Firthermor
@firthermor.bsky.social
Mid-Atlantic nature. Natural world. Photography. Plays with words. Grovers Mill Martian invasion survivor 😉. Popular sovereignty, voting rights, democracy, and good governance stan.
Pinned
Firthermor
@firthermor.bsky.social
· Nov 13
Hi! I am new around here.
Sometime doomscroller. Sometime hopescroller. Sometime serendipitous learnscroller. First time BlueSky poster.
It may look dark now, but with our work & what we build can reconstruct our democracy for the better. Succession happens, sometimes with a bit of engineering.
Sometime doomscroller. Sometime hopescroller. Sometime serendipitous learnscroller. First time BlueSky poster.
It may look dark now, but with our work & what we build can reconstruct our democracy for the better. Succession happens, sometimes with a bit of engineering.
Reposted by Firthermor
OMG. He literally went with "they were no angels" which is the mocking phrase people use to point out how authorities try to minimize their law enforcement executions. And he's using it earnestly because he doesn't realize how it's actually used.
Trump on Alex Pretti and Renee Good: "He was not an angel and she was not an angel. You know, you look at some tapes."
February 5, 2026 at 4:40 AM
OMG. He literally went with "they were no angels" which is the mocking phrase people use to point out how authorities try to minimize their law enforcement executions. And he's using it earnestly because he doesn't realize how it's actually used.
Reposted by Firthermor
One more comment on the Post debacle: this hurts journalism broadly. Good journalists will go do something else. The rest will be fighting for fewer jobs and everyone will earn less. Fewer people will take up the career. The damage done is to the ecosystem, as well as the paper.
February 5, 2026 at 3:11 AM
One more comment on the Post debacle: this hurts journalism broadly. Good journalists will go do something else. The rest will be fighting for fewer jobs and everyone will earn less. Fewer people will take up the career. The damage done is to the ecosystem, as well as the paper.
Reposted by Firthermor
So (7) says to preserve—but strikes me more as create—the right of state and local govts to file criminal charges in excessive force cases.
Details will matter, but if that’s a statutory waiver of supremacy clause immunity, that strikes me as potentially a REALLY big deal.
Details will matter, but if that’s a statutory waiver of supremacy clause immunity, that strikes me as potentially a REALLY big deal.
Schumer & Jeffries lay out the Democratic demands for a DHS funding deal in a letter to the top Republican leaders
February 5, 2026 at 3:28 AM
So (7) says to preserve—but strikes me more as create—the right of state and local govts to file criminal charges in excessive force cases.
Details will matter, but if that’s a statutory waiver of supremacy clause immunity, that strikes me as potentially a REALLY big deal.
Details will matter, but if that’s a statutory waiver of supremacy clause immunity, that strikes me as potentially a REALLY big deal.
Reposted by Firthermor
Substack data breach happened in October.
Substack discovers data breach five months later in February.
Five months to detect a data breach is... not good. Unclear if Substack found the breach on its own accord, or if it was notified by way of the hacker's extortion demand.
Substack discovers data breach five months later in February.
Five months to detect a data breach is... not good. Unclear if Substack found the breach on its own accord, or if it was notified by way of the hacker's extortion demand.
February 5, 2026 at 4:01 AM
Substack data breach happened in October.
Substack discovers data breach five months later in February.
Five months to detect a data breach is... not good. Unclear if Substack found the breach on its own accord, or if it was notified by way of the hacker's extortion demand.
Substack discovers data breach five months later in February.
Five months to detect a data breach is... not good. Unclear if Substack found the breach on its own accord, or if it was notified by way of the hacker's extortion demand.
Reposted by Firthermor
Icy sunset over the Potomac at Violettes Lock today 🧊🌅
@capitalweather.bsky.social
@capitalweather.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Icy sunset over the Potomac at Violettes Lock today 🧊🌅
@capitalweather.bsky.social
@capitalweather.bsky.social
Reposted by Firthermor
That Jeff Bezos's Amazon gave Brett Ratner, someone photographed with Jeffrey Epstein and in the Epstein Files, $75 million to make a doc about Melania Trump, while he chooses to destroy The Washington Post, says about all you need to know.
February 4, 2026 at 9:48 PM
That Jeff Bezos's Amazon gave Brett Ratner, someone photographed with Jeffrey Epstein and in the Epstein Files, $75 million to make a doc about Melania Trump, while he chooses to destroy The Washington Post, says about all you need to know.
Reposted by Firthermor
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
February 4, 2026 at 10:06 PM
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
Reposted by Firthermor
Great read. An ICE attorney working for DOJ temporarily explains that ICE has no clue how all of this "federal court" stuff works and makes clear that both ICE and DOJ were totally unprepared for the flood of habeases that were the inevitable result of the Minneapolis raids.
February 4, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Great read. An ICE attorney working for DOJ temporarily explains that ICE has no clue how all of this "federal court" stuff works and makes clear that both ICE and DOJ were totally unprepared for the flood of habeases that were the inevitable result of the Minneapolis raids.
Reposted by Firthermor
Every conversation about Post layoffs that don’t focus on propaganda is completely missing the point and helping the propaganda.
February 5, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Every conversation about Post layoffs that don’t focus on propaganda is completely missing the point and helping the propaganda.
Reposted by Firthermor
![Comic. [Person talking to person with black hat.] PERSON 1: Historically, it refers to a ceremony to predict the weather using a rodent. But nowadays people often use it to mean “a time loop experienced by one person.” PERSON 2: …What. [caption] Easily our weirdest holiday.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreidknpywgj44ox6nphuyzs6si6lozn77jyx75nbh7v67wsjr6dssl4@jpeg)
February 4, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Firthermor
The targeting of Native Americans by ICE is so widespread, tribal governments all over are responding. To protect tribal citizens from ICE raids, tribes are holding events to help citizens get updated IDs and even speeding up the printing and processing times.
February 4, 2026 at 4:59 PM
The targeting of Native Americans by ICE is so widespread, tribal governments all over are responding. To protect tribal citizens from ICE raids, tribes are holding events to help citizens get updated IDs and even speeding up the printing and processing times.
Reposted by Firthermor
Bezos’ cull at the Washington Post seems almost performative. He could run it at a loss indefinitely, he could run it as a nonprofit philanthropic effort, he could sell it. But no.
February 4, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Bezos’ cull at the Washington Post seems almost performative. He could run it at a loss indefinitely, he could run it as a nonprofit philanthropic effort, he could sell it. But no.
Reposted by Firthermor
“.. ‘Sickening scenarios have now come within reach,' Burry noted, adding that if BTC declines by another 10%, Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy .. would be billions in the red and could 'find capital markets essentially closed.’”
#$MSTR
www.ibtimes.co.uk/michael-burr...
#$MSTR
www.ibtimes.co.uk/michael-burr...
February 5, 2026 at 12:33 AM
“.. ‘Sickening scenarios have now come within reach,' Burry noted, adding that if BTC declines by another 10%, Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy .. would be billions in the red and could 'find capital markets essentially closed.’”
#$MSTR
www.ibtimes.co.uk/michael-burr...
#$MSTR
www.ibtimes.co.uk/michael-burr...
Reposted by Firthermor
I'm curious about the bureaucratics. ODNI doesn't have collection or investigative capability of its own, not much analytic (big picture stuff at the National Intelligence Council). Sounds like Gabbard driving FBI (Justice) work? Wierd. ODNI does write the Presidents Daily Brief 1/
The latest on Gabbard as fringe conspiracy drives her voting investigation: “The sources said the goal was to work with the FBI to investigate claims that Venezuela had hacked voting machines in Puerto Rico.”
Exclusive: US spy chief's office investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico
A team working for President Donald Trump's spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico's voting machines, said Gabbard's office and three sources familiar with the pre...
www.reuters.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:27 AM
I'm curious about the bureaucratics. ODNI doesn't have collection or investigative capability of its own, not much analytic (big picture stuff at the National Intelligence Council). Sounds like Gabbard driving FBI (Justice) work? Wierd. ODNI does write the Presidents Daily Brief 1/
Reposted by Firthermor
WSJ: SpaceX trying to push the bag onto index investors ASAP.
Can’t describe how predatory this is and if index providers carve out an exception for them or other large IPOs it’ll be a huge hit to their credibility IMO.
Can’t describe how predatory this is and if index providers carve out an exception for them or other large IPOs it’ll be a huge hit to their credibility IMO.
Exclusive | SpaceX Seeks Early Index Entry as It Prepares Massive IPO
Advisers to company CEO Elon Musk have reached out to major index providers seeking ways to secure earlier inclusion in market benchmarks to lift shares
www.wsj.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:09 AM
WSJ: SpaceX trying to push the bag onto index investors ASAP.
Can’t describe how predatory this is and if index providers carve out an exception for them or other large IPOs it’ll be a huge hit to their credibility IMO.
Can’t describe how predatory this is and if index providers carve out an exception for them or other large IPOs it’ll be a huge hit to their credibility IMO.
Reposted by Firthermor
"...grind the paper down, yank it right, & rip out its spine" is pretty much exactly what the Block family just did to a 240 y.o. institution & crucial local resource - the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Post-Gazette to publish final edition and cease operations on May 3
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette owner Block Communications Inc. said Wednesday that it will cease publication of the newspaper May 3, an announcement that came...
www.post-gazette.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:40 AM
"...grind the paper down, yank it right, & rip out its spine" is pretty much exactly what the Block family just did to a 240 y.o. institution & crucial local resource - the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Reposted by Firthermor
Can't stress enough how *crazily illegal* this is:
Rubio may have been exercising authority after he no longer lawfully could
Byron—running NARA day to day under that authority—may have taken actions that are void from the beginning
Byron may *not* lawfully serve as/perform functions of Archivist
Rubio may have been exercising authority after he no longer lawfully could
Byron—running NARA day to day under that authority—may have taken actions that are void from the beginning
Byron may *not* lawfully serve as/perform functions of Archivist
*BREAKING: Rubio is out as acting Archivist, and has illegally named an ineligble political appointee to "to serve and perform the functions of archivist"—which he did not have the authority to do.
My reporting expands on @federalnewsnetwork.com's scoop:
🧵
lastcampaign.substack.com/p/rubio-out-...
My reporting expands on @federalnewsnetwork.com's scoop:
🧵
lastcampaign.substack.com/p/rubio-out-...
Rubio out at NARA; illegally names ineligble political appointee to serve as Archivist
Rubio has no authority to name anyone to serve as Archivist or perform those functions
lastcampaign.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Can't stress enough how *crazily illegal* this is:
Rubio may have been exercising authority after he no longer lawfully could
Byron—running NARA day to day under that authority—may have taken actions that are void from the beginning
Byron may *not* lawfully serve as/perform functions of Archivist
Rubio may have been exercising authority after he no longer lawfully could
Byron—running NARA day to day under that authority—may have taken actions that are void from the beginning
Byron may *not* lawfully serve as/perform functions of Archivist
Reposted by Firthermor
If you've recently experienced any adverse decisions from NARA—personnel/promotions, contracting, FOIA, etc.—you really ought to speak with an attorney; those decisions may have been unlawful.
Can't stress enough how *crazily illegal* this is:
Rubio may have been exercising authority after he no longer lawfully could
Byron—running NARA day to day under that authority—may have taken actions that are void from the beginning
Byron may *not* lawfully serve as/perform functions of Archivist
Rubio may have been exercising authority after he no longer lawfully could
Byron—running NARA day to day under that authority—may have taken actions that are void from the beginning
Byron may *not* lawfully serve as/perform functions of Archivist
*BREAKING: Rubio is out as acting Archivist, and has illegally named an ineligble political appointee to "to serve and perform the functions of archivist"—which he did not have the authority to do.
My reporting expands on @federalnewsnetwork.com's scoop:
🧵
lastcampaign.substack.com/p/rubio-out-...
My reporting expands on @federalnewsnetwork.com's scoop:
🧵
lastcampaign.substack.com/p/rubio-out-...
February 5, 2026 at 12:39 AM
If you've recently experienced any adverse decisions from NARA—personnel/promotions, contracting, FOIA, etc.—you really ought to speak with an attorney; those decisions may have been unlawful.
Reposted by Firthermor
The point for SpaceX is once it's in mainstream indexes, index investors functionally are forced to buy. They cannot sell. And since Musk will control voting, they will have no rights at all. Functionally forced to supply capital.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
Exclusive | SpaceX Seeks Early Index Entry as It Prepares Massive IPO
Advisers to company CEO Elon Musk have reached out to major index providers seeking ways to secure earlier inclusion in market benchmarks to lift shares
www.wsj.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:11 AM
The point for SpaceX is once it's in mainstream indexes, index investors functionally are forced to buy. They cannot sell. And since Musk will control voting, they will have no rights at all. Functionally forced to supply capital.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
Reposted by Firthermor
NEWS
Elon Musk and others LOSE their bid to duck depositions in DOGE litigation.
Judge doubts protections for "high-ranking government officials" for multiple reasons. It's unclear they ever had that status, and Musk "left government service."
Doc buff.ly/uhpSOTz
Elon Musk and others LOSE their bid to duck depositions in DOGE litigation.
Judge doubts protections for "high-ranking government officials" for multiple reasons. It's unclear they ever had that status, and Musk "left government service."
Doc buff.ly/uhpSOTz
February 4, 2026 at 10:18 PM
NEWS
Elon Musk and others LOSE their bid to duck depositions in DOGE litigation.
Judge doubts protections for "high-ranking government officials" for multiple reasons. It's unclear they ever had that status, and Musk "left government service."
Doc buff.ly/uhpSOTz
Elon Musk and others LOSE their bid to duck depositions in DOGE litigation.
Judge doubts protections for "high-ranking government officials" for multiple reasons. It's unclear they ever had that status, and Musk "left government service."
Doc buff.ly/uhpSOTz
Reposted by Firthermor
Wyden was doing the same “hey, over here!” routine about the §215 bulk phone program long before anyone heard the name Edward Snowden.
This is how Sen. Ron Wyden clues the public into activity that he finds extremely alarming. He does a press release about a letter he sent to the director of the CIA that basically says, 'I want to make sure you saw the classified letter I sent early today.' www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
February 4, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Wyden was doing the same “hey, over here!” routine about the §215 bulk phone program long before anyone heard the name Edward Snowden.
Reposted by Firthermor
Trump has weaponized every other part of the federal government, but we’ve heard surprisingly little about the Intelligence Community proper. It’s a shoe I’ve been anxiously waiting to drop for the past year.
February 4, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Trump has weaponized every other part of the federal government, but we’ve heard surprisingly little about the Intelligence Community proper. It’s a shoe I’ve been anxiously waiting to drop for the past year.
Reposted by Firthermor
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
February 4, 2026 at 5:11 PM
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
Reposted by Firthermor
When a whistleblower’s lawyer gives you a deadline and cites the statute, that is not posturing. That is the last stop before Congress. And they just pulled the trigger.
February 4, 2026 at 9:18 PM
When a whistleblower’s lawyer gives you a deadline and cites the statute, that is not posturing. That is the last stop before Congress. And they just pulled the trigger.
Reposted by Firthermor
If you want to read the transcript of the February 3 hearing where Julie Le had her "this job sucks" meltdown, now you can:
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
This is unreal. An AUSA talking like that in open court is about as close as you can come to a total breakdown. Never heard of anything like it.
February 4, 2026 at 8:27 PM
If you want to read the transcript of the February 3 hearing where Julie Le had her "this job sucks" meltdown, now you can:
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...