:28 PM
On why we shouldn't move on too quickly from Trump's effort to imprison six members of Congress for making a video...
my new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
my new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Gift article: "We won’t get anything resembling democracy until we clear that widespread debris, and that means sending a bunch of these liars to prison, because they are the real criminals. America desperately needs truth and consequences."
The lying is out of control. People need to go to prison. | Will Bunch
The outrageous lies of the Trump regime, from ICE shootings to a commerce secretary's Epstein falsehoods, must be punished.
share.inquirer.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Gift article: "We won’t get anything resembling democracy until we clear that widespread debris, and that means sending a bunch of these liars to prison, because they are the real criminals. America desperately needs truth and consequences."
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Republican voter in Michigan: “What he’s doing with ICE is the worst thing. I would say the economy is the second worst thing. I’m getting ready to retire and I’m wondering how I’m going to make it. But I’m blessed. I don’t have to hide in the basement because my skin is brown.”
What independents think of Trump's recent immigration actions, according to a new AP-NORC poll
A new AP-NORC poll finds that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults believe that President Donald Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into U.S. cities.
apnews.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:56 AM
Republican voter in Michigan: “What he’s doing with ICE is the worst thing. I would say the economy is the second worst thing. I’m getting ready to retire and I’m wondering how I’m going to make it. But I’m blessed. I don’t have to hide in the basement because my skin is brown.”
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
A pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from Safeway is $9.99. If I bought one every day for a year, that's $3,646.35. The average price of a house in the United States is $400,000. It would cost about 109 years of daily rotisserie chickens to buy that house.
February 12, 2026 at 11:12 PM
A pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from Safeway is $9.99. If I bought one every day for a year, that's $3,646.35. The average price of a house in the United States is $400,000. It would cost about 109 years of daily rotisserie chickens to buy that house.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
This is the way. When they come at us, we come back at them twofold. Raise that Pride flag every time they take it down. If they prevent that, surround the park with Pride flags. Ruin their petty little lives until they shit rainbows. Never stop. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/n...
N.Y.C. Officials Reinstate Pride Flag at Stonewall After Federal Removal
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:56 AM
This is the way. When they come at us, we come back at them twofold. Raise that Pride flag every time they take it down. If they prevent that, surround the park with Pride flags. Ruin their petty little lives until they shit rainbows. Never stop. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/n...
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Holding the humanities hostage by controlling our funding is like holding an ordinary person hostage by controlling their access to foie gras.
Can’t be done.
Can’t be done.
February 13, 2026 at 4:57 AM
Holding the humanities hostage by controlling our funding is like holding an ordinary person hostage by controlling their access to foie gras.
Can’t be done.
Can’t be done.
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Besides *waves hands frantically* everything else, does this person know what role funding plays in the humanities? Yes, there are historians who need to travel to get to archives, etc., but in general we in the humanities have tiny funding needs.
No labs! No staff of researchers!
No labs! No staff of researchers!
It would be embarrassing under any circumstances to spend a year on this reactionary horseshit, but to have spent the year in which graduate students were sent to concentration camps for op-eds and the federal govt launched a no hold barred attack on academic freedom is just beyond
The Atlantic is indistinguishable from Compact.
February 13, 2026 at 4:55 AM
Besides *waves hands frantically* everything else, does this person know what role funding plays in the humanities? Yes, there are historians who need to travel to get to archives, etc., but in general we in the humanities have tiny funding needs.
No labs! No staff of researchers!
No labs! No staff of researchers!
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
Not only did the administration not accomplish its stated goal of targeting Somali fraud, it caused the US attorneys who were actually prosecuting the fraud to resign in disgust
This episode has been a nightmare for my city and state, but I hope people realize it’s also a profound defeat and political catastrophe for Trump and DHS, who are slinking away having accomplished nothing. Minneapolis simply wouldn’t bend to them and they lost
Homan in Minnesota: "I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue."
February 12, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Not only did the administration not accomplish its stated goal of targeting Somali fraud, it caused the US attorneys who were actually prosecuting the fraud to resign in disgust
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
a reminder that DC remains under occupation
"At least one member of the U.S. Marshals Service shot and killed a person in Northeast D.C.’s Mayfair neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, a law enforcement source told WTOP."
wtop.com/dc/2026/02/u...
wtop.com/dc/2026/02/u...
Member of US Marshals Service shoots, kills person in DC’s Mayfair neighborhood - WTOP News
Members of the U.S. Marshals Service shot and killed a person Wednesday afternoon in Northeast D.C.’s Mayfair neighborhood, a law enforcement source told WTOP.
wtop.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:00 PM
a reminder that DC remains under occupation
Reposted by Lynn Gazis-Sax
this case was first filed almost exactly 11 months ago. one-year anniversary on march 15
BREAKING
Judge Boasberg ORDERS the Trump admin to facilitate the return of the more than 100 men spirited out of the country last year without notice or a hearing.
Plaintiffs may also submit habeas petitions from abroad, he says.
Doc buff.ly/rccakD7
Judge Boasberg ORDERS the Trump admin to facilitate the return of the more than 100 men spirited out of the country last year without notice or a hearing.
Plaintiffs may also submit habeas petitions from abroad, he says.
Doc buff.ly/rccakD7
February 12, 2026 at 4:13 PM
this case was first filed almost exactly 11 months ago. one-year anniversary on march 15