Farrah Bostic
@farrahbostic.bsky.social
Founder of The Difference Engine. Researcher, strategist, truth-teller. Host of Cross Tabs. Asking better questions since forever.
Maybe the fine lads of Pod Save America would like to debate the merits of socialized housing now?
This is far worse than anyone expected.
Trump's HUD plan would cut *two-thirds* of permanent housing and push as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people back onto the street—redirecting funds to work mandates, forced treatment, and encampment sweeps.
All as mass internment camps are being built.
Trump's HUD plan would cut *two-thirds* of permanent housing and push as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people back onto the street—redirecting funds to work mandates, forced treatment, and encampment sweeps.
All as mass internment camps are being built.
Trump Administration to Drastically Cut Housing Grants
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Maybe the fine lads of Pod Save America would like to debate the merits of socialized housing now?
right now I would like to slingshot Descript into the sun. it literally reloaded the project because the computer switched to dark mode.
November 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
right now I would like to slingshot Descript into the sun. it literally reloaded the project because the computer switched to dark mode.
Yes and yet instead I live somewhere that won’t install street lights of any kind because at night you should be inside asleep or safely in your own yard looking up at the sky, nothing else, literally a thing local officials have said.
Lots of folks captioning aurora photos like "for a few minutes we didn't think about politics"
guess I'm built different, every time I'm out trying to see night sky stuff I frequently think about how much light pollution is entirely preventable with just a tiny bit of regulation
guess I'm built different, every time I'm out trying to see night sky stuff I frequently think about how much light pollution is entirely preventable with just a tiny bit of regulation
November 13, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Yes and yet instead I live somewhere that won’t install street lights of any kind because at night you should be inside asleep or safely in your own yard looking up at the sky, nothing else, literally a thing local officials have said.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
A Black Hawk helicopter. SWAT teams repelling to the roof. 300 agents. Flash-bang grenades. A TV crew.
“It’s 20,000 of them running through my house like we got Saddam Hussein in the closet."
For all that, fed prosecutors filed no criminal charges against anyone who was arrested.
Stunning report.
“It’s 20,000 of them running through my house like we got Saddam Hussein in the closet."
For all that, fed prosecutors filed no criminal charges against anyone who was arrested.
Stunning report.
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM
A Black Hawk helicopter. SWAT teams repelling to the roof. 300 agents. Flash-bang grenades. A TV crew.
“It’s 20,000 of them running through my house like we got Saddam Hussein in the closet."
For all that, fed prosecutors filed no criminal charges against anyone who was arrested.
Stunning report.
“It’s 20,000 of them running through my house like we got Saddam Hussein in the closet."
For all that, fed prosecutors filed no criminal charges against anyone who was arrested.
Stunning report.
Sometimes a win is a defeat, and sometimes a defeat is a victory; a retreat can be strategic and not absolute. But a surrender is always a surrender. My latest for the @crosstabspodcast.com newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/crosstab...
Over before it began
The importance of fighting for real victories, and moral ones too. And a bit about Clausewitz, because I took Law of War in law school. So there.
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Sometimes a win is a defeat, and sometimes a defeat is a victory; a retreat can be strategic and not absolute. But a surrender is always a surrender. My latest for the @crosstabspodcast.com newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/crosstab...
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
The trend here is remarkable, but will just note that this is the epitome of an expressive responding question -- answering yes is a way to signal profound dissatisfaction, not really a declaration of intention to move.
November 13, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The trend here is remarkable, but will just note that this is the epitome of an expressive responding question -- answering yes is a way to signal profound dissatisfaction, not really a declaration of intention to move.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
This story by @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social about Landon Thomas, former NYT reporter now appearing in the latest email tranche, soliciting a $30k contribution from Jeffrey Epstein?
Yes, you can read it here
www.npr.org/2019/08/22/7...
Yes, you can read it here
www.npr.org/2019/08/22/7...
November 12, 2025 at 8:59 PM
This story by @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social about Landon Thomas, former NYT reporter now appearing in the latest email tranche, soliciting a $30k contribution from Jeffrey Epstein?
Yes, you can read it here
www.npr.org/2019/08/22/7...
Yes, you can read it here
www.npr.org/2019/08/22/7...
This is yet another set of data that simply disproves that idea that people should think the economy’s good because of topline economic data that matters chiefly to policy makers & executives & investors.
Rent, electricity, healthcare/insurance, groceries, gas: too expensive, yet not optional.
Rent, electricity, healthcare/insurance, groceries, gas: too expensive, yet not optional.
More here on the link between AI data centers and rising electricity costs:
AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring
Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.
www.bloomberg.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:04 PM
This is yet another set of data that simply disproves that idea that people should think the economy’s good because of topline economic data that matters chiefly to policy makers & executives & investors.
Rent, electricity, healthcare/insurance, groceries, gas: too expensive, yet not optional.
Rent, electricity, healthcare/insurance, groceries, gas: too expensive, yet not optional.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
More here on the link between AI data centers and rising electricity costs:
AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring
Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.
www.bloomberg.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:48 PM
More here on the link between AI data centers and rising electricity costs:
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
They literally kidnapped him from an active fire.
NEW: The US has deported a longtime Oregon firefighter who was arrested by Border Patrol while deployed at a major wildfire in Washington state.
José Bertin Cruz-Estrada, separated from his family, is speaking out from Mexico for the first time:
“I feel betrayed ... What am I going to do now?"
José Bertin Cruz-Estrada, separated from his family, is speaking out from Mexico for the first time:
“I feel betrayed ... What am I going to do now?"
US firefighter detained on the job speaks out after deportation: ‘I feel betrayed’
Exclusive: Border patrol arrested José Bertin Cruz-Estrada while he was battling a wildfire in Washington. He is now in Mexico, separated from his family in Oregon
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:25 AM
They literally kidnapped him from an active fire.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Oh this is filling me with nostalgia.
I was summoned for vandalism in college because me and some friends found some sidewalk chalk, played around a bit, and bc it was Oregon, most of it washed away.
I said I’d come & I waived a private hearing & asked to invite student press. They dropped it.
I was summoned for vandalism in college because me and some friends found some sidewalk chalk, played around a bit, and bc it was Oregon, most of it washed away.
I said I’d come & I waived a private hearing & asked to invite student press. They dropped it.
Felony vandalism? They were hanging a cardboard bug on a wall.
This is crazy
November 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Oh this is filling me with nostalgia.
I was summoned for vandalism in college because me and some friends found some sidewalk chalk, played around a bit, and bc it was Oregon, most of it washed away.
I said I’d come & I waived a private hearing & asked to invite student press. They dropped it.
I was summoned for vandalism in college because me and some friends found some sidewalk chalk, played around a bit, and bc it was Oregon, most of it washed away.
I said I’d come & I waived a private hearing & asked to invite student press. They dropped it.
Sometimes I think my home reno tendencies are a form of extreme procrastination.
It’s just, I love change. Progress. Things being better - aesthetically, functionally. Things being safer, healthier. No mold, no rot, no exposed wires, no leaking pipes.
And so I will prioritize tangible change.
It’s just, I love change. Progress. Things being better - aesthetically, functionally. Things being safer, healthier. No mold, no rot, no exposed wires, no leaking pipes.
And so I will prioritize tangible change.
November 11, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Sometimes I think my home reno tendencies are a form of extreme procrastination.
It’s just, I love change. Progress. Things being better - aesthetically, functionally. Things being safer, healthier. No mold, no rot, no exposed wires, no leaking pipes.
And so I will prioritize tangible change.
It’s just, I love change. Progress. Things being better - aesthetically, functionally. Things being safer, healthier. No mold, no rot, no exposed wires, no leaking pipes.
And so I will prioritize tangible change.
Ah! Bookmakers shops are third places, somewhere to build community, and critical to solving the loneliness epidemic.
He’s such an asshole.
He’s such an asshole.
You may have missed this gem yesterday. From which we learn that:
1. Betting shops are really good for the mental health of isolated people.
2. Most drug-takers are not a problem.
3. Kids put tuppence in slot machines in the hope of getting rich.
4. Farage probably has a gambling industry donor.
1. Betting shops are really good for the mental health of isolated people.
2. Most drug-takers are not a problem.
3. Kids put tuppence in slot machines in the hope of getting rich.
4. Farage probably has a gambling industry donor.
November 11, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Ah! Bookmakers shops are third places, somewhere to build community, and critical to solving the loneliness epidemic.
He’s such an asshole.
He’s such an asshole.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
Be right back, asking chatGPT how to convert half built data centers into cheap housing and printing out the answers before the second Great Recession
Japanese giant SoftBank said Tuesday it has sold its entire stake in tech giant Nvidia for $5.83 billion.
Click here to read more: https://cnb.cx/49LCIs8
Click here to read more: https://cnb.cx/49LCIs8
November 11, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Be right back, asking chatGPT how to convert half built data centers into cheap housing and printing out the answers before the second Great Recession
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
Read @gawattia.bsky.social on Sumner today
“What made Charles Sumner a profoundly modern thinker was his commitment to a thorough-going conception of human rights based on the inherent dignity of all human persons.” www.liberalcurrents.com/the-american...
The American Conscience
Charles Sumner’s fight For equality.
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Read @gawattia.bsky.social on Sumner today
I see some of you don’t know what “post-liberal” means.
Liberal != the left/Dems.
They mean liberalism, a democratic form of government that guarantees individual liberties. In their cosmology this necessarily means a more or less unfettered capitalism.
So “post-liberal” = burn it all down.
Liberal != the left/Dems.
They mean liberalism, a democratic form of government that guarantees individual liberties. In their cosmology this necessarily means a more or less unfettered capitalism.
So “post-liberal” = burn it all down.
🔥 A former president & a former chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) resigned from ISI’s board on Friday. One of them posted this warning that “conservative institutions are being systematically…undermined by post-liberals who promote a ‘no enemies to the right’ mindset.” 1/
November 11, 2025 at 5:15 AM
I see some of you don’t know what “post-liberal” means.
Liberal != the left/Dems.
They mean liberalism, a democratic form of government that guarantees individual liberties. In their cosmology this necessarily means a more or less unfettered capitalism.
So “post-liberal” = burn it all down.
Liberal != the left/Dems.
They mean liberalism, a democratic form of government that guarantees individual liberties. In their cosmology this necessarily means a more or less unfettered capitalism.
So “post-liberal” = burn it all down.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
NEW: Jan 6 riot defendant arrested outside a Burger King in Cicero, Illinois.
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
High-profile Jan. 6 defendant facing charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting woman
John Banuelos' case was unique among Capitol riot prosecutions because he was the only defendant accused of pulling and firing a gun while on Capitol grounds.
www.cbsnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:56 AM
NEW: Jan 6 riot defendant arrested outside a Burger King in Cicero, Illinois.
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
This thread is a doozy, but as someone who participated in ISI/CN conferences in the late 90s, I can only say this:
Y’all should have been more discerning about who you took under your wing. And it was y’all who modeled “no enemies on the right”.
Everybody thinks they can control their monsters.
Y’all should have been more discerning about who you took under your wing. And it was y’all who modeled “no enemies on the right”.
Everybody thinks they can control their monsters.
🔥 A former president & a former chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) resigned from ISI’s board on Friday. One of them posted this warning that “conservative institutions are being systematically…undermined by post-liberals who promote a ‘no enemies to the right’ mindset.” 1/
November 11, 2025 at 4:50 AM
This thread is a doozy, but as someone who participated in ISI/CN conferences in the late 90s, I can only say this:
Y’all should have been more discerning about who you took under your wing. And it was y’all who modeled “no enemies on the right”.
Everybody thinks they can control their monsters.
Y’all should have been more discerning about who you took under your wing. And it was y’all who modeled “no enemies on the right”.
Everybody thinks they can control their monsters.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
Okay it’s honestly a little funny that the Republicans replied to the 8 Senators own-goal with another own-goal less than 24 hours later.
In the most predictable development ever, Mike Johnson is not committing to hold a House vote on ACA subsidies
November 11, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Okay it’s honestly a little funny that the Republicans replied to the 8 Senators own-goal with another own-goal less than 24 hours later.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
When CA launched Prop 50, it was polling at 38%. And so, we did it anyway. Winning campaigns requires that your GOALS define your actions, recognizing opinion - including who agrees to vote - is malleable. In other words, be a thermostat, not a thermometer.
contrarian.substack.com/p/bringing-a...
contrarian.substack.com/p/bringing-a...
Bringing a Survey to a Gun Fight, Part I
“Pollingism” Has Failed Democrats and Voters. Tuesday Showed the Power of Magnetism.
contrarian.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:08 PM
When CA launched Prop 50, it was polling at 38%. And so, we did it anyway. Winning campaigns requires that your GOALS define your actions, recognizing opinion - including who agrees to vote - is malleable. In other words, be a thermostat, not a thermometer.
contrarian.substack.com/p/bringing-a...
contrarian.substack.com/p/bringing-a...
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
There's this form of behavioral engineering/coercion going on to use AI when you're not even trying to. Ex: Enterprise Google Slides replaced "Upload an Image", with "Generate an Image" (right?), requiring extra work +adaptation to sidestep the AI-as-default push. It drives me bonkers.
November 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
There's this form of behavioral engineering/coercion going on to use AI when you're not even trying to. Ex: Enterprise Google Slides replaced "Upload an Image", with "Generate an Image" (right?), requiring extra work +adaptation to sidestep the AI-as-default push. It drives me bonkers.
Reposted by Farrah Bostic
Amazon just sued one of the largest power companies in Oregon after it failed to power up two data center (one without enough power and one with no power at all) campuses that were meant to be ready *in 2021*. Sure hope this isn't an industry wide problem!
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/amaz...
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/amaz...
November 10, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Amazon just sued one of the largest power companies in Oregon after it failed to power up two data center (one without enough power and one with no power at all) campuses that were meant to be ready *in 2021*. Sure hope this isn't an industry wide problem!
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/amaz...
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/amaz...